108 Bows for Roshi Sojun Mel Weitsman (1929-2021)
With great sadness the sangha of Berkeley Zen Center announces
that Hakuryu Sojun—White Dragon/Essence of Purity—Mel Weitsman peacefully
passed from this world to the Pure Land of Buddhas and Ancestors at home on
Thursday, January 7, 2021. He was 91 years old.
Sojun Roshi’s clear and steady leadership made BZC a beacon for
Buddhist practitioners and other spiritual seekers in the East Bay and more
widely in the U.S. With a strong circle of dedicated Zen students, as guiding
teacher and abbot at BZC for fifty-three years, Sojun created a place where
rigorous daily sitting practice was integral with people’s life of family,
work, and service. He often spoke of BZC as a kind of “one room schoolhouse,”
where each person could find the necessary teachings for their position in
life. Anyone could knock on Sojun’s office door and he would readily invite
them in.
Born in Los Angeles in 1929, Sojun Roshi’s broad life
experience included a stint in the Marines, years of art study and abstract
expressionist painting, augmented by work as a house and boat painter, cab
driver, and teacher. When he met Suzuki Roshi his life work was
transformed. He embraced the practice of zazen and the task of sustaining
the dharma of zen, given to him by his teacher Shunryu Suzuki Roshi.
At the instruction of Suzuki Roshi, Sojun founded Berkeley Zen
Center in 1967. He was ordained a year later in the attic zendo he had
established on Dwight Way in Berkeley. Suzuki Roshi died in 1971. In
1984, Sojun received dharma transmission from Suzuki Roshi’s son, Hoitsu Suzuki
Roshi, abbot of Rinso-In Temple in Japan, and he was
installed as BZC’s first abbot in 1985. In declining health, he stepped down as
abbot in October 2020, assuming the position of Founding Dharma Teacher.
Sojun Roshi is survived by his wife Liz Horowitz Weitsman,
their son Daniel, and uncountable disciples and students across the United
States and around the world. Cards and letters can be sent to Liz, Daniel, and
the BZC sangha c/o Berkeley Zen Center, 1931 Russell Street, Berkeley, CA
94703.
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Special bows for today:
- Please offer bows for:
- Roshi Mel Weitsman who died on 1/7/21
- Please continue to offer bows in honor of:
- Nora Hayes-Roth, a dear friend of Misha's, who died on 11/25/20
- Dan Pomeroy, a friend of dharma brother, Dainuri Rott, who died on 11/20/20
- Please continue to offer bows of well-being for:
- Shannon's husband, Gil, who is slowly recovering, but out of ICU
- Misha's brother, Duane, who is receiving radiation for cancer
- Flip Dibner, who is undergoing chemotherapy while at home
- David Shaw, who suffered a stroke; he is home now with his wife, Nancy, and continuing the process of physical rehabilitation
- From Misha: Absolutely beautiful! Ricardo Muti and the Vienna Philharmonic with the Vienna Ballet: https://www.pbs.org/wnet/gperf/from-vienna-the-new-years-celebration-2021-about/12205/
- From Jill: a link to this video and story of Alabama musicians, to remember what has been promising and uplifting in 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCFdKpKLGxs&feature=youtu.be
- From Jill: more on above video: https://www.npr.org/sections/pictureshow/2020/12/30/950636647/you-might-be-ready-to-forget-2020-this-film-reminds-you-why-you-shouldnt
- From Dainuri: a video from our sister sangha, Kannon Do: https://zenbf.org/kdo2020.mp
- Zen Heart Sangha website: resources about COVID-19: www.zenheartsangha.org
- If you would like to leave a comment on this blog: Here is a quick video on how to--it's from 2017, but should work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8T4RflO5Wgg
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