Tenshin Reb Anderson
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Tenshin Reb Anderson, roshi, is a noted American Zen Buddhism priest and teacher in the Soto school. Born in Mississippi and raised in Minnesota, he became a Buddhist in 1967 and studied with Shunryu Suzuki at the San Francisco Zen Center. He was ordained as a priest in 1970, receiving the name Tenshin Zenki (Japanese for "naturally real, whole activity" or the play on words: "the whole works").
In 1983, Anderson received dharma transmission from Suzuki's successor Richard Baker. Baker would later argue that the dharma transmission process was never finally completed as he did not give Anderson all the minor documents (kiragami) associated with Japanese Soto. However this assertion has not been accepted within the mainstream of North American Zen where Anderson Roshi is considered a major figure.
Anderson served as teaching abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center, individually from 1986 to 1988 and with a co-abbot from 1988 to 1995. He lives with his family at Green Gulch Farm in Sausalito, CA, part of the San Francisco Zen Center, where he continues to serve as the Center's senior teacher.
Written works
- Warm Smiles from Cold Mountains: Dharma Talks on Zen Meditation
- Being Upright: Zen Meditation and the Bodhisattva Precepts
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