Sokei-an Shigetsu Sasaki: The Artist Who Brought Direct Zen Transmission to America
In short: Sokei-an was a Rinzai monk who rejected the rigid, regimented monasticism of Japan to teach Zen in New York. He focused on direct soul-to-soul transmission through koans, shunning zazen meditation. His life was a turbulent journey from a sculptor in Tokyo to an interned enemy alien in Maryland.
Born Yeita Sasaki in 1882, Sokei-an was raised by a Shinto priest and trained as a sculptor at the Imperial Academy of Art in Tokyo. His path to Zen was unconventional; he studied under Sokatsu Shaku and served in the Russo-Japanese War before joining a failed agricultural delegation in California in 1906. After years of working odd jobs—from picture framing to janitorial work—he settled in New York City, where he began teaching Buddhism at the Orientalia Bookstore around 1924.
In 1930, Sokei-an founded the Buddhist Society of America, later renamed the First Zen Institute of America. Unlike traditional Japanese monasteries that aimed to stamp out individuality through strict, collective training, Sokei-an emphasized the Hakuin system of koans and personal sanzen interviews. He famously declared that his method was not about philosophical discourse or meditation, but a direct transmission from soul to soul. His approach was earthy and humorous, with students like Alan Watts noting that he bridged the spiritual and the mundane.
Sokei-an's life in America was marked by significant hardship. Following the attack on Pearl Harbor, he was arrested by the FBI as an enemy alien and interned at a camp in Fort Meade, Maryland, from 1942 to 1943. During his internment, he suffered from high blood pressure and multiple strokes. He eventually married his student Ruth Fuller Everett in 1944, but died in May 1945 without leaving a Dharma heir. His legacy remains that of a pioneer who adapted Zen for a Western audience by finding the place where East and West no longer exist.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Sokei-an
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