The Shimano Archive
嶋野 栄道 老師 アーカイブ

Names and identifying information of certain individuals redacted on this site for privacy.

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12/28/63

Handwritten Letter from Shimano to Robert and Anne Aitken.

01/14/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Haku'un Yasutani.

05/04/64

Robert Aitken Note.

Aitken and Shimano volunteer at psychiatric ward. Aitken remarks:

"he [Shimano] was pathologically compulsive."

05/04/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dr. Linus Pauling, Jr.

07/23/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dr. Standard Smith.

Robert Aitken seeking counsel concerning what transpired between Dr. Standard Smith's patient and Shimano.

"I am in a position of enough authority to bounce him [Shimano] back to Japan on the next flight if I determine that he actually did bed down with one or both of these two girls."

07/27/64

Telegram from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

07/29/64

Handwritten Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

07/29/64

Letter from Dr. Edward Furukawa, the Psychiatrist of One of the Two Women Survivors of Shimano in Hawai'i, to Robert Aitken.

"I can only state that the relationship has been definitely detrimental to my patient's emotional health."

08/08/64

Redacted Letter from Dr. Standard Smith, the Psychiatrist of One of the Two Women Survivors of Shimano in Hawai'i, to Robert Aitken.

Letter from Dr. Standard Smith to Robert Aitken describing his impression of what transpired between his patient and Shimano.

"There is no reasonable doubt that this person [Shimano] while discussing the highest of intellectual and religious matters seduced and had sexual intercourse with Miss. [redacted]."

"This business suggests that your resident monk [Shimano] is totally incapable of the philosophy and religion he superficially espouses."

08/10/64

Handwritten (Draft?) Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

08/10/64

Handwritten (Draft?) Letter from Robert Aitken to Shimano.

08/10/64

Robert Aitken Note.

Aitken reports that Anne informs him that on two separate occasions Shimano uses the same words, "I cannot see him because I do not trust myself, I am afraid that I cannot control myself."

08/11/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Shimano.

08/12/64

Telegram from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

"NAKAGAWA ROSHI RYUTAKUJI MISHIMA SHI SHIZUOKA JAPAN
DOCTOR OF [REDACTED] CONFIRMS STORY STRONGLY AND CLEARLY IN LETTER FROM
TEXAS WE WORRY ABOUT YASUKO LETTER FOLLOWS
AITKEN"

(Yasuko is the future Mrs. Shimano - see entry of 08/05/65)

08/12/64

Robert Aitken Note.

Outlines the salient points of Dr. Smith's letter of 08/08/64. (List of terms - clarification of "big words" for Soen Nakagawa letter of 08/12/64)

08/12/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dr. Edward Furukawa.

08/12/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

Copy of letter from Dr. Smith of 08/08/64 included.

08/12/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dr. Linus Pauling, Jr.

08/13/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

"Her eyes were like those of a fox, and her expression that of a fearful wild animal."

08/13/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dr. Standard Smith.

Informs Dr. Smith that copy of his letter was sent to Soen Nakagawa.

08/14/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

08/14/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Itsuko and Mitsuaki Suzuki.

08/17/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Ikenaga at Honolulu Myohoji Mission.

08/24/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

"If the girls had come to their priest in search of sex, and found sex, then surely there would have been no mental breakdown afterward."

08/30/64

Letter from Anne Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

09/04/64

Letter from Anne Aitken to LaVay Lau.

"Mr. Aitken and I have been close friends of [redacted] for some ten months, and have many interests in common. After her breakdown, we assured her that we would be glad to have her stay with us when she was released. She is now hoping to be released in time to re-enter the university this month. We have not encouraged this hope, pointing out that the decision will have to be reached by the doctors, after much study."

09/11/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

"All the trouble Tai San [Shimano] caused Anne, all the disruption he caused with our old-timers his departure without notice and the rest of it could have been avoided if we somehow could have persuaded him to return to Japan and have you consult with him about the accusation."

"Dr. Smith's letter, [redacted's] attitude now that she knows we have the full story, our recollection of many incidents which meant nothing at the time but now form a pattern, -- all these leave no question in our minds about Tai San's full responsibility in the two cases."

09/11/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Itsuko and Mitsuaki Suzuki.

09/15/64

Handwritten Letter from Dokai Fukui to Robert Aitken.

09/15/64

Letter from Martha Kent to Robert Aitken.

09/16/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Martha Kent.

09/17/64

Handwritten Letter from Elsie Mitchell to Robert Aitken.

Shunryu Suzuki to come to Boston.

“It is my tentative conviction that a lot of zazen or very intense zazen with samurai asceticism is completely unsuitable for women.”

09/18/64

Letter from Bernard Phillips to Robert Aitken.

09/18/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dokai Fukui.

09/19/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Bernard Phillips.

09/22/64

Letter from Anne Aitken to Elsie Mitchell.

09/22/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Elsie and John Mitchell.

Discusses women's issues.

09/22/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

"I am very glad to report that [redacted] has been given a leave from the State Hospital. She has moved in with us, and we have paid her tuition at the University of Hawaii for this semester. After one month she will be tested by the hospital authorities, and if she passes she will be released. She is still shaky, but may be okay."

"Tai San [Shimano] is telling our Mainland friends that he is leaving Koko An because of conflict with me. I don't mind taking part of the blame if that helps to keep the real story dark, but I wish he would just say that he is transferring and not give any particular reason. Bernard and others have written to me asking for 'my side of the story.' Of course I do not tell them what really happened."

09/28/64

Letter from Haku'un Yasutani to Robert Aitken.

10/00/64

Handwritten Letter from Itsuko Suzuki to Robert Aitken.

“The only discovery was that Roshi [Nakagawa] is very concerned with Tai San [Shimano] business and that we have to wait for some time till Roshi advise us something.”

“The reason Tai San speaks so much could be his insecurity about this matter.”

10/00/64

Handwritten Letter from Itsuko Suzuki to Robert Aitken.

“Please don’t be frustrated with this letter and be patient I hope. I went to see Roshi [Nakagawa] and I met the words of greeting, ‘Please wait until Tai San [Shimano] comes back’  And so there was no room and no need to ask all the questions you asked me to bring about to Roshi.”

10/01/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Itsuko and Mitsuaki Suzuki.

"Soen Roshi made it pretty clear to me that he wanted the matter kept from Ryutakuji monks"

10/00/64

Handwritten Letter from Dokai Fukui to Robert Aitken.

10/01/64

Handwritten Letter from Margaret Conway to Robert Aitken.

10/10/64

Handwritten Letter from Hakuun Yasutani to Robert Aitken.

“On Nov. 9 I met Mr. Eido Shimano and we had lots of talk. Among our talk the most important matter was the fact that Mr. Shimano has made his decision that he is going to leave Honolulu. He did not mention much in details about the reason for his leaving Honolulu and going to move to the mainland. He said that he had told you about his decision. This decision is entirely depending on his free will and I cannot say anything about his decision. I asked him if he was going to quit Univ. of Hawaii and he answered that he was going to give up his scholarship too.”

"In zen it is very important to help ordinary people (Koji) for their zen. However it is more important to bring up (or make) a successor to be a zen leader.”

10/12/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

"Tai San [Shimano] appeared unexpecdly at our door last night. He is on his way to Japan, and will sail with Kai San [Dokai Fukui] on the Wilson. His principal purpose in calling on us seemed to be to tell us that our plan to have a special meeting of our zazenkai with Kai San would have to be cancelled. He said that our arrangement by letter with Kai San was really a misunderstanding (though when I looked up the corresponence in my files, I found that my invitation and Kai San's acceptance are entirely clear)."

"[Redacted] has been released a second time from the hospital, and now seems a little better."

"Kai San wants to know all the details, but I will tell him only what he already knows and nothing more."

"none of our present attenders even knows that there has been any trouble."

"Aparently Tai San is telling people that the trouble in Hawaii is between old members and me, of all things."

"Aparently Tai San told Kai San that the three ladies would not come to any meeting with Yasutani Roshi if I were here, and Kai San was worried that this would cause trouble."

"I did not realize that Tai San was using such a lame story about a group controversy as a smoke screen for his own activities."

10/13/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Hakuun Yasutani.

10/25/64

Letter from Robert Aitken ot Dokai Fukui.

"Please don't feel sorry about or cancellation of the special zazenkai on the 13th. Although everyone was disappointed, it is forgotten by now, and we are enjoying very good attendance."

During the four years that Tai San [Shimano] has been 'resident monk' of Koko An, he has been absent on trips over 30% of the time. During these extended absences, our meetings have been conducted as usual, and this time is no different."

"Anne joins me in sending fond Aloha. We are extending your regards to Dick, [redacted] and [redacted], also to Jerry, whom you met briefly on the porch."

10/29/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

"By now you have had a good chance to talk to Tai San [Shimano] and Kai San [Dokai Fukui] in the cool air of autumn at Ryutakuji. I do not press you for any sort of decision, but simply report on the progress of your intimate friends here in Hawaii."

"The big news is that [redacted] is returning to work, at the same job she had when she became sick last April, a nurse in a convalescent home. She is quite unsure of her ability to make a success of it, and privately Anne and I have some doubts, but it is a big step for her to accept the position, renew her nurse's license, get her chest x-ray, and so on. If she can't hold the job, it will not be long before she finds another and is able to keep it. She is no longer taking medication, and is being transferred from out-patient status at the State Hospital to a similar status at a mental health clinic here in town (which means she is finally discharged from the State Hospital). She continues to live with us, and to be our treasure and joy."

11/15/64

Handwritten Letter from Dokai Fukui to Robert Aitken.

“Unfortunately Roshi [Yasutani] is going to cancel to remove to Hawaii.”

“But the absence of Tai San [Shimano] is surely big problem for Roshi because he cannot work effectively any more without Tai San’s assistance. Please understand this point and do not have a bad feeling of Roshi as well as Tai San.”

“I feel very sad to you for your tremendous efforts to build Roshi’s house and arrange everything for him.”

“Please forgive me and please understand our condition friendly.”

“Tai San’s departure is surely very ungrateful thing I’m sure he’s regretting about his action.

But after all ‘thing has done.’ We cannot draw back it against the flow of time.

Please forgive and forget everything and help the same friendly atmosphere as before.”

11/21/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dokai Fukui.

"I have not mentioned your news to our group, and don’t know how to announce it. Somehow I will have to makeup a story that will not reflect bad on him and upon Zen in general.”

"Many people on the Mainland, and a few even in Europe and South America have sent money to help with the retreat project at Pupukea. What can I say?”

"As time goes on, it becomes quite clear that Tai San [Shimano] cannot return to Koko An. If we had any doubts about this, they were dispelled during his recent stop-over in Honolulu.”

12/11/64

Handwritten Letter from Dokai Fukui to Robert Aitken.

12/19/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dokai Fukui.

“We were very interested to hear of Soen Roshi’s plan for Sekida San [Katsuki Sekida] to come to Hawaii.

I have written to Roshi about this. I am feeling uncertain about our Zazenkai that the thought of introducing someone new makes me quite uneasy. I hope that Soen Roshi himself may come at the end of January for sesshin here.”

“We have translated Yasutani Roshi's letter at last. He says nothing about his translation work with Tai San, [Shimano] but rather says that Tai San is his only chance for a good successor, so he must follow Tai San and not come to Hawaii. He says that of course it is his responsibility to teach ordinary laymen, but his first job is to train a good teacher. You may imagine our reaction to this.”

I still don't know how to announce the change to our Zazenkai and how to write it in the Diamond Sangha. I have written to Tai San seeking his advice. I need all the help I can get in this matter. The wrong presentation could harm the Dharma, and could give both Yasutani Roshi and Tai San a bad reputation.”

12/19/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

“Yasutani Roshi has written to us of his decision not to come to Hawaii.”

“We have answered him and have also written to Tai San [Shimano] requesting their help with the story about his decision to be printed in the next issue of Diamond Sangha. As you may imagine, we half-expected the Roshi to change his mind in this way. His reasons for his decision were, however, a great surprise and a great disappointment.”

“How can I trust things not to change again suddenly, and leave me exposed once more?

I feel very uneasy about our Zazenkai. I keep a cheerful face and try to encourage the members, but I am filled with doubts. As Yasutani Roshi says, we are only laymen. Just ippan no koji. Our teachers are concerned primarily with developing one or two successors. What chance do the rest of us have?”

“We are all of us well, and Anne and I pretend not to think of the calamity which has struck us. [Redacted] was not able to hold her job, but she is still with us and has not had to return to the hospital. She is taking a few art and music classes.”

12/19/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Shimano.

“Yasutani Roshi wrote us last month that he would not be coming to Hawaii”

“He says he will not come because his first loyalty is to you as his disciple, and that you have decided not to return to Hawaii.”

12/19/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Haku'un Yasutani.

“We half-expected your decision to change your mind. We knew it would be unsafe for me to go to Japan last August, but I went anyway.”

“To us ordinary laymen, right behavior seemed, and still does seem, more important than Zen. It seems to us that if the means is wrong, then the end cannot be right. If we have sacrificed your good will and the good will of people all over the United States who contributed to the Pupukea project, at least we did it on a sound moral basis, and we have no regrets.”

12/24/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Iver Fischman.

“I have learned from Bernard Phillips that you will be sponsoring Tai San, [Shimano] now that he has resigned his position as resident monk of Koko An.”

“We would like to be able to show that Tai San has transferred to another group, and that our new monk will take his place.”

12/24/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Mr. Sekida.

“Soen Roshi has written to us about your plan to come to Koko An to work with us. We are very much interested in this idea, and wish to explore it with you.

If we reach an agreement on plans, then we will be glad to make visa arrangements for you, to buy your ticket, and to set you up here with room and meals, either in Koko An or separately, whichever seems best.”

12/24/64

Handwritten Letter from Bernard Phillips to Robert Aitken.

"What (the hell) is going on? I haven’t heard from the N.Y. group all fall, but this week got a note from Mary Bernhart which said; 'Iver and I rented an apartment for Tai [Shimano] for 6 months until Roshi arrives; before June we will have to locate something larger.' ”

12/27/64

Letter from Robert Aitken to Bernard Phillips.

“We appreciated the news about Tai San [Shimano]. We had not known who his new suc – excuse me – supporters would be, and we wanted to reach them in order to request a letter acknowledging transfer of sponsorship, so that matters can be tidied up with the immigration people.”

00/00/65

Drawing Made by One of the Two Women Hospitalized in Hawai'i Who Reported Shimano Sexual Misconduct.

The drawing has been described as "disturbing."

00/00/65

Schedule ZSS.

01/01/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Haku'un Yasutani.

“it is quite clear to me from Tai San’s [Shimano's] remarks to me that he intends to arrange the June 1965 sesshin in Honolulu with Yasutani Roshi somewhere other than at Koko An. He said, ‘of course, you and Anne would be welcome to attend.’ And of course we would attend, wherever it was held.”

“We learn from Seika San that she is moving to Thailand, following the difficulties of her stay at Kokuseiji, and her falling out with Yasutani Roshi. She wrote us that she lost faith in Yasutani Roshi after the things he said about us in Hawaii. I don’t know what she meant by this. I really don’t care what anybody says about Anne or me, but for the sake of American Dharma, I hope he is using a little discretion.”

01/01/65

Handwritten Letter from Kinichi Fukimodo to Robert Aitken.

“And I much appreciate your kindness, when I stayed at your house. But I was also very sad, the fact that you are getting into a dispute with Tai San [Shimano] at that time.”

01/02/65

Handwritten Letter from Shimano to Robert Aitken.

“As I wanted to do everything very legally, I explained to him all the situations of my coming to N.Y. According to the Immigration law, what I have to do is only reporting my address both new and old, to the Dept. of Justice.”

01/04/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Shimano.

“First of all, I have written to Yasutani Roshi, urging him to hold his June, 1965 sesshin in Honolulu at Koko An. I pointed out to him that while members come and go here, a number of old-timers are continuing to attend, and that it would be too bad to split the Sangha by holding the sesshin at some new place. I suggested to him that if Sekida San [Katsuki Sekida] were not here by then, that perhaps you or Kubota San or someone else of his choice could serve as translator.”

“The second matter has to do with your visa. As you will recall, when I applied for visas for Yasutani Roshi and Satomi San, the immigration people asked me why Eido Shimano could not lead our small membership alone, and I had difficulty in explaining the distinction of responsibilities. Now, if I begin visa proceedings for Sekida San [Katsuki Sekida], I will want to be sure that it is understood that you have transferred to another group. Unless I can prove that transfer, I am sure that I will get nowhere, and there will be problems arising from the fact that five months have passed since your resignation and no notification has been made.”

01/07/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dennis Burden.

“The Diamond Sangha wishes to offer to refund the $500.00 which you contributed toward the payment for the Pupukea property. Now that it is definite that the Roshi will not retire here, it is possible that you may regret the donation, and would like to have it returned to you.”

01/07/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Shimano.

“The immigration authorities you consulted in New York were quite correct in stating that, for your purposes, it would only be necessary for you to supply a change of address to your nearest immigration office. From the point of view of the immigration authorities, it is quite all right for the Diamond Sangha to be your sponsor wherever you go within the United States.

From the point of view of the Diamond Sangha, also, there might be no objection to a continuation of your sponsorship, if we were not planning to sponsor someone else. However, I am quite confident that if I initiated sponsorship proceedings for someone else to take your place, the authorities would want to see evidence that you have transferred to another group.”

01/08/65

Letter from Haku'un Yasutani to Robert Aitken.

“I am, as you requested, enclosing my story explaining the reason for changing my plan to settle down in Hawaii so that you could have it appear in the next Diamond Sangha.”

01/08/65

Handwritten Letter from Shimano to Robert Aitken.

“I of course, explained to a immigration officer about your (Kokoan) situation and told him your new plan too. He simply said that it isn't necessary to write an official letter to you in order to show to the immigration office in Honolulu. My transfer will be noticed from Washington to Honolulu so that they will know that I am no longer at Kokoan.”

“I’ll ask Zen Study [sic] Society as that will be our organization”

“If you have any trouble when you apply Sekida san’s visa because of my transfer, please write me. By the way, I don’t think Sekida san does not like to have difficult visa.”

01/12/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Shimano.

"It is quite possible that I might get a visa for Sekida San [Katsuki Sekida] (he wants a professional visa, not a visitor’s visa) if I simply report that you have transferred to New York to such and such address. But there are no rules at all about such matters, and I learned last spring that I should have everything carefully documented if I am to negotiate successfully. If I happen to draw a disagreeable officer, as I did last spring, I will have to produce papers to prove everything I say, and the opinion of the officer in New York will have nothing to do with it.”

“Please, Tai San [Shimano]. This is a very small request. Please have someone responsible for your group write me a letter indicating that you have been transferred to his organization, and give me the name and address of the organization (which can be your address of course), and the title of the person who writes.”

01/30/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Bernard Phillips.

“Soen Roshi has recommended the layman Sekida as a replacement for Tai San [Shimano] here at Koko An.”

“I am in the process of collecting affidavits for this visa"

“It will not be possible for me to begin visa application proceedings until we are officially no longer sponsors of Yasutani and Satomi, as we are a small group, and it is difficult to persuade the Immigration officers that we need two people in addition to Tai San in the first place.”

“When Tai San stopped at Koko An in October, on his way to Japan, I asked him to have his New York sponsors write me indicating their willingness to accept transfer of his sponsorship. He agreed to have this done. However, when he stopped by again on his way back in December, he said that only notification of change of address was necessary.”

“I want to make our attitude completely clear. If we at Koko An had no intention of sponsoring anybody else, we would have no objection to continuing to be Tai San’s sponsor. Our anxiety to transfer him officially is simply that our status as a group without a monk may be plain to the immigration authorities, and our chances for success in a new visa application will be stronger.”

“I wrote to Fischman explaining all this in a polite way in mid-December. I enclosed a stamped self-addressed envelope for his convenience in replying. Tai San used that envelope to answer me, repeating what he had said during his last visit, that he had gone to the New York Immigration Office, and they had told him that he only needed to change his address. I wrote to Tai San twice more trying to explain that his legal status was clear as far as his residence goes, but that I needed to tidy up the sponsorship thing in order to make a new visa application. My last letter was January 12, to which he has not replied.”

"we don’t even have a letter of resignation from Tai San.”

01/30/65

Handwritten Letter from Mitsuaki Suzuki to Robert Aitken.

02/06/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Ray and Marilyn Jordan.

"After Tai San [Shimano] left our morale recovered"

02/06/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Haku'un Yasutani.

Letter concerning visa issues.

“I will not be able to initiate new visa proceedings for Tai San’s [Shimano's] successor until these old responsibilities are cleared up.”

02/10/65

Letter from Anne Aitken to Shimano.

02/15/65

Handwritten Letter from Shimano to Robert Aitken.

02/21/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Mr. Sekida.

“Second, it looks very much as though the New York group which is sponsoring Tai San [Shimano] is not going to send me for a while any sort of release or statement of Tai San’s visa sponsorship.”

“I am afraid that if we wait for Tai San’s group in New York to get busy, we may wait too long and not be able to get any visa at all for the time you wish to leave.”

02/22/65

Letter from Anne Aitken to Shimano.

"It was helpful for us to understand the reason for the delay in transferring sponsorship."

02/23/65

Handwritten Letter from Shimano to Robert Aitken.

03/01/65

Letter from Bernard Phillips to Robert Aitken.

“First I am bound to clear up one misconception you are under – namely that I had any advance knowledge whatsoever of Tai San’s [Shimano's] coming to New York or of the Roshi’s change of plans. You say in your letter ‘If I had known that you were active in planning for his coming to the East Coast I would have kept you informed in detail about this…’ I was neither active in planning for his coming nor was I aware of it in advance. The first wind of it I got was just before Christmas when Mary Reinhart mentioned it to me in a note. When I went to visit the Weiss’s on the New Year’s weekend, I found Tai San had arrived and was setting up an apartment. It was then that I offered to try to get Yasutani Roshi a part-time appointment in my department so he would have some little assured income.”

“We were presented with a fait accompli and now are expected to assume financial and other responsibility. Why didn’t Tai San and the Roshi negotiate with responsible people like myself, the Weiss’s or Lenore Straus in the first place. Were they afraid we wouldn’t agree to their coming? They communicated with only a few irresponsibles in New York who kept the whole thing a secret.”

03/05/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Bernard Phillips.

“Thanks very much for your good letter of March 1, received yesterday. I must say that it was received here with a feeling of relief for reasons I need not set forth on paper. The opaqueness you mention is painfully familiar to us. We regret more than we can say that further training did not seem to be a logical step at meetings in Japan last fall, and that you and our other New York friends are faced with problems which could not be resolved here.”

“Yasutani Roshi wrote me after my letter to you, requesting that I remain as his sponsor until the New York group is ready to take him up on a four-year visa arrangement. I advised him that I would not object to continuing in that status for a short period, but that until he, Satomi San and Tai San [Shimano] were off our rolls, we could not initiate visa sponsorship for Katsuki Sekida. Now I am leaving on a two-month trip to Asia very soon, so it looks as though we can only sponsor Sekida as a visitor, if we are to clean things up before I leave, so that he can be here for the July Sesshin. This will mean an expensive round-trip for Sekida back to Japan next year to get his visa status changed. As usual Anne and I will foot the bill.”

03/14/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Shimano.

04/01/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dr. Linus Pauling, Jr.

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dr. Linus Pauling, Jr. asking for advice on how to handle immigration status of his patient.

04/19/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Shimano.

“I am just now typing up the dummy before cutting the stencils for our next issue of Diamond Sangha, which we hope to print at the end of the week.”

07/01/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Shimano.

08/05/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

“[Redacted] came back from her extended trip to the Mainland last week, and today she asked if she could have a conference with Anne and me. It turned out that she wanted to confess her entire relationship with Tai San [Shimano] and request permission to return to Koko An membership. Of course she left Koko An voluntarily in the first place, and there was no question of our forgiving and readmitting, such actions were unnecessary and we told her so. However, her confession helps her mental attitude, I am sure. She tells us that in the past she threatened Tai San with complete exposure, and even wrote him that she would kill him.

She came to Hawaii in the first place because she regarded him as an enlightened monk who could guide her to kensho. He seduced her within a few days of her arrival, and they were lovers thereafter. She was surprised at this turn of affairs, but accepted it, thinking that it could be a means for her kensho. He had told her that he would locate permanently in Hawaii, so when he left for the extended trip with Yasutani Roshi, she was very upset. Upon his return early in 1964, he resumed their relationship, not mentioning his engagement until a month or so later. This coincides with his affair with [redacted], which also began after his engagement and after his return from his world tour.

(See entry of 08/12/64)

It seems that she felt very guilty about accepting kindness from Anne and me, while all the time she was, she thought, deceiving us. This guilty feeling probably had a bad effect upon her mental attitude. It occurs to me that this may be the source of [redacted's] present illness. At the present time [redacted] is quite a lot worse, and is not allowed visitors at the hospital. I intend to consult with her doctor about this point. Perhaps we are killing her with kindness.”

08/09/65

Letter from Robert Aitken to Bernard Phillips.

“Recently Tai San [Shimano] sent Mr. Sekida a notice of his change of address, enclosing a mimeographed “Zazen Schedule” on the letterhead of The Zen Studies Society, Inc. This letterhead lists Dr. Suzuki, Yasutani Roshi and Nakagawa Roshi as Advisors, and you, Paul Weiss and Tai San as officers. I gather by this that the organization to sponsor Tai San is now established.

Therefore, I hope that I may request that you send me an official little letter, addressed to me as Chairman of the Diamond Sangha, at my home address, and signed by you or Paul with your title, indicating that The Zen Studies Society has accepted transfer of sponsorship of Eido Shimano, guaranteeing that the organization will assume full responsibility for him under the laws regulating the sponsorship of aliens in the United States on permanent visa status.

When I receive this letter, then I will feel free to notify the Immigration and Naturalization Service that Tai San has transferred.”

10/25/65

Handwritten Letter from Shimano to Robert Aitken.

"I need a Selective Service registration Card (Certificate?) for my citizenship. If I am correct, I remember that just after my arrival in Honolulu in 1960, you took me to the Selective service system near the library, (it is also near the post office I think) and I registered. I received a card(s), but I can not find it (or them). I may lost it.

It is now very important for me to have that card, or their statement that I did register. I need it very soon.”

(See fourteen entries since 12/24/64 concerning Aitken's request for a simple document for the INS confirming Shimano's transfer to another sponsor.)

08/00/66

Letter from Sylvan Busch to "Dear Friend."

08/00/66

Announcement.

08/19/66

Letter from Haku'un Yasutani and Shimano to "Dear Friend."

01/09/67

Letter from Shimano to Robert Aitken.

We would be greatly honored if you and one or two of your students could be present for this rare occasion. I believe that the transmission of Buddha-Dharma will be greatly aided by our togetherness. If your schedule does not allow you to be away for such an extended period of time, we hope that you may participate in at least the opening ceremony of July 4th. However, please note that your students are welcome to attend the Sesshin even in your absence."

02/26/68

New York Zendo Property Records for the Shobo-Ji Temple at 223 East 67th Street.

01/12/70

Public Record ZSS Townhouse - 356 East 69th Street, NYC, NY.

"THE ZEN STUDIES SOCIETY INC., a membership corporation..."

06/18/70

Handwritten Letter from Shimano to Robert Aitken.

11/02/70

Letter from Robert Aitken to Shimano.

10/21/74

Letter from Dorris Carlson to Yasuko Shimano.

"It is only because of the spiritual stature of Eido Roshi that I gave any funds to the Zen Studies Society."

Dorris Carlson was the wife of Chester F. Carlson, the inventor of xerography.

(See letter of 02/08/84)

00/00/76

Excerpts from Namu Dai Bosa by Senzaki, Nakagawa, Shimano Concerning Supporters.

01/09/76

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Opening Brochure.

02/10/76

Letter from Robert Aitken to Shimano.

I have considered this matter together with Anne and with other members of our sangha, and decided to arrange matters so that I can accept. It is an important event, and I am looking forward to participating.

I will take part in both the sesshin and the opening ceremonies, and will come to Shoboji on June 26 to accept your generous offer of overnight accomodations and transportation on the 27th to Kongo-ji, I will be accompanied by two students, Lucile Jenkins and Nelson Foster, Lucile may go directly to Kongo-ji on the 27th. as she has relatives in upstate New York who can drive her. This is not settled yet, and she will let you know. Nelson will meet us at Shoboji and stay overnight on the 26th."

05/09/79

Unknown Source List of Investigators.

01/29/81

Letter from Robert Aitken to Rick Fields.

01/31/81

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

"Next on the agenda for discussion was a plan for training Dai Bosatsu monks in Japan for a period of one year commencing in the spring of 1983 at the conclusion of the 1000 days. Roshi expressed concern for the future leadership of both Zendos in the absence of any interested Japanese priests."

"The trip to China planned in the fall of 1981 was next discussed"

02/21/81

Handwritten Letter (Draft?) from Robert Aitken to Unnamed (Nakagawa?) Rōshi.

“I am writing primarily to tell you that I decided definitely not to attend the meeting of Zen teachers this year and notified Abe Sensei of this decision. I told him that I could no longer pretend that Eido Rōshi is my colleague. Baker Rōshi telephoned to me and the upshot of our conversation is that he will not attend, and I hear that Maezumi Rōshi will also not go – all for the same reason.”

“Recently a former monk of Dai Bosatsu joined our group, and in sharing time with Maui Zendo residents, he said enough about Eido Rōshi so that everyone here now knows how unhealthy things are at the Zen Studies Society. I had kept silent about it before that, so only senior people knew about it.”

“Eido Rōshi is a bad teacher, but he is not weak, and will not disappear. Something must be done, or eventually all the scandal will appear in the media, and American Zen will be seriously damaged. For most Americans, morality and religion are inseparable, so the fact that a Zen teacher could be so immoral colors all of Zen immoral.”

01/13/82

Letter from Koshin Harvey Ussery to Jochi George Zournas.

01/26/82

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

"For various reasons, some monks and residents have left."

"Aside from sesshins, limit DBZ during off-season months to male resident students and the remaining monks."

05/01/82

Confidential Memorandum from Robert Aitken to Taizan Maezumi and Richard Baker.

"I make this suggestion because it is evident that Japanese authorities will not move, and that Shimano will continue to maintain his image one way or another if we continue our silence.  Thus our silence is really a kind of complicity, and the Dharma is being harmed in the process."

"We take this means to announce to our members that we do not endorse Eido Tai Shimano as a teacher of Zen Buddhism.  Over the years we have met many former students of Mr. Shimano, and we include a number of them in our own assemblies. Upon consulting with these students, it became clear to us long ago that Mr. Shimano is so involved with personal concerns that he cannot be clear about the Buddha Dharma or empathetic in personal relationships."

07/31/82

Letter from Jochi George Zournas to Shimano.

09/11/82

Letter from Kigen Adam Fisher to Robert Aitken.

"With any luck, this latest éclat will be published in the Village Voice together with its predecessors and effect something that all previous attempts at reasonable discussion could not."

09/11/82

Jochi George Zournas to Jack Clareman - ZSS Attorney.

"As you know Mr. Shimano is now being accused by Mrs. Robin Westen of attempting to seduce her in New York Zendo."

09/12/82

Letter from Jochi George Zournas to Robert Aitken.

09/14/82

Letter from Jochi George Zournas to ZSS Board of Trustees.

"So, at this time I call on Eido Roshi to spare the Buddha Dharma and the Zen Studies Society further embarrassment and humiliation and follow through with his determination to resign. If he does so, I ask that this letter be destroyed and nothing entered into the minutes of the Society concerning what is revealed herein. If Eido Roshi chooses not to resign, I demand that this letter be made a part of the minutes of the meeting and ask that some Bodhisattva present summon the courage necessary to move that the Board remove Eido Roshi and Yasuko Shimano as, respectively, Chairman and Treasurer of the Zen Studies Society, and Eido Roshi as Abbot of Dai Bosatsu Zendo and New York Zendo Shoboji."

"Last Saturday, Rinko and I called on Dr. Tadao Ogura, Senior Psychiatrist of the South Oaks Hospital and a long-time friend of the Shimanos. We spent almost four hours with him discussing our problems with the Shimanos. It was a difficult, painful experience for us all, but at the end Dr. Ogura spoke for a long, long time and then summarized his feelings, thus: 'As for Mrs. Shimano, there pours from her a violent stream of hatred and anger that is unacceptable. What its source is I do not know. But I do know she is an exceptionally strong woman and she has completed swallowed Eido Roshi. As for Eido Roshi, he is basically a weak man. The great energy that has enabled him to make such a splendid contribution at Dai Bosatsu and Shoboji has also been channeled into sexual energy. But this energy he is completely unable to control. This coupled with his lying, makes it essential that he be removed from Dai Bosatsu and Shoboji. Wherever he goes, he should never again be given a position of primary authority.' "

09/14/82

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

Eido Roshi stated that he wished to resign from The Zen Studies Society both as its chairman and a member of the board. He said he wished to remain abbot of the two Zendos, Dai Bosatsu and Shobo-ji.

After some discussion, a show of hands was called for to decide if Eido Roshi should resign as abbot. Two hands were raised, and the proposal was defeated. A show of hands then was called for to determine if, remaining as abbot, he should take a sabbatical leave. By a vote of five to two, a sabbatical leave was the decision."

"Aiho [Yasuko Shimano] stated that she would resign as treasurer of The Zen Studies Society and would help a new treasurer, when appointed, to take over the duties of that post. She stated that she would remain on the board, and that she and the Roshi would continue to reside at the house at 356 East 69 Street, as had been the wish of the Carlsons in giving the house to The Zen Studies Society."

09/17/82

Letter from Mushin Frank LoCicero and Kigen Adam Fisher to "Dear Friend."

"For many years now, Eido Roshi has engaged in sexual activities with some of his female students."

09/20/82

Letter from Jochi George Zournas to Jack Clareman.

“I should, of course, have realized that Mr. Shimano was lying when he assured me that he intended to resign his offices at this meeting and return to Japan. When it was obvious that he and his wife had no intentions of resigning, Mr. Frank LoCicero came forward and moved that they be removed from their offices by the Board.”

“Mr. Busch, despite his assurance to me at the time of the [redacted] and [redacted] [redacted] sexual encounters with Mr. Shimano that he would not support him through another scandal and despite the prayer made in my apartment the previous Wednesday that the Shimanos would “resign and leave quietly,” did not open his mouth to show any disapproval of Mr. and Mrs. Shimano’s activities.”

09/20/82

Letter from Jochi George Zournas to Sangha.

Mentions an anticipated exposé article, the events in Hawaii and mistreatment of Soen Nakagawa.

09/26/82

Letter from Rinko Peggy Crawford to Shimano, Aiho, Korin, Jochi, Jikei, Mushin, Bugyo, Genro, Kogen, Soen Nakagawa, Dr. Ogura and Other Concerned Persons.

"I was also disillusioned by the lies and hypocrisy surrounding Eido Roshi's alleged behavior with and towards women students."

"I was mystified by a letter written me by Eido Roshi to remove me from the Board"

09/27/82

Letter from Jochi George Zournas to Sangha.

10/01/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to Adam Fisher.

I know nothing of the newest éclat. I am not particularly interested in knowing the gory details, but if something is published, I would be grateful for a copy.

I think it would be very important, as you say, for people going "through the trauma of a "death" to gather weekly or fortnightly for sharing as well as for zazen."

10/08/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to Dr. Tadao Ogura.

"If there is anything I can do from this remove to expedite your inquiry, please let me know. I will not hesitate to write up the 1964 eclat in detail if this would be helpful."

10/08/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to Jochi George Zournas.

10/11/82

Letter from Jochi George Zournas to Robert Aitken.

10/15/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to Xxxxx Xxxxxxx.

"I think that it is most unfortunate that your name was mentioned in one of the letters which Zournas wrote to the members of the Zen Studies Society. He could easily have omitted it, it seems to me. I feel that this is a symptom of the upset there -- people's good judgment have gone awry, and it is no wonder. I know you must feel that this was a personal violation."

"I am glad that Sōen Rōshi finally got off the dime and helped to bring things to a head. I believe if he had acted earlier, there would be no story in the New York Magazine or on A.B.C. news. Although I told Ms. Westen that I thought a well written story would clear the air, still I feel that the Buddhadharma will suffer, at least for a while."

10/15/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to Soen Nakagawa.

"I furnished Dr. Ogura with the names and addressee of two of the three psychiatrists who treated the two women who had mental breakdowns in 1964. I gave him the name of the third psychiatrist who has moved away from Hawaii, doubtless he can find his address from a medical directory. I did not provide Dr. Ogura with any more information except to observe that Eido Rōshi's departure from Hawaii was directly linked to the breakdowns of the two women. I hear now that Dr. Ogura has not been able to proceed with the investigation for reasons connected to disorganization in the Zen Studies Society"

10/15/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to Robin Westen.

"It must be a painful time for everyone. And even though Sōen Rōshi has spoken out against the Shimanos, I am sure that he is concerned about what will become of them and all that negative energy."

10/16/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to Koun Yamada.

"It seems that Sōen Rōshi publicly - confronted Eido Shimano in New York and told him before others that he was a liar and a seducer of women. He also told people that there had been a scandal about women when Tai San was in Hawaii."

"I regret that I was not able to persuade Sōen Rōshi and Yasutani Rōshi that Tai San was a sociopath who should be recalled, back there in 1964."

10/19/82

Letter from Shimano to ZSS Sangha.

10/19/82

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

"After some discussion, upon motion duly made and seconded, it was RESOLVED that the Zen Studies Society acknowledges and declares Eido Tai Shimano Roshi to be the founder, and the first and present abbot of Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji and New York Zendo Shobo-ji; and Soen Roshi and the late Nyogen Senzaki to be honorary founders; and that Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji and New York Zendo Shobo-ji are and will remain independent from any other Zen Buddhist organization here or abroad."

"Next on the agenda, Bugyo David Schneyer called for reconsideration of the decision made at the January, board meeting to exclude women from DBZ between September 20 and January 4 excepting during sesshins. After some discussion, it was decided that following Rohatsu at DBZ December 10, 1982, women will be permitted to live and work at DBZ as residents and students."

10/19/82

Official ZSS Press Release.

(See entries of 10/19/82 and 05/21/84 )

10/19/82

Letter from Rinko Peggy Crawford to Shimano, Aiho, Korin, Jochi, Jikei, Mushin, Bugyo, Genro, Kogen, Soen Nakagawa, Dr. Ogura and Other Concerned Persons.

"Many new Sangha members have gotten in touch with me in confusion."

"The above letter was read by me to the Board last night. The proposal was not seconded, nor discussed. Instead it became clear that Japanese temple politics are what really counts for Eido Roshi. Whether it is a fact that he is being plotted against by Myoshinji Headquarters through Soen Roshi, or whether this is just another twist of Eido's in his personal battle for survival, I do not know. But I now resign from the Board of the Zen Studies Society because I have no interest in the political question and I do not see that the spiritual growth of Zendo members is of primary concern for Eido."

10/21/82

Letter from Rinko Peggy Crawford to "Dear Sangha Friend."

I have now completed my sequence of feelings and search for knowledge, and the enclosed letters will describe that to you, if it is of any interest to you."

10/21/82

Letter from Shimano to George Zournas, Soen Nakagawa, Dokyu Nakagawa, Dr. Ogura, Dr. Donden, Jack Clareman, Mr. & Mrs. Ballard and Others.

(See entry of 08/05/93 )

10/27/82

"Eido's shame is Soen's shame, the shame of Dai Bosatsu is the shame of Ryutakuji and every Buddhist monastery in the world"

10/29/82

Letter from Koun Yamada to Robert Aitken.

11/01/82

Letter from Adam Fisher to Shimano.

"The situation: your manipulation of the dokusan setting for your own periodic sexual satisfaction (seducing women); treating lovers taken from within the sangha with contempt once you had finished with them; and taking no candid responsibility for your own behavior but rather answering direct, honest and caring queries with, in one form or another, the line you used in a jam-packed zendo in 1975: 'it's none of your business.' "

11/03/82

Letter from Jochi George Zournas to Taizan Maezumi and Richard Baker.

11/03/82

Letter from Jochi George Zournas to Robert Aitken.

"his [Shimano's] principle aim has been to discredit Soen Roshi in every way that he can so as to undercut any censure of Taisan's activities that Soen Roshi might make."

"One of the elements that has been used by Taisan to deflect everyone from the real problem at hand -- namely, his sexual activities with his women students and (for some, even more important) his lying about it -- is the introduction of Myoshinji into the situation."

"As you can see from the enclosed letter from Taisan, his paranoia has now extended so far as to charge the Venerable Yamada Mumon Roshi with an attempt to add Dai Bosatsu to Myoshinji territory."

11/03/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to Koun Yamada.

"Back in 1964, one of the women involved with him [Shimano] bought a gun and was going to shoot him, but her episode passed before circumstances would permit."

11/11/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to Taizan Maezumi and Richard Baker.

11/11/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to Robin Westen.

11/11/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to Jochi George Zournas.

11/30/82

Draft of a Release Document.

11/30/82

Letter from Ted Gamble Clause to Robert Aitken.

12/16/82

Letter from Robert Aitken to "Dear Friends."

12/29/82

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Annual Meeting.

04/13/83

Letter from Jochi George Zournas to Robert Aitken, cc: Soen Nakagawa, Taizan Maezumi, Richard Baker, Maureen Freedgood.

"the principle feeling is that of betrayal, and the wounds do indeed go very deep."

"Margot [Wilkie] indicated that Brother David will no longer appear on the same platform with Taisan."

"No matter how effective we are in convincing ourselves intellectually that he [Shimano] is mentally ill and, as one authority said, 'should be removed from his current position and never given a position of primary authority again,' this deep feeling of grief persists."

04/21/83

Hand writted (Draft?) Letter from Robert Aitken to Jochi George Zournas.

"I urge you to put your anguish aside and ask a psychologist or psychiatrist you trust to lead a group of former members including yourself in therapeutic sessions that will enable you to work through your grief and sense of betrayal."

05/08/83

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

07/05/83

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

"Continuing the discussion of the N.Y. Zendo, Roshi charged Kogen and Genro to clarify who the members are and to urge prompt payment of dues. To facilitate compiling a membership list and also a mailing list, financial statements and other matters, the board determined to investigate the computer market and to purchase a computer before the end of the year."

09/11/83

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

"It was the gift to the Zen Studies Society of the Carlsons, and the proposed sale has been discussed with Doris [sic] Carlson."

Selling old Bowman Owen house, changing bylaws to enable three organizations to operate separately, computer fund.

10/01/83

Letter from Robert Aitken to Leslie Savan.

11/20/83

Letter from Shimano to "Dear Friends."

"P.S. it goes without saying that New York Zendo and Dai Bosatsu Zendo are imperturbable."

12/21/83

Letter from Shimano to the ZSS Board of Directors.

12/21/83

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

12/21/83

ZSS Board of Trustees Resolution.

00/00/84

Blind Donkey, the Newsletter of Honolulu Diamond Sangha.

(See entry of no date.)

01/01/84

ZSS Board of Trustees Report.

01/21/84

Letter from Korin Sylvan Busch as Board President, to the Shimanos.

01/31/84

Letter from Leslie Savan to Robert Aitken.

02/08/84

Letter from Mrs. Chester F. Carlson to Jean Bankier.

"it was my wish that the property at 356 East 69th Street should not be sold"

"It was never my intention to make a gift of $160,000 to the Roshi."

"the proceeds of the sale should be returned to me, The Chester and Dorris Carlson Charitable Trust"

"Very simply, I want it clearly understood that I do not authorize the sale of the property"

"an atmosphere and behavior inconsistent with Zen teachings has taken place in and around The Zen Studies Society."

(See her letter of 10/21/74 )

"Indeed, I do not share that same confidence in him that I once did and this is because so many reliable sources have reported to me that the spiritual stature of the Zen Studies Society has been compromised over the years because of Eido Roshi's behavior."

02/17/84

Letter from Korin Sylvan Busch to Mrs. Chester F. Carlson.

"your letter of February 8th came as a complete surprise."

02/29/84

Letter from Board Member David Leddick to Korin Sylvan Busch.

"The Carlson fund could then pay the Roshi perhaps a salary of about $3,000 monthly, and the apartment maintenance of $500 monthly, and as we discussed perhaps it would be good to pay Aiho [Yasuko Shimano] $500 or more monthly as the Zen Studies Society bookkeeper."

"as a member of the Board of Directors and the Chairman of The Carlson Fund Committee I have some concern that the sale of the house and the use of the money be accepted by Mrs. Carlson"

"And legal or not, I don't think we can ignore the difficulty we could be in should there be legal process with her [Mrs. Carlson's] wealth and power behind it."

"she [Mrs. Carlson] could cause many problems if she is determined"

"The Society's lawyer, Jack Clareman, told me today that he in fact has never seen any document relating to the original [Carlson] endowment"

Chester F. Carlson was the inventor of xerography.

03/00/84

Letter from Korin Sylvan Busch as Board President, to the Shimanos.

Signature spaces are provided but this document is unsigned by the Shimanos.

(See entry of 03/01/85)

03/06/84

Letter from Mrs. Chester F. Carlson to Korin Sylvan Busch.

Dorris Carlson was the wife of Chester F. Carlson, the inventor of xerography.

"You placed great emphasis (and total confidence) in the Roshi’s reported conversation with me on September 19, that I had agreed to the idea of selling the townhouse and therefore having done that, agreed to the whole scheme of things which ultimately provides for a significant benefit to the Roshi and his wife. September 19, as you know is the anniversary of Chester Carlson's passing. But it should not be the anniversary of a Roshi's deception. I did not approve of the plan that he ultimately announced in the December 21 letter." 

"Do not create a 'Carlson fund' as I will determine how the money shall be used in keeping with the original intentions I had in 1974. And further, under the present circumstances, I do not want the Carlson name used by the Zen Studies Society in any manner. I shall await the reply from the Board of Directors."

"I do not want the Carlson name used by the Zen Studies Society in any manner."

Chester F. Carlson graduated from Caltech 1930 with a degree in physics. He obtained employment at Bell Laboratories and went on to work for a patent attorney and for Mallory Battery company (now Duracell).

At Mallory, he developed the concepts that were to serve as the basis for the electrophotography technique (xerography). By 1937, he filed his first patent; it was expanded and approved in 1942.  (U.S. Patent 2,297,691)

In October 1938, he successfully produced first xerographic copy. In 1944, Carlson was able to interest the Battelle Institute to work on developing a commercial application. Eventually, Haloid (later to become Xerox) was licensed to manufacture copy machines. The first ones came out in 1946.

Chester Carlson died of a heart attack in 1968; at age 62. He donated much of his royalties to science, civil rights causes, paranormal investigation and world peace. His wife and widow, Dorris, continued his philanthropy through the Chester and Dorris Carlson Charitable Trust. She passed away in 1998 at age 94.

(See prior entry and entry of 06/00/98)

(See entry of 11/20/84)

03/13/84

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

"Eido Roshi opened the meeting, saying that Nakagawa Soen Roshi had passed away Sunday, March 11." 

"In re the difficulties between himself and Dorris Carlson, Eido Roshi said that however the board decided to handle the matter would be agreeable to him. He then turned the meeting over to Korin Sylvan Busch."

"Korin reviewed the correspondence with Dorris Carlson. He said her chief misapprehension seemed to be

1.) that Eido Roshi would be paid for the apartment at 333 East 69 St. and it would become his;

2.) that there would be a survivors' pension; and

3.) that a gift would be made to Aiho--whereas it is the board's intention 1.) that the apartment be the official "parsonage" and property of The Zen Studies Society; 2.) that there would be no material benefit to the Shimanos from the funds realized, and subsequently invested, from the sale; and

3.) that Aiho be given not a gift (as was suggested at the meeting of December 21 and which our counsel has since advised would be illegal) but a modest salary for her ongoing work as treasurer for The Zen Studies Society and N.Y. Zendo."

03/27/84

Letter from Korin Sylvan Busch to Mrs. Chester F. Carlson.

“I’m sorry if my letter of February 17th was not sufficiently explicit about our legal intentions regarding the sale of our present parsonage, the townhouse.”

“The Roshi’s and Yasuko’s tenure and relationship to the new apartment continues as it has in the townhouse, and if for any reason they vacate the apartment, being the property of the Society, we would be obliged to sell it. All proceeds from a sale would belong to the Zen Studies Society. There will be no so called ‘survivors pension’ or gift to anyone.”

 “I am sorry that you prefer us not to use the Carlson name, We will, of course, abide by your wishes although our intention was to honor Chester and yourself.”

04/09/84

Public Record ZSS Townhouse - 356 East 69th Street, NYC, NY.

"THE ZEN STUDIES SOCIETY INC., a New York Not-For-Profit corporation..."

04/14/84

ZSS Financial Report.

05/21/84

Sōen Nakagawa Death Announced by Shimano.

(Sōen died 03/11/84)

"at this point I feel it is most proper if we consider Sōen Rōshi as the founder and Nyogen Senzaki as the 'karmic' founder."

(See entry: Press Release of 10/19/82 )

"I want to invite you to participate in the creation of a memorial — called the Founders Fund"

05/31/84

Letter to Zen Studies Society Endowment Fund Committee from David Leddick.

“the parsonage house was sold for $785,00.00.  And after fees, taxes and commissions there was a balance of $735,599.00  This was placed in the Shearson AmEx account, and from this account $160,000.00 was refunded to Eido Roshi Shimano for expenses in purchasing another parsonage apartment.” 

“I think we must meet to discuss this situation immediately.  It should be very clear that the Endowment Fund is not the Business Manager for the Zen Studies Society. It only is designed to provide income, not administrate it. And the administration of Society funds doesn't seem to be very realistically related to its income from the Endowment Fund.”

07/16/84

Letter from Robert Aitken to Brother David.

"I note with some discomfort that you are appearing on the same podium with Shimano at Naropa. Would you do this with a Christian priest with the same reputation?"

07/16/84

Sketches of Stone Memorial at DBZ Cemetery.

07/16/84

Letter from Brian Baron to Koun Yamada.

08/03/84

Excerpts of Letter from Paul Shepard to Brian Baron.

08/16/84

Handwritten (Draft?) Letter from Robert Aitken to Kyudo Nakagawa.

"Eido Rōshi implies in his signed article in Four Seasons that Sōen Rōshi was alcoholic and demented in his last years."

"His meaning would also be that Sōen Rōshi was not responsible for his own actions and that therefore Sōen Rōshi's withdrawing his inka should be disregarded."

08/17/84

Handwritten Letter (Draft?) from Robert Aitken to Sochu Suzuki.

"In brief, these statements are to the effect that in his last years Sōen Rōshi was an alcoholic and not in his right mind; "

"As you know, Zen Buddhism has fallen into disrepute in the United States, with many scandals at various centers, beginning at the New York Zen Studies Society."

08/17/84

Letter from Robert Aitken to Koun Yamada.

"I am not emotionally involved in this issue; I dismissed Shimano from my mind many years ago. However, as a Zen leader, it is my responsibility to know the facts in such an important matter, particularly in view of the general problem of scandals in Zen centers in this country."

"The various scandals have affected many people, resulting in emotional disturbance, even mental collapse in some cases."

11/20/84

Letter from Robert Aitken to Rosemary Kiefer.

"At the funeral for Soen Roshi, Eido Shimano was shown to a seat in a section for other former monks of Ryutakuji but not, to a seat in a section for Dharma heirs of Soen Roshi and other Roshis. I was told that this was a clear signal that he is not considered a Roshi by his Japanese colleagues."

"Eido Shimano was given a portion of Soen Roshi's ashes to take with him back to the United States. I was told that this was not intended in any way as an endorsement of Eido Shimano and his work, but rather a recognition of the deep investment in transmitting Zen to the West which Soen Roshi made over many decades."

"Eido Shimano requested a kesa of Soen Roshi and this request was denied.

However, it seems that he returned to the United States with one of Soen Roshi's white robes."

"So, any transmission given to Eido Shimano by Soen Roshi was informal, and any withdrawal of that transmission would also have been informal. Neither action was ever mentioned at Ryutakuji by Soen Roshi. Confirmation of the rumor that the informal transmission was withdrawn should thus be made in New York."

12/18/84

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

“the newsletter henceforth would be published in New York City” 

“He [Genro Lee Milton] stated that the 11 members of the NYZ committee had been elected by the sangha, since which time two members have dropped out. After some discussion, upon motion duly made and seconded, it was resolved that the NYZ committee should be and was empowered to retain the members now serving on the committee and to fill vacancies as they occur without consulting the sangha.”

“For the ZSS -Endowment Fund, Mr. Leddick reviewed the financial consequences of the sale of the parsonage house at 269 [actually 356] East 69 St., the purchase of the parsonage apartment 4K at 333 East 69 St., and the investment of profits to provide interest income. He stated that expenses occurring in connection with the death of Soen Roshi had required the redemption of some holdings. Recently, an opportunity had arisen to purchase a more suitable parsonage apartment 3J at 333 East 69 St., for $385,000, necessitating a further redemption of notes. The first parsonage apartment, 4K, had been put up for sale, and a serious offer to buy it for $190,000 had been received and accepted. After payment of a broker's fee, $178,600 will remain to be invested as before.”

12/20/84

Letter from Board Member David Leddick to The Zen Studies Society Endowment Fund Committee.

03/01/85

Letter from Korin Sylvan Busch as Board President, to the Shimanos.

(Concerning the disposition of the Townhouse issue.)

This document is signed by the Shimanos.

(See entry of 03/00/84)

03/12/85

ZSS Townhouse Parsonage Sale Report.

07/04/85

Minutes of a Special ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

11/30/85

00/00/86

DBZ Publicity Brochure 1986.

01/21/86

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Annual Meeting.

01/27/86

Letter from Bugyo David Schnyer to Shimano, copied to the ZSS Board of Directors.

"I find your recent decision to expend 30-40 thousand dollars to celebrate the 10th Anniversary, nearly 20 thousand of which will go to gifts, an unnecessary extravagance."

"Furthermore, the fact that you declared this to the Board without even speaking with or getting the approval of the Committee Chairman and Treasurer makes the action not only dishonest and improper but also illegal."

02/11/86

Minutes of special ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

07/10/86

Schedule of 10th Anniversary Celebration.

08/26/86

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

02/24/87

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Annual Meeting.

09/15/87

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

11/25/87

Memorandum from Jikei Jean Bankier to ZSS Board of Trustees.

01/10/88

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Annual Meeting.

07/08/88

Letter from Jikei Jean Bankier to Genro Lee Milton.

"please be advised that the board of trustees accepts your resignation and unanimously requests a written confirmation of it."

07/08/88

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

09/13/88

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

"He then announced his decision to resign as Abbot of New York Zendo effective December 31, 1988."

(See entries of 01/07/89 - 04/28/02 - 03/23/03)

11/18/88

Letter from Junpo Denis Kelley to ZSS Sangha.

01/07/89

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

"His purpose in going to Japan was not only to have a sabbatical, but also deliberately to be away from the U.S. to give the American students a chance to be self-sufficient and to grow."

(See entries of 09/13/88 - 04/28/02 - 03/23/03)

08/17/89

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

"intimated that a permanent Open Center be built within five years - a separate building away from the monastery"

"consider the probability of DBZ students being used as hotel staff to cater to the visitors"

01/16/90

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

03/31/90

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

"Denis Kelley remarked that most other Zen groups had problems with students not wanting to leave, while here they do not seem to stay on."

12/19/90

Letter from Bugyo David Schnyer to Hozo Wilkie Pretorius ZSS Board President.

01/13/90

Minutes of ZSS Board of Trustees Meeting.

01/14/91

03/01/91

ZSS Board of Directors Meeting Agenda.

07/30/91

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

01/31/92

Letter from Jikei Jean Bankier to Shingo John Brady.

03/01/92

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

03/01/92

Yearly Calendar.

03/01/92

DBZ Roster of Residents.

07/19/92

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

10/00/92

ZSS Newsletter Autumn/Winter 1992.

(See entries of 00/00/03 and 10/00/03)

12/09/92

Letter from Junpo Denis Kelly to Xxxxx.

"Financial matters to discuss with attorney."

12/31/92

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Profit and Loss Report.

00/00/93

Letter from Eshin Brenda Lukeman, aka Dr. Brenda Shoshanna, to "Dear Kuon and Sangha."

01/12/93

Letter from Xxxxx (Survivor's Fiance) to Shimano.

"The most important piece in this for me [survivor's fiance] is the deception. I understand and have lived the beauty of secrets and secrecy. This situation did not have the purity of a secret for very long. It turned into outright deception, lying and manipulation. Deception and lying that caused pain, suffering and loss of trust. We are all trying to alleviate pain and suffering, not increase it. It is incomprehensible and irreconcilable to me how you can expect your students to adhere to Buddhist principles, precepts and vows that you secretly do not keep."

01/26/93

Letter from Survivor Xxxxxxx to Junpo Denis Kelly.

"I [survivor] am still too embarrassed and fragile to talk to him [Shimano]. But [survivor's fiance] and he [Shimano] had some very heart felt talks. Roshi owned 100% responsibility, was concerned about my welfare, and was open to seeing his stuck place in this patriarchal system. He was very open with [survivor's fiance]. But his main fear was that his wife would find out!"

01/26/93

Letter from Survivor Xxxxxxx to Shimano.

"So, you can understand the intensity of my distress at having to keep our affair a secret from the people whom I love. When I told you my distress about our relationship and you told me to lie, I was devastated! I was caught in the position of either telling this secret and 'getting you into trouble,' or keeping it inside me and feeling very emotionally and physically ill."

"However, I am still upset about this whole matter of deceit. Because you have been in this same situation with other women in the past, the emergence of the truth here may have some far-reaching consequences. People will question your integrity, honesty and purpose. I do not intend to cause trouble for you. I care about you. But I am upset about the element of deceit you required me to maintain."

01/30/93

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

Bylaws, New Board Members, Selection of Officers, Committee Reports and Retirement Compensation Committee.

01/30/93

ZSS Board of Directors Proposed By-Laws Draft.

"The Corporation (herein sometimes referred to as the Society) shall have no members." 

02/06/93

Letter from Three DBZ Executive Committee Members to the ZSS Board of Directors.

"We were disturbed and saddened to hear about Roshi's affair with a Kessei student and are worried about the repercussions of this matter. We hope that together we can encourage Roshi to resolve this situation honestly. We feelit in the best interest of Zen Studies Society, Shobji and Dai Bosatsu Zendo, to encourage the Board to ask Roshi to return from Japan as soon as possible."

02/06/93

Letter of Resignation from Dharma Heir, Junpo Denis Kelly to ZSS Board of Directors.

"After two weeks of deep and anguished soul searching I find that Eido Roshi and I are diametrically opposed on two critical, irreconcilable issues: the first being Buddhist ethics or precepts, and the second being the philosophy of teaching"

02/06/93

Minutes of ZSS Special Board of Directors Meeting.

"The purpose of this Special Meeting was to accept the formal resignation of Junpo Denis Kelly as Vice Abbot and Head Monk at Dai Bosatsu Zendo."

"Kelly read his letter of resignation (copy attached), and added that he and Eido Roshi was [sic] of similar character, lacking ethical and moral standards. However, in October 1992, upon receiving transmission, he had to face what it meant to defend the dharma and he wanted to change. Eido Roshi was not willing to do the same, and Kelly therefore requested the board to consider not allowing him to teach. He intended to spend the next, three years eliminating lust and other characteristics from his own persona."

02/18/93

Letter from Muin Bernard Spitz to ZSS Sangha.

02/26/93

Letter from Tashi Linda Baylor to ZSS Board of Directors.

"the fact that we were not charging our customers sales tax when they purchased items from the store. There was some confusion on Roshi's part regarding our tax exemption and the understanding that we were exempt if we sold religious items to our guests and guest students. Both New York Zendo and Dai Bosatsu Zendo do not charge sales tax."

03/01/93

A Report by Daichi Vasken Kalayjian.

"PROFESSIONAL MISCONDUCT"

"Many have called this sexual misconduct, and legal opinions view this as sexual harassment. I view it as a mistake that we all should find in our hearts to forgive."

"I tend to agree that in order to change what appears to be behavioral patterns, one needs professional assistance."

"QUESTIONABLE FINANCES"

"FUTURE GOALS AND ISSUES"

03/04/93

Fax from Douglas L. Leight, Ltd. to Daichi Vasken Kalayjian.

231

03/06/93

19930306R_Alternate_ZSS_Board.pdf

(An alternate version of the minutes.)

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

"In his opening remarks Eido Roshi apologized for causing sadness and confusioin and explained the philosophical differences hetween him and Denis Kelly."

"Ed Glassing read a statement from the Dai Bosatsu Zendo Executive Committee (copy attached). Eido Roshi declined a request that he undergo counselling. Glassing and Fran Perriello were asked to draw up guidelines for behavior in conjunction with attorney Robert Greene."

"Vasken Kalayjian was asked to investigate indemnity insurance and report to the board."

The alternate version of these minutes contains significant material not included in the apparently "official" version.

03/10/93

Letter of Resignation from Board Member / Survivor.

"Effective immediately, I resign as a member of the Board of Directors of the Zen Studies Society."

03/16/93

Letter from Richard Rudin to Xxxxxxx and Xxxxx (Survivor's Fiance).

"I thank you for sharing your insights and I appreciate your gesture of good will in reconsidering your action. Likewise, we will proceed as judiciously as we possibly can. On behalf of the Board of Trustees. I wish you both every success in your spiritual evolution and may you actualize your every aspiration and be fulfilled."

03/19/93

An Open Letter Circulated by The Network of Western Buddhist Teachers.

Tricycle Magazine, Fall 1993.

"Particular concern was expressed about unethical conduct among teachers."

03/30/93

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

"After some discussion it was decided to condense the proposed guidelines and submit them again at the next meeting."

04/26/93

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

"The Secretary informed the board of [redacted's] decision to take a leave of absence from the Board and from the Zen Studies Society until further notice."

05/11/93

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

06/00/93

Guidelines of The Zen Studies Society.

07/19/93

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

Accountant's evaluation, business manager, contracts with the Shimanos, pension plans for the Shimanos, fundraising and membership committees.

07/28/93

A Letter to the Board from the Leader of a Group that Formerly Sent Members to DBZ for Training.

"As a result of intensive dialog with Eido Roshi, I am conveying a message of MUTUAL agreement that the [redacted organization name] who have been to Dai Bosatsu Zendo or those thinking to do so, do NOT return there for spiritual retreat."

08/05/93

Letter from a Former DBZ Student to ZSS Board of Directors.

A direct first person account detailing alleged experiences of sexual improprieties in dokusan (private interview) with Shimano.

"he progressed from hugging and kissing to touching my breasts."

"He looked directly into my eyes and said, 'Don't wait too long.' "

"At the end of 'Dokusan' he would make a date with me to visit him in his quarters that night where we would have sexual intercourse."

"During three different occasions I expressed my concern to him that I was deceiving my dear friends, [redacted] and [redacted], and my fiance, [redacted]. I told him that I wanted to tell them because I did not feel right about keeping a deliberate secret of this magnitude. He [Shimano] said, 'Lie.' I was literally sick after he said this. I felt poisoned."

(See entry of 10/21/82 )

08/08/93

Note and Attached Documents from Xxxxx to Daichi Vasken Kalayjian.

"You have been a bright light throughout this entire sordid affair."

(See entry of 09/29/93)

08/09/93

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

"Ms. [redacted] announced that she had sent letters of resignation to the President and Secretary of the Society, but wished to withdraw her resignation."

08/10/93

Letter of Resignation from a Board Member/Survivor to the ZSS Board.

"Effective immediately, I resign as a member of the Board of Directors of the Zen Studies Society."

08/17/93

Letter from Hozo Wilkie Pertorius to a Board Survivor.

Acknowledgement off receipt of letter of resignation by a survivor from the Board of Directors.

09/20/93

Letter from Shimano to Jiro Fernando Afable.

09/21/93

An unsigned Document by a ZSS Board Member: Notes Made Talking with Fiance of Survivor.

"This incident has the potential to bring down the Zen Studies Society completely and if the issue is not addressed, [redacted] has the potential to bring it all out and destroy it."

"He [fiance of survivor] knows about people making contributions to Roshi [Shimano]. Letters would go out from DBZ acknowledging it. The monies never appear in DBZ accounts, but are placed into Roshi's own account."

"Roshi has to get off his pedestal of divinity."

09/29/93

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

A somewhat contentious meeting with one Board member refusing to leave, another leaving, and the Board voting to remove from office the Board member who departed from the meeting.

09/29/93

Letter from Hozo Wilkie Pertorius to Daichi Vasken Kalayjian.

10/22/93

Minutes of the Meeting of Twelve Zen Studies Society Sangha Women Who Met at the DBZ Guesthouse to Consider "The Shimano Problem."

A five page document of the minutes of the women's workshop.

-Many of the women who have been involved with Roshi have been traumatized by the experience-some for years. Roshi doesn't seem to have been adversely affected by these relationships but the women have been.

-Roshi has the reputation of "loving them and leaving them." 

-What is the demarcation between "ignorant" v. "enlightened" behavior?

-Is it possible to surmise the nature of behavior by looking at the end results of a person's actions? 

-Roshi is a human like everyone else but is being judged by a harsher standard than we are.

-The mass exodus of people in 1967,1975,1979,1982,1986 and 1993 has caused a loss of extremely talented people and very few senior students remain.

-Some of the people who left would like to come back but can't because they do not feel safe and/or can't practice at a ZSS facility as long as teacher/student relationships are allowed to happen. 

- Others feel that so much had happened that they are not sure a reconciliation is possible. 

-People want Roshi to "stop it!" This wish is framed within the context of compassion and gratitude.

-The scandals have been destructive to the Sangha and to individuals.

-People are dismayed about Roshi's apparent view that members can easily be replaced and feel he does little to try to heal the wounds that have been created. 

-Telling people to "get out" when they don't agree with him is arrogant and unacceptable. 

-The scandals have hurt everyone-not just women. 

-Roshi’s advances toward women are indicative of emotional immaturity, thoughtlessness, and insecurity. 

-Roshi has a compulsive addiction that needs to be cured. 

-Perhaps Roshi displayed affection towards certain women because he felt they needed some warmth and or kindness in their lives.

-Roshi is an excellent koan teacher but he is not strong on the Precepts. 

-Roshi’s behavior and lifestyle do not epitomize that of a Buddhist priest.

-The Dalai Lama is a teacher many consider a very "moral," compassionate person. Some felt it was easier for him than Roshi to stick to the Precepts because he is constantly surrounded by monks and nuns (ie; he never has the opportunity to get in trouble)-and Roshi isn't. 

-In Japan the women monks are not allowed to many-the males are. Any fraternizing between the sexes is monitored carefully by the jisha.

-Roshi is a lonely person and his whole lifestyle (ie; traveling constantly etc.) is very hard on him.

-One can be enlightened yet not actualize certain behavior.

-Students (especially new ones) are vulnerable-many view a Zen master as a "godlike" being who would never consciously hurt anyone. They trust such an individual implicitly.

-Zen is loaded with exotic cultural trappings. This creates a great deal of confusion, especially among newer students, because they may not know what is "appropriate" within the context of the practice. 

-All of the ritual etc. used in Zen causes a further separation of the teacher from his/her students.

-Roshi is isolated from his students and has too much power. 

-Roshi and Aiho-san [Yasuko Shimano] do not want students to talk to each other. They want a "veil of secrecy" to surround everything.

-The Japanese model can be used as a vehicle to abuse power by an "unscrupulous” teacher. Dokusan is an example.

-Roshi and Aiho-san [Yasuko Shimano] consider public discussions of the student-teacher issue as a loss of face.

-Japanese culture has a tremendous impact on the practice. American students consider this a problem but Roshi and Aiho-san don't.

-Americans are very forthright and expect total disclosure of all facts-the Japanese are more subtle.

-Sometimes Roshi feels victimized too. The whole Zen master mystique may be an attractant to some women. Some women do throw themselves at him.

-Even if a women does try to initiate a liaison, it is still Roshi's responsibility to not allow it to happen.

-No one is aware of any instances where Roshi propositioned a women-was turned down and then refused to continue being her teacher.

-The student-teacher issue is just symptomatic of deeper problems. 

-Rosh’s won't change his behavior to correct the problem. He refuses to take responsibility for his actions.

- Roshi doesn't perceive himself as having a problem.

-There is a need to abandon idealism.

-Teaching comes in amazing forms. Some have learned more from Roshi's mistakes than his triumphs.

-Regardless of what has happened some people still consider Roshi their teacher.

-Roshi has engaged in other behavioral patterns such as deception which have also caused tremendous hurt and pain.

-Roshi has the reputation of being untrustworthy and manipulative. This has also been a "turn off" for some people.

-Roshi has not been a leader. He refused to prevent Junpo from engaging in certain types of unacceptable behavior.

-Junpo’s [Junpo Denis Kelly's] behavior and his being made a Dharma heir caused a lot of people to become disillusioned and angry. Many people didn't want to come back to DBZ as a result. Some people left the Sangha permanently.

-Junpo also propositioned women but he was more open about it then Roshi was. 

-The Zen Studies Society has no long-term viability.

-American Zen has a horrible reputation because of sex, drug and money scandals.

-Zen is very patriarchal-all of the real power rests with men. Women are not treated as equals and are under-represented in the power hierarchy.

-Roshi does not treat women differently from men.

-Student-teacher liaison incidents would be less common if there were more women Roshis. 

-There has been the illusion that silence would make everything alright.

-The Ethical Conduct Guidelines enacted by the Board were the best thing that's happened to the organization in a long time.

-These Guidelines should be read as part of sesshin cautions at both DBZ and Shobo-ji.

-The Board needs to be more proactive. The Board has not stood up to Roshi enough.

-The Board has been very active this year and the Directors do care about how the Sangha feels.

-Soen Roshi felt there were problems with Eido Roshi but even he couldn't affect any change in his behavior. 

-Some American Zen teachers have had problems with Roshi's behavior but they are really spread thin and there is not a well organized network to speak out against what has happened.

-Add more teachers so that Roshi is not the only person who trains students.

-Have sesshins with Roshi not present.

-The Bylaws should be changed to make the Zen Studies Society more democratic. It is currently an autocratic organization where no one has any say in what happens.

-Don't throw everything out to correct a few problems. Try to affect change within the framework of what you already have.

-Women who come to a Zen Studies Society facility should be warned in advance about Roshi.

-Roshi has to be willing to learn from his students. He refuses to "grow."

-Suggesting any reform/improvement could be interpreted by Roshi as a lack of gratitude and/or trying to remove his power.

-There is a problem with unenlightened people telling others what to do.

-Roshi sometimes misjudges people and their motives.

-The argument that there is nothing to judge/no one to judge has been used to justify abusive behavior.

10/24/93

A Letter from the Twelve Sangha Women to the ZSS Board of Directors.

10/24/93

A List of the Twelve Sangha Women Attending the Meeting of 10/22/93.

10/31/93

Letter from Xxxxx (Survivor's Fiance) to ZSS Board of Directors.

"I want the Board to make an announcement in the DBZ Newsletter giving full disclosure of Eido T. Shimano's sexual activities with his students. Full disclosure meaning a statement that he has used his position, personal and spiritual power, and the sancitiy of the Dokusan room and process to fulfill his sexual needs. That he has counseled his students to lie and deceive about sexual relations with him should they ever be questioned on this subject - even if questioned by their spouses and most intimte and dearest friends."

"In closing I will say that the lack of any official expressions of interest or help from this Board towards us and our difficulties resulting from its Abbot's actions give me cause for great concern. The only two people who showed any compassion and understanding towards us, have been removed from the Board. I ask myself is this Board and Society more interested in protecting images, identities, and assets than in helping to relieve the pain and suffering its Abbot's actions create?"

(See entries of 08/09/93 - 09/29/93 and 12/20/93)

11/24/93

Letter from Berkley I. Freeman (Survivor's Attorney) to ZSS Board of Directors.

"I have been formally retained by Mr. [redacted] of [redacted], [redacted], to represent him with regard to the possible claims arising from the actions of Mr. Eido T. Shimano in the recent past. These actions concern the fiduciary relationship established between Mr. [redacted], the Zen Studies Society, and Mr. Shimano."

12/20/93

Letter from Robert L. Greene (ZSS attorney) to Berkley I. Freeman.

"Please be advised that in the event that such an action is brought the Society may seek sanctions against your client, yourself, or both. You may or may not be aware that since you went to [redacted] (for which I envy you) provisions to sanction frivolous litigation in New York state courts have been strengthened very substantially."

12/20/93

Letter from Muin Bernard Spitz to Xxxxx (Survivor's Fiance).

"First it is clear that you have been in communication with the Society almost exclusively through Mr. Kalayjian. That means that you probably have a very inaccurate view of the doings of the Society over the course of the last year, since, as we have recently become aware Mr. Kalayjian was acting out of a personal agenda very different from that of the Society. He has clearly had extensive communications with you that were not authorized and probably were very contrary to the facts."

"We would welcome the opportunity to meet with you"

"The difficulty is that we cannot meet with you or engage in any meaningful discussion while the threat of a lawsuit hangs over us."

12/31/93

ZSS Board of Directors Terms of Office.

01/15/94

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

01/17/94

Letter from Xxxxxxx and Xxxxx (Survivor's Fiance) to Muin Bernard Spitz.

They back off from legal action expressing that it would be:

"wrong action from a Buddhist perspective."

"we do not feel that meeting with Eido or any representative of the Zen Studies Society would be of benefit to us in our healing process."

03/21/94

Excerpt from the Newsletter of The Zen Studies Society
Spring 1994.

(See Shimano_Story_By_Aitken)

06/13/94

Letter from Reiho Ellen Meyers to ZSS Board of Directors.

"There is a saying that 'power tends to corrupt; absolute power corrupts absolutely' (and 'spiritual power corrupts spiritually') I have seen examples of this at D.B.Z. There are no effective controls. There need to be some real controls."

06/22/94

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

06/23/94

Letter from Saman Lea Liu to Reiho Ellen Meyers.

10/20/94

Handwritten Note from Yvonne Rand to Robert Aitken Asking to Meet.

Yvonne Rand note - reverse side redacted name and phone number of survivor and notation that a Manhattan District Attorney was contacted.

02/23/95

Letter from Aiho Yasuko Shimano to Seigan Ed Glassing.

"The acknowledgement of your "One Thousand Days" training is not only your private matter. It is the acknowledgement of a Buddhist monk's training, and thus, it is primarily a monastery matter. It is the occasion which reveals the kind of "monk" a person has evolved into, and the quality of his/her training is manifest. So, what kind of a "monk” have you become after 1000 days at Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji?"

"Invitation cards to a mere Thousand Days are an egoistic ostentation which does no honor to a monk, and a slap in the face to the uninvited Sangha, especially the Board, the Director of NYZ, and the ordained of Shobo-ji. Using the monastery for your own purpose, and without permission, is also an arrogance most inappropriate to any monk, not to speak of a novice. Dai Bosatsu Zendo was not built for your personal celebrations."

03/20/95

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

07/24/95

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

08/09/95

Letter from Robert Aitken, Yvonne Rand, Alan Senauke, Jan Chozen Bays, Susan Jion Postal, Helen Yuho Harkaspi, Bodhin Kjolhede, and Philip Kapleau to Richard Rudin, President, ZSS Board of Directors.

The unprecedented letter from eight recognized Zen teachers and Rōshis urging the ZSS Board to deal with Shimano.

“Their stories are consistent: trust placed in an apparently wise and compassionate teacher, only to have that trust manipulated in the form of his sexual misconduct and abuse.”

“With report after report of the same depressing story, it is clear to us that our colleague, Shimano Roshi, is not simply one who slips into an occasional love affair. We have no hesitation in judging from first-hand accounts that the quality of these relationships is not loving but exploitative and extremely damaging to his victims.” 

“we sense that it is only a matter of time until he faces his accusers in a court of law.

The most obvious solution to the problem would be Shimano Roshi's resignation.”

“The situation is grave and calls for action to prevent further harm.”

“Thinking about the women and their families who have been hurt by Shimano Roshi, please consider underwriting the therapy they need.” 

“If we do not hear from you within a reasonable period, we will consider making this an open letter.”

08/14/95

Letter from Saman Lea Liu to ZSS Board Nominating Committee.

08/18/95

Richard Rudin, President, ZSS Board of Directors to Robert Aitken, et al.

Response from The Zen Studies Society to the unprecedented Zen Teachers letter of 08/09/95. The redacted survivor's name is a ZSS Board of Directors member. The letter urges:

"We request that you keep this reply among you signers so as to avoid even further conflicts with the precepts."

09/10/95

Letter of Resignation from Fran Perriello to Board of Directors.

07/05/98

ZSS Board of Directors Proposed By-Laws Draft.

"The Corporation (herein sometimes referred to as the Society) shall have no members."

06/00/98

The Newsletter of the Zen Studies Society - Spring / Summer 1998.

(See entry of 03/06/84)

12/31/98

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Year End Report.

01/21/99

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Ledger Balances.

08/05/99

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Profit and Loss Report.

09/12/99

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

"A resolution was passed that the Endowment Fund Treasurer be authorized to pay towards the cost of the reconstruction of the parsonage."

12/31/99

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Ledger Sales.

12/31/99

Zen Studies Society Year End Report.

03/11/00

ZSS Board of Directors Meeting Agenda.

03/11/00

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

07/20/00

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

07/21/00

Letter from Hozo Wilkie Pertorius to Peter Catenacci, American Express Financial Advisors.

08/28/00

Letter from Hozo Wilkie Pertorius to ZSS Board of Directors.

09/18/00

Letter from Kigen James Frechter to Shimano.

09/19/00

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

10/10/00

Letter from Audrey Dornier and Daniel Dornier to ZSS Board of Directors.

10/14/00

Letter from Shimano to Daniel and Audrey Dornier.

As you made clear, you will remain anonymous as donors to the Zen Studies Society, Inc. We include with this letter our gratuity form to officially acknowledge your contribution to The Zen Studies Society, Inc."

12/31/00

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Profit and Loss Report.

10/14/00

Zen Studies Society Endowment Fund Report.

12/31/00

Zen Studies Society Year End Financial Report.

02/14/01

Letter from Shimano to an Unknown Group on Behalf of The Abbot Tani Foundation.

02/26/01

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

04/23/01

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

"The amount of total goods sold ($44,679.99) should be added to the financial report of Dai Bosatsu Zendo."

"Audery Dornier to be fund manager for at least one year."

07/04/01

"Dhama Legacy Fund" Charter.

12/31/01

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Profit and Loss Report.

12/31/01

New York Zendo Shobo Ji Annual Report.

02/27/02

Letter from Audrey Dornier to ZSS Board of Directors.

03/10/02

ZSS Board of Directors Meeting Agenda.

03/10/02

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

"It was agreed that the ZSS Endowment Fund make a contribution on behalf of Zen Studies Society to Shogenji after April 15th in the projected amount of $7,600."

03/10/02

ZSS Board of Directors Proposed Charter Revision Draft.

04/28/02

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

(See entries of 09/13/88 - 01/07/89 - 03/23/03)

10/01/02

Never Met With.

10/31/02

Letter from Accountant George Y. Hara to ZSS Board of Directors.

12/31/02

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Profit and Loss Report.

12/31/02

New York Zendo Shobo Ji Year End Report.

12/31/02

Zen Studies Society Endowment Fund Report.

12/31/02

Zen Studies Society Year End Report.

00/00/03

REVISIONIST HISTORY:

Buddhadharma Magazine
Spring 2003.

"became the third Westerner to receive inka in the Japanese Rinzai Zen tradition."

By actual count Mortensen was the fourth Westerner to receive inka from Shimano. The text and photograph were supplied to the magazine under the direction of Shimano.

(See entries of 10/00/92 and 10/00/03)

01/24/03

ZSS Board of Directors Meeting Agenda.

01/28/03

Letter from Stuart Lachs to cuke.com.

03/23/03

Letter from Jiro Fernando Afable, Shimano's Dharma Heir, to the ZSS Board of Directors.

Machinations by Shimano to remove Jiro and drive him off after a decade of service.

03/23/03

ZSS Board of Directors Meeting Agenda.

03/23/03

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

(See entries of 09/13/88 - 01/07/89 - 04/28/02)

"Fernando Afable read a prepared statement regarding his tenure as Vice Abbot of Dai Bosatsu Zendo in which he discussed irreconcilable differences between his vision for Dai Bosatsu and that of the Abbot. It became clear to him that he was excluded from the Abbot's plans for the future of the monastery and said that during a meeting with the Abbot on January 16, 2003, Eido Roshi called for a harmonious parting and suggested some form of compensation to facilitate his departure."

03/23/03

ZSS Board of Directors Proposed By-Laws Draft.

"The Corporation (herein sometimes referred to as the Society) shall have no members."

"The Abbot of the Society shall serve as spiritual leader and Chairperson of the Board until he or she dies, resigns, is unfit to carry out his/her functions, or becomes incapacitated. In order for the Abbot of the Society to be involuntarily declared unfit to carry out his or her functions, or incapacitated, there must be a unanimous vote of all members of the Board of Directors currently in office, with the exception of the Abbot. For such a vote no proxies or telephone voting shall be counted. The Abbot shall be succeeded by a dharma heir selected and designated by the said Abbot to continue in his or her place."

04/15/03

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

(See entry of 05/22/03)

04/17/03

Letter from Kigen James Frechter to Accountant George Y. Hara.

05/22/03

ZSS Board of Directors Meeting Agenda.

05/22/03

Minutes of ZSS Board of Directors Meeting.

(See entry of 04/15/03)

Denko John Mortensen employment contract.

10/00/03

CORRECTION:

Buddhadharma Magazine
Fall 2003.

(See entries of 10/00/92 and 00/00/03)

10/31/03

Letter from Accountant George Y. Hara to ZSS Board of Directors.

11/11/03

Letter from Jikei Jean Bankier to ZSS Board of Directors.

12/09/03

Letter from Hozo Wilkie Pertorius to ZSS Board Members.

12/31/03

Dai Bosatsu Zendo Ledger Balance Report.

12/31/03

Zen Studies Society Endowment Fund Report.

12/31/03

Zen Studies Society Legacy Fund Report.

12/31/03

Zen Studies Society Year End Financial Report.

09/20/09

Public Record ZSS Townhouse - 356 East 69th Street, NYC, NY.

06/03/10

Letter from Jiro Andy Afable, Shimano's Second Dharma Heir, to the ZSS Board of Directors.

REDACTED
The author's contact information has been redacted from this document as a courtesy.

"Recent postings on the internet prompt this letter to you. I have kept my silence for many years, but now find myself implicated in ZSS affairs because of various documents posted on the internet." 

"The sheer volume of the material on the ZSS today and the internet's power of global disclosure merit a response. I am shocked by the things I did not know." 

"The recent viral dispersion of the 'Aitken-Shimano' archives over the internet, as well as other documents pertaining to past upheavals in the Zen Studies Society, is yet another crisis of scandal for the Zen Studies Society. At this point, the documents that are in public view make revelations that cumulatively are impossible to explain or defend, and they significantly alter perceptions of the 'history of a transmission' depicted in Namu Dai Bosa. The teaching legacy of the abbot will now be outweighed by the very personal accounts that allege predatory transgressions. Any responses of the ZSS from its board or its abbot are now suspect and self-satirizing. The lineage itself will be seen as problematic. The slow fallout of more documents as the years go by will be a haunting reminder of how successive waves of directors and monks, in being complicit, failed the Zen Studies Society envisioned by its founders." 

"Central to the story is the role of an abbot who could inspire students to do their best but who, by unbecoming conduct and an inability to learn from past mistakes, subverted many of his accomplishments and caused repeated departures of his students. Of the stories I investigated, the most painful, revealing, and instructive is the story of Mrs. Dorris Carlson." 

"Considering who Mrs. Carlson was, and what she did, 'Do not use the Carlson name in any manner' should have the utmost attention of the ZSS board. It is a directive that cannot be changed by a board resolution, and its intent is indisputably clear. Mrs. Carlson wished to have nothing to do with the Zen Studies Society, and she did not wish the Zen Studies Society to have anything to do with her." 

(See entry of 03/06/84)

"The tragic loss, in human goodwill and resources, not to speak of the warm fellowship that a true sangha can engender, is heart-rending." 

"What produced and tolerated the many crises in the Zen Studies Society was deeply flawed governance. The chairman of the board was the Abbot. His wife was also a full-fledged director with voting rights. After every scandal, what various directors did (sometimes with professional help from legal counsel) was help him survive and help the ZSS resume normal functioning as an organization." 

"Because an essential qualification was their compliance to an abbot who was also the chairman of the board and their teacher, any shortcomings of the abbot could not be dealt with openly and exhaustively. Despite the crises, there was little possibility of change. The governance of The Society made it often impossible for the board to act responsibly for the organization." 

"During the episodes of crisis where I was active in the Society, secrets had to be protected, for to have them revealed (we feared) en masse would destroy the Society. Secrets create tensions within an organization. Secrets divide families and congregations (sangha) and create false companionships (Friedman, Generation to Generation)." 

"All Dharma organizations in the United States are sustainable only when there is mutual trust between the Sangha and its leadership. The Sangha is key to sustainability, and it must be treated with the respect and gratitude it deserves." 

"In the ZSS, the great fear associated with a public event of closure was the airing of dirty linen in public. But the internet has already done that. Discussion, in the blogspeak the internet encourages, will keep revisiting old issues and can only damage the ZSS. 'Holding fast' in silence is to bury your head in the sand and deny that anything can be done. To 'march on' in nonchalance, as if one had no time to deal with ethical concerns, is to repeat a mistake of the past." 

"The internet postings open a new gate for the ZSS. For once, all the allegations, all that were embarrassments in the past, can be seen in the light of day and dealt with." 

"A sincere and heartfelt event of Reconciliation is the only way to re-gather the goodwill of the disaffected sanghas, and the only way to redeem the abbot and The Society. Only by public rites of redress, with the Sangha as the central participant, can you make a credible claim that The Zen Studies Society is turning a new leaf."

06/09/10

A Statement by Genjo Marinello, Shimano's Fifth Dharma Heir, to The American Zen Teacher's Association Private List Serve.

"Eido Roshi’s actions were not even illegal, just unconscionable by our standards, still it is not like he forced, bribed, coerced or paid anyone to have sex with him. No one has ever claimed that he has had any relationships with anyone except consenting adults, who should of known better themselves. Granted the power dynamic is totally lopsided and his responsibility for these actions is 80% or more, but not all his. Please know that if his behavior had continued, I too would have confronted him. I have never been, nor will I ever be part of a cover-up."

"As to why I continue to associate with him, he has demonstrated to my satisfaction, that he can see, hear, speak and act as the ancestors of our lineage; moreover, he has thirty years of experience and practice on me, and I will never catch up to his abilities in this regard. Why then would I remove myself from his council? I will be so fortunate to have it as long as I can. And then there is a debt of gratitude I owe to the lineage and to him specifically. I will do my best to repay it, by supporting and working to continue the best of his work, while leaving behind that which does not work."

"I believe in him more now than I did then, but I must say that when the full extent of his earlier history became known to me in the last year, I too was shocked. I read all the letters, many times with tears in my eyes. Nevertheless, it gives me even more admiration for the man, because he did not quit his impossible dream. In our shadow lies a gold mine, if we are brave enough to shine a light on it and then digest and learn from what we see, as I believe he has done. No matter how dark we may be at times, we all have the potential to combust our karmic hindrances and flower towards our natural Bodhisattva potential."

"This current controversy, over old material, has been and continues to be fanned by four men with old grudges, intent to "bring him down," as one has said directly. By the way, none of the four men I am referring to are members of AZTA, but please be aware that a man who was declined membership in AZTA, in part because Eido Roshi would not acknowledged him as a Dharma Teacher, started the current wave of vilification. I am happy to participate in any AZTA discussion on any topic, but in my opinion no investigation public or private will satisfy these four."

no date

Draft for Publication in Blind Donkey the Newsletter of Honolulu Diamond Sangha.

Draft of an Unpublished Article.

(See following entries.)

“I should think that negative qualities, which later became evident were then only incipient. There were no women about, and the routine of the monastery undoubtedly consumed most of his energy. I did learn afterwards that he was resented by his fellow monks at Ryūtakuji, who felt he was arrogant toward them.”

“Problems arose very quickly. As he began making friends in the group, divisive patterns of relationships appeared.  Looking back, I see that I did not handle things well: I argued when I should have kept silent, and I endured when I should have sought a showdown." 

“With the shock of a new culture, and with the character he brought to the situation, the transition from the monastery was in Shimano’s case quite stormy. Sometimes we felt that he was going through a delayed adolescence. Sometimes his judgment was so poor that we felt we could not explain it as simple immaturity.

In the spring of 1964, two women who regularly attended our meetings suffered nervous breakdowns and had to be hospitalized.  One of these breaks occurred during a meeting, and was dramatic and hysterical in its symptoms. I was alarmed and felt responsible, because afterwards I could remember odd things the women said and did before their breaks which might have given me some indication that they needed therapeutic help.”

“It had taken me four years of living in the same house with Shimano, taking two meals a day with him, and working with him as best I could in translation projects and organizational matters, to realize that this was not merely a personality conflict I was suffering through, but the conflict of someone more or less normal with someone in a different dimension altogether.” 

“Apparently, Shimano was a breed apart. He was, we may be sure, well trained in the monastery, but it seems that only the exterior was polished. Some observers knew right away that this form had no heart. When Nakagawa Rōshi suggested sending Shimano to Los Angeles to serve Sensaki Nyōgen Sensei in his last years, Senzaki Sensei sent a trusted friend [Shubin Tanahashi] to Ryūtakuji to meet Shimano. She took one look, and returned to Senzaki Sensei and reported, ‘Not for you.’ ” 

(See entry for 03/21/94)

“Shimano's manipulation of others included sexual manipulation. This was a particularly painful betrayal.”

“I am also concerned about what Shimano will do now. My guess is that he will stand firm and deny everything, even in the face of all the facts marshaled in the exposé. So long as he is able to persuade even a few people to trust him, he will probably want to continue to teach.”

07/26/10

Letter from Robin Westen to Robert Aitken Accompanying a Copy of Her Unpublished Article.

REDACTED
The author's contact information has been redacted from this document as a courtesy.

"Decades ago I interviewed you [Robert Aitken] for an investigative expose of Eido Shimano. It was scheduled to appear as a cover story in the Village Voice, was set in galleys – and then, at the last minute, the VV lawyers (scared off by Zen Study Society threats) instituted the condition that they publish the piece without identifying Eido by name. I refused. Thus, the piece languished in my files, unpublished."

07/26/10
&
04/00/82

The Unpublished Article by Robin Westen, Dated August 1982. This is the Article Referred to by Robert Aitken in his Undated Piece "The Shimano Story."

REDACTED
The name and identifying information of a number of survivors have been redacted from this document.

The text of the exposé on Shimano by Robin Westen. The exposé was never published in 1982, due to fears of a lawsuit by Shimano and/or The Zen Studies Society against the publisher.

"I took it awkwardly, but before I could get the feeling back in my legs, he ripped me off the floor and pulled my body against his, then grabbed my breast, prodded my mouth with his tongue, and started to pull up my skirt and reach between my legs."

"I was to learn that Eido had been involved in sex scandals for over 15 years, but each time they were brought to light in the Zen community they were silenced."

"Now I was having tea with Eido Roshi. I was prepared to talk about my spiritual development, but surprisingly all he said was, 'The best time to make love to a woman is right after sesshin, when she looks her sexiest. If I had my way, if people understood the essence of detachment, everyone would sleep with each other the night sesshin ends.' ”

"As their internal inquiries mounted, another half a dozen women admitted that Eido had made advances to them while they were attending sesshins, and that he had used the dokusan room as his station for seduction."

“ 'And almost before I knew it, he had pulled off his robe and was laying down on the bed stark naked. Well, I was in such a state then, I thought this must be some sort of test of detachment. It sounds ridiculous now, but when you’re serious about your Zen practice, and when you have a lot of respect for someone, you think the best, no matter what. And I thought the best when he ordered me to go down on him and perform fellatio. He told me it would be a spiritual experience for me... it wasn’t. To tell the truth it wasn’t much of a sexual experience.' "

07/29/10

Letter from Jiro Andy Afable, Shimano's Second Dharma Heir, to the ZSS Board of Directors.

"As we all witness the imploding of the institutional structure which vested inordinate power on an Abbot, and you are now swamped with suggestions on how to go forward, I hope you have the time to read what a Dharma heir and former vice-abbot has to say."

"All the past directors I have talked to have misgivings about their tenure in the ZSS as directors. Most have profound regrets for letting things go by they could have objected to. Please do not suffer the same fate."

"Please, though you were handpicked by the Roshi to serve at his pleasure, do not now be panderers telling him what he wants to hear." 

"Roshi and Aiho-San are to be applauded for stepping down from the board. It was what was best for all concerned. Now that you are freed from their inhibiting presence, you too can do the best for all concerned."

"I understand what it means to be loyal to a teacher, as much as any of you. I know for sure that the teaching legacy of the Roshi can be salvaged only if the board proceeds honestly and transparently."

"Any reassessment of the Roshi in the years to come will depend on how unflinching and honest the board is today. A response from the board that tries to obfuscate some things that are simple will be imputed to Roshi's influence and will further damage his legacy. I suspect that the internet will encourage more people to come out with their grievances. There will be more revelations to cope with." 

"Please, always be aware of your fiduciary responsibilities, and if you only have a vague awareness of what they are, perhaps this is a good time to consider whether you should continue being on the board."

08/02/10

Robert Baker Aitken, Rodaishi Final Interview - Excerpt of Comments on Eido Shimano, Admiration and Encouragement for Survivors.

Aitken, Rodaishi Passed Away Three Days Later on
August 5, 2010.

Present, by invitation, were Lynn Davis and Kobutsu Malone.

Recorded with permission of Aitken, Rodaishi by Kobutsu Malone and Lynn Davis.

08/21/10

New York Times Article, National Section - Beliefs
"Sex Scandal Has American Buddhists Looking Within"

Statement on "Fair Use"

According to the “Fair Use” clause of International Copyright Law, the author declares that the use of the photos/images/audio/video/information in this academic/reference/scholarly work is for purposes of “criticism, comment, news reporting, teaching, scholarship, or research” according to 17 U.S.C. § 107. - Limitations on exclusive rights: Fair use, U.S. Copyright Code. The resulting work on The Shimano Archive is a creative endeavor with value added through unique and original selection/arrangement of factual material and information, critique, expression, and classification of information.

Fair Use Video Clips – With One Stroke A Mandala - © 2002 Ellen Darby Video Works (Shimano Auto-Hagiography)
The Buddhist Way of Life - © 2006 The Society for the Promotion of Buddhism (Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai)
Zen In America - © 1992 Ron Myrvik Productions (ZSS Promotional Video)
Robert Baker Aitken, Rodaishi Final Interview Excerpt - Copyleft 2010 (Audio)

"In times of pervasive deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act.”

Please – Survivors, present and former Zen Studies Society clergy, students, Board members – contact us. We guarantee strict confidentiality; nothing we are sent or told will be made public without a prior understanding and agreement. Your identity will be protected as you wish. All emails, letters, correspondence and any transmitted documents are encrypted and stored at a secure, off-site location.

We want to hear and document your experiences so that the truth prevails and is not overshadowed by hagiographical hyperbole and self-serving historical revisionism. Only by telling our stories and exposing our injuries can others see the truth, our stories can save others from needless injury and suffering. Please come forward, if only anonymously….

We anticipate setting up a secure forum for survivors where experiences, memories, damage, fears, healing of wounds and possible legal recourse may be discussed. This effort will be announced here at a future date.

We are able to offer referals to psychological professionals and legal professionals for survivors.

Everyone benefits from reporting any errors, malfunctions or irregularities encountered
in the database.  Please drop us a note pointing to any difficulty.  Thank you.

You may make contact through: kobutsu.malone@gmail.com

or by mail at:

The Archive Project
Rev. Kobutsu Malone
Post Office Box 213
Sedgwick, Maine 04676

(207) 359-2555

Phone open 24/7 - day or night.