Cypress Trees in the Garden: The Second Generation of Zen Teaching in America

by Richard Bryan McDaniel

Richard Bryan McDaniel's "Cypress Trees in the Garden" continues the history of North American Zen which he began in "The Third Step Zen Masters of America" (Sumeru Press, 2015). The earlier book described the pioneers who established Zen practice in North America; this new book focuses on the heirs and successors of those teachers and the challenges they faced. Between March 2013 and September 2014, McDaniel traveled from San Francisco to Portland, Maine, from Montreal to Albuquerque, interviewing 75 prominent Zen teachers and their senior students. The result is a book which describes the way in which-like the Chinese and Japanese before them-North Americans have taken an Indian tradition which pre-dates Christianity and reformed it into something uniquely their own. Chapters on teachers in the Rinzai, Soto, and Sanbo Zen traditions provide a strikingly honest portrait of contemporary Zen teaching, practice, and social engagement in the United States and Canada. This survey of current American Zen teachers gives an honest, intimate, look into the inspiring efforts and growing pains of the evolution of Zen in the West. It does this by letting the major players speak in their own voice about how they came to Zen practice, their offerings, their troubles and their hopes for the future of American Zen. I couldn't put it down. - Genjo Marinello, Abbot of Chobo-Ji In "Cypresss Trees," Rick McDaniel masterfully gets out of the way and lets his subjects tell their stories. In so doing, we get a whole sense of this great American Zen experiment from satori to debauchery and back (or vice versa), along with much in the middle. If the Zen root does entangle with the American spirit, then Zen students for generations will cherish this book for the honest portrayals of its founders and failures expressed and exposed here. - Dosho Port Roshi, Great Tides Zen ...this offering is at once a history of Zen and a lovely homecoming. Additionally, McDaniel weaves in fundamental teachings, such as differences between Soto and Rinzai Zen within the context of his narrative. This book should be of interest to the serious Zen student, the casual reader as well as students of the history of religion. - Seiso Paul Cooper Sensei, Two Rivers Zen Richard Bryan McDaniel taught at the University of New Brunswick and Saint Thomas University before starting a 27 year career in International Development and Fair Trade. He is the creator of the YMCA Peace Medallion. A long time Zen practitioner, he is the author of "Zen Masters of China," "Zen Masters of Japan," and "The Third Step Zen Masters of America."

500 pages, Paperback

First published August 19, 2015

Reviews

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is so hard to read for a zen Buddhist. I guess there is no way around it - The institutional history of Zen in America is largely the history of male teachers using their role to sexually abuse their female students. So if this bothers you - you are going to have a tough time reading this.

Other than that, the author seems to have hit many of the major players and gives a solid survey of zen today. It's not, by definition, a detailed view on each center. Rather, he's interviewed a few key people connected to each center.

[Matthew Robinson · Rating 5 out of 5]

An important book for those wanting to know about zen in the west following the first generation

[Karma Gyatso · Rating 5 out of 5]

Best book on Zen published in 2015.