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New American Zen: Examining American Women's Adaptation of Traditional Japanese Soto Zen Practice Courtney M

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New American Zen: Examining American Women's Adaptation of Traditional Japanese Soto Zen Practice Courtney M Florida International University FIU Digital Commons FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations University Graduate School 2011 New American Zen: Examining American Women's Adaptation of Traditional Japanese Soto Zen Practice Courtney M. Just Florida International University, [email protected] DOI: 10.25148/etd.FI11120903 Follow this and additional works at: https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd Recommended Citation Just, Courtney M., "New American Zen: Examining American Women's Adaptation of Traditional Japanese Soto Zen Practice" (2011). FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 527. https://digitalcommons.fiu.edu/etd/527 This work is brought to you for free and open access by the University Graduate School at FIU Digital Commons. It has been accepted for inclusion in FIU Electronic Theses and Dissertations by an authorized administrator of FIU Digital Commons. For more information, please contact [email protected]. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UNIVERSITY Miami, Florida NEW AMERICAN ZEN: EXAMINING AMERICAN WOMEN’S ADAPTATION OF TRADITIONAL JAPANESE SOTO ZEN PRACTICE A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of MASTER OF ARTS in LIBERAL STUDIES by Courtney Just 2011 To: Dean Kenneth Furton College of Arts and Sciences This thesis, written by Courtney Just, and entitled New American Zen: Examining American Women’s Adaptation of Traditional Japanese Soto Zen Practice, having been approved in respect to style and intellectual content, is referred to you for judgment. We have read this thesis and recommend that it be approved. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Laurie Shrage ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Kiriake Xerohemona ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Lesley A. Northup, Major Professor Date of Defense: November 10, 2011 The thesis of Courtney Just is approved. –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dean Kenneth Furton College of Arts and Science ––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––– Dean Lakshmi N. Reddi University Graduate School Florida International University, 2011 ii DEDICATION I would like to dedicate this thesis to my family. First to the Justs… Thank you for working and saving not for yourselves, but so that I could have a better future. I don’t know if my success with this degree would have been possible without your help. I carry you all with me in all I do. And next to the Tylers… Mom and Keith, you both ingrained in me the importance of an education as something that “no one can take away.” I thought I understood this at seven, but now I get it. There is no place like a home with love and hugs, encouragement and laughter–and you both gave me all of this. Thank you for always being there with open arms. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I’ve worked hard during my graduate career and thesis writing process, though my success is due in large part to many people. Dr. Xerohemona, as my graduate advisor, I thank you for your guidance and kind encouragement. Dr. Shrage, your keen insights on feminist theories and women’s rights are important to me and my work. Thank you for taking on my project and for your support during this process. To Dr. Northup, my committee chair, your work on women and ritual studies was invaluable to my project. Thank you for your dedication to my thesis and for your guidance and mentoring throughout my graduate career. I was privileged to take two classes with you and each provoked examination, among other things, of myself and my socially constructed reality. As result I believe I am a more informed person and will one day, hopefully, be as inspiring a professor to someone as you are to me. Deep gassho in gratitude to the women and men I interviewed for my research who graciously took the time to answer my questions. Your revelations and insights made this project what it is. I enjoyed learning from you and hearing about your personal expression of Soto Zen. Thank you, Rev. Teijo Munnich for having me to Great Tree and for our in depth conversation. Meeting and practicing with you was very special. Thank you also to the men and women who I met on Skype or through email conversations: Rev. Patricia Dai-En Bennage, abbess at Mt. Equity Zendo in Pennsylvania; Catherine Anraku Hondorp, priest at Village Zendo, New York; Sensei Meg Levie, priest at Green Gultch Zen Center in California; Roshi Wendy Egyoku Nakao, abbot and head teacher of Zen Center Los Angeles; Shotai de la Rosa, head priest of the Daishin Zendo in Florida; Myoan Grace Schireson, abbess of the Empty Nest Zendo in California; Peter Schneider iv of Beginners Mind Zen Center in California; Abbott Myogen Steve Stucky of the San Francisco Zen Center; Julie Kirin Myoko Terestman, priest at Village Zendo, New York; and Ted O’Toole, senior priest in training at Minnesota Zen Mediation Center My thanks and gratitude to Paula Arai, Zen scholar and educator, first for inspiring me to write about Soto Zen women after reading her book, Women Living Zen, and also for taking time to grant me an interview. I greatly appreciate your support and genuine interest in helping me with my thesis. Last, but not least, I’d like to thank my other, Zu. Your support and encouragement throughout this journey and reminders to enjoy the process, in moments when I’d forget to see the big picture, is appreciated more than I can say. ...but I know you know what I mean. v ABSTRACT OF THE THESIS NEW AMERICAN ZEN: EXAMINING AMERICAN WOMEN’S ADAPTATION OF TRADITIONAL JAPANESE SOTO ZEN PRACTICE by Courtney Just Florida International University, 2011 Miami, Florida Dr. Lesley A. Northup, Major Professor The purpose of this thesis was to explore the history and rituals of Japanese Soto Zen nuns and American Soto Zen ordained women in order to examine the motivations behind each group’s practices and distinguish the differences in the intent and practice of American Soto women’s rituals, specifically their reactions to the influence of feminism, and the effects of American syncretization in order to identify if a schism or a continuation is occurring within the Soto Zen tradition. Along with a survey of published research, interviews were conducted with two scholars and prominent ordained Soto practitioners–eight female and three male. Findings suggest that while maintaining strict adherence to specific orthodox rituals, American Soto women also reinterpret Soto traditions and adapt new practices to address the needs of American women’s practice. Findings further indicate the effects of American syncretization in nurturing a legitimate albeit uniquely American expression of Soto Zen. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER PAGE I INTRODUCTION .............................................................. 1 II HISTORY ............................................................................ 13 Women in Early Buddhism ..................................... 20 Women in Japanese Buddhism …………………… 20 Japanese Soto Zen .................................................... 23 Soto Zen in America ................................................ 30 III WOMEN IN SOTO ZEN .................................................... 34 Feminist Views on Buddhism .................................. 41 Feminism in the US ................................................. 41 The Influence of American Feminism on Japanese Soto Zen Nuns………………………………........... 43 Japanese Soto Zen Nuns’ Fight for Equality..................................................................... 44 American Soto Zen Women ..................................... 47 IV ZEN RITUAL ....................................................................... 53 Ritual Theory ........................................................... 53 Women and Ritual ................................................... 58 Creating New Rituals ............................................... 61 Rituals in Zen ........................................................... 63 V USE OF RITUALS BY JAPANESE SOTO ZEN NUNS .... 69 Legitimacy as a Motive ............................................ 69 A Return to Roots ..................................................... 71 Appearing Ultra Traditional ...................................... 71 Utilizing the Japanese Cultural Concept of Femininity............................................................. 78 Re-categorizing Monastic Practices…...................... 81 VI LEGITIMACY FOR AMERICAN SOTO ZEN WOMEN... 85 Levels of Legitimacy ............................................... 85 Explanation of the Term Monastic in the U.S........... 89 Role of Laity in the U.S. ........................................... 97 Cultural Differences Between Japanese and American Soto Monastic Women…………....... 99 VII AMERICAN SOTO WOMEN’S USE OF RITUAL .......... 101 Altering Traditional Monastic Soto Rituals .............. 104 Changing the Liturgy ............................................... 109 vii Evoking the Feminine .............................................. 120 Use of the Prajnaparamita Sutra .............................. 125 Female Bodhisattvas on Altars ................................ 126 Native American Circles .......................................... 128 Use of Bodywork ...................................................... 131 Rites for Children ..................................................... 135 VIII AMERICAN SOTO MEN .................................................... 141 Traditional Monastic Practices ................................. 141 Women’s Rituals That Men Practice ........................ 143 Women’s Rituals That Men do not Practice ............. 145 IX AMERICANIZATION
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