From Religion Dispatches
The American-based Zen Studies Society comes to terms, compassionately, with a revered teacher's transgressions By GARY GACH
It will take decades before anyone can truly see how Buddhism will take hold in the West. Meanwhile, the evolution is interesting. October of last year saw women ordained as Theravada nuns (bhikkhunis) in Perth, Australia, for the first time in that lineage since the 13th century. (What took them so long?) Ramifications of the ensuing controversy will continue to ripple; that is, the ultimate significance resonates beyond themes of gender alone—embracing social, cultural, and political issues, as well. In a nutshell, it’s a reflection of how adoption by contemporary society is continuing and renewing the message of the Buddha.
2011 began with a news item of similar impact. Twenty Zen teachers in the West sent open letters to The Zen Studies Society in New York. With compassion and understanding, their general thrust is to ask that the Society’s former head, Eido Tai Shimano, not be allowed access to students—a strong penalty for a teacher.
Once you mention sex, everything becomes sex
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