Mel Weitsman
Sojun Mel Weitsman wielding ahossu.
Title	Abbot
Personal life
Born	Mel Weitsman (1929-07-20)July 20, 1929 Southern California, U.S.
Died	January 7, 2021(2021-01-07) (aged 91)
Nationality	American
Religious life
Religion	Zen Buddhism
School	Sōtō
Lineage	Shunryū Suzuki
Senior posting
Teacher	Shunryū Suzuki
Based in	Berkeley Zen Center
Predecessor	Hoitsu Suzuki
Successor	ZenkeiBlanche Hartman Zoketsu Norman Fischer RyushinPaul Haller Peter Schneider (Zen priest) HozanAlan Senauke Maylie Scott Josho Pat Phelan Grace Schireson DairyuMichael Wenger Myōgen Steve Stücky Shōsan Victoria Austin Steve Weintraub Raul Moncayo Gil Fronsdal Fran Tribe Mary Mocine Myōan Grace Schireson Daijaku Kinst Shinshu Roberts Teah Strozer Chikudō Lew Richmond Edward Espe Brown Idilio Ceniceros

Part ofa serieson
Zen Buddhism
Main articles Zen ChineseChan JapaneseZen KoreanSeon VietnameseThiền Zen in the United States
Teachings The "essence" No-mind Original enlightenment Buddha-nature Turning the light around Kenshō Satori Sudden awakening The way Ten Ox-Herding Pictures Five ranks of Tozan Hakuin's Four ways of knowing One Vehicle The "goal" Bodhisattva ideal Buddhahood Background Zen and Sutras Doctrinal background of Zen Representation-only Emptiness
Practices Zazen Six Perfections Bodhisattva vow Bodhisattva Precepts Shikantaza Sesshin Dhāraṇī Walking meditation Nianfo Koan Hua Tou Samu (Zen) Ōryōki No-mind Prostration (Buddhism) Buddhist chant Dharma combat Kyōgai Zen poetry Zen calligraphy
Zen scripture Indian Mahayana texts Prajñaparamita sutras Lankavatara Sutra Śrīmālādevī Sūtra Lotus Sutra Vimalakirti Sutra Avatamsaka Sutra Mahaparinirvana Sutra Chinese texts Two Entrances and Four Practices Śūraṅgama Sūtra The Awakening of Faith Sutra of Perfect Enlightenment Platform Sutra Anthology of the Patriarchal Hall Transmission of the Lamp
Important Zen Poetry Zazen gi The Gateless Gate (Mumonkan) Blue Cliff Record Book of Equanimity Dōgen’s Shōbōgenzō (selected poetic passages) Blue Cliff Record (Hekiganroku) Cold Mountain Poems (Hanshan) Poems of Ryōkan Ikkyū’s Zen poetry Bashō’s Zen-influenced Haiku Other Zen-inspired poetry
Traditions East Mountain Teaching Sanjiejiao Oxhead school Heze school Hongzhou school Five Houses of Chán Tibetan Chan Trúc Lâm Plum Village Tradition Order of Interbeing Jogye Order Kwan Um School of Zen Taego Order Rinzai school Sōtō school Ōbaku school Sanbo Kyodan White Plum Asanga Ordinary Mind Zen School Zen Peacemakers
Persons Chán in China Classical Bodhidharma Hongren Shenxiu Huineng (Enō) Shenhui Mazu Daoyi (Baso) Shitou Xiqian (Kisen) Huangbo Dongshan Liangjie (Tozan) Xuefeng Yicun (Seppo) Linji Yixuan (Rinzai) Zongmi Yunmen Wenyan (Ummon Bun'en) Yongming Yanshou Dahui Zonggao (Tahui) Moheyan Post-classical Zhongfeng Mingben Hanshan Deqing Contemporary Taixu Xu Yun Sheng-yen Zen in Japan Eisai Bassui Ikkyū Bankei Hakuin Ekaku Dōgen Seon in Korea Taego Bou Jinul Daewon Seongcheol Thiền in Vietnam Trần Thái Tông Trần Nhân Tông Thích Thanh Từ Thích Nhất Hạnh Thích Thiên-Ân Western Zen D. T. Suzuki Hakuun Yasutani Taizan Maezumi Shunryū Suzuki Hsuan Hua Seungsahn Sokei-an Category: Zen Buddhists
Institution Dharma transmission Zen lineage charts Zen ranks and hierarchy Zen organisation and institutions Zen Narratives
Related schools Sānlùn Wéishí Huayan Tiantai Shingon Tendai Pure Land Buddhism
v t e

Part of a series on
Western Buddhism
Statue of theBuddha in theJapanese Tea Garden,San Francisco
Main articles Western Buddhism Buddhist modernism Buddhism in the United States Buddhism in Europe Historical Greco-Buddhism Buddhism and the Roman world Greco-Buddhist monasticism
Tibetan dissemination 14th Dalai Lama In the United States Chögyam Trungpa In England Geshe Kelsang Gyatso In Germany Lama Anagarika Govinda
Theravada dissemination Thai Forest Tradition Vipassana movement In England Anagarika Dharmapala Sangharakshita Ajahn Chah In Germany Nyanatiloka Nyanaponika Thera In the United States Thanissaro Bhikkhu Joseph Goldstein Jack Kornfield
Zen dissemination Zen in the United States Modern Chinese Chán Hsuan Hua Sheng-yen Hsing Yun Rinzai Zen D. T. Suzuki Sokei-an Soto Zen Shunryū Suzuki Sanbo Kyodan Haku'un Yasutani White Plum Asanga Taizan Maezumi Korean Seon Seung Sahn Vietnamese Thiền Thích Nhất Hạnh Listing of Zen Buddhists
Pure Land dissemination In the UK Three Wheels Temple In the USA Buddhist Churches of America Honpa Hongwanji Mission of Hawaii In Canada Jodo Shinshu Buddhist Temples of Canada
Exchange Buddhism and Christianity Buddhism and Gnosticism Buddhism and psychology Buddhism and Western Philosophy Buddhism and Pyrrhonism
General Buddhism Buddhism Outline of Buddhism Traditions Theravada Mahayana Vajrayana Navayana Asian countries Indian Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism Chinese Buddhism Japanese Buddhism Korean Buddhism Listing of Buddhist topics
v t e

Hakuryu Sojun Mel Weitsman (July 20, 1929 – January 7, 2021), bornMel Weitsman, was an American Buddhist who was the founder, abbot and guiding teacher ofBerkeley Zen Center located inBerkeley, California. Weitsman was aSōtō Zenroshi practicing in the lineage ofShunryū Suzuki, having receivedDharma transmission in 1984 from Suzuki's son Hoitsu. He was also a co-abbot of theSan Francisco Zen Center, where he served from 1988 to 1997. Weitsman was also editor of the bookBranching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai, based on talks given by Suzuki on theSandokai.

Mel Weitsman was born insouthern California in 1929, to Edward Weitsman and Leah Rosenberg Weitsman.^[1] Interested in religion from an early age, he started practicing at theSan Francisco Zen Center underShunryū Suzuki in 1964. He co-founded theBerkeley Zen Center with his teacher in 1967. Suzuki ordained Weitsman as a priest in 1969, and arranged for him to be Shuso (Head Monk) in 1970 under Tatsugami Roshi atTassajara Zen Mountain Center. His other teachers includedDainin Katagiri Roshi,Kōbun Chino Roshi, Ryogen Yoshimura andKazuaki Tanahashi, with whom he has often worked on translations of Zen texts. In 1984, Weitsman receivedDharma transmission from Suzuki Roshi's son and Dharma Heir, Hoitsu Suzuki Roshi, Abbot of Rinso-In Temple inYaizu,Japan. Installed as Abbot of Berkeley Zen Center in 1985, he later was invited to lead San Francisco Zen Center as co-abbot with TenshinReb Anderson from 1988 to 1997, following the eviction of Zen Center's previous abbot,Zentatsu Richard Baker, because of sexual scandal and allegations of financial wrongdoing.^[1][2][3] He co-founded theAmerican Zen Teachers Association (AZTA) with senior American Dharma teachersTetsugen Bernard Glassman,Dennis Genpo Merzel andKeido Les Kaye in 1995. Weitsman has entrusted the Dharma to over twenty individuals, including ZenkeiBlanche Hartman (1988)^[4] andZoketsu Norman Fischer (1988).^[5]

1. Josho Pat Phelan (?—present)^{[web 1]}
2. Mary Mocine (?—present)
3. Myoan Grace Schireson (born 1946)
   1. Jane Myokaku Schneider (?—present)
   2. Myosho Baika Andrea Pratt (born 1960)
4. Shinshu Roberts (?—present)
5. Daijaku Judith Kinst (?—present)
6. Soshin Teah Strozer (?—present)
7. Chikudo Lew Richmond (?—present)
8. Peter Yozen Schneider (?—present)
9. Shosan Victoria Austin (?—present)
10. Dairyu Michael Wenger (born 1947)
    1. Darlene Su Rei Cohen (☸ 1942—2011)
       1. Susan Ji-On Postal (?—present)
          1. Myozan Dennis Keegan (?—present)
       2. Horyu Ryotan Cynthia Kear (?—present)
       3. Sarita Tamayo-Moraga (?—present)
    2. Mark Lancaster (?—present)
11. Hozan Alan Senauke (born 1947)
12. Maylie Scott (☸ 1935—2001)
13. Fran Tribe (☸)
14. Gil Fronsdal (born 1954)
15. Edward Espe Brown (born 1945)
16. Ryushin Paul Haller (born 1947)
17. Myogen Steve Stucky (?—2014)^{[web 2]}
18. Steve Weintraub (?—present)
19. Zoketsu Norman Fischer (born 1946)
    1. Do-An Robert Thomas (?—present)
    2. Shokan Jordan Thorn (?—present)
    3. Ingen Breen (?—present)
    4. Bruce Fortin (?—present)
    5. Arlene Lueck (?—present)
    6. Daigan Lueck (☸ ?—2015)^{[web 3]}
    7. Shinko Rick Slone (?—present)
    8. Gloria Ann Lee (?—present)
    9. Myphon Hunt (?—present) retired
    10. Gyokujun Teishin Layla Smith (born 1946)
20. Zenkei Blanche Hartman (?—present)
    1. Kosho McCall (born 1946)
    2. Seirin Barbara Kohn (?—present) retired
    3. Gengetsu Jana Drakka (born 1952)
    4. John Daniel King (☸ 1935—2001)
    5. Ryumon Hilda Guitierrez Baldoquin (?—present)

• Sōtō
• Shunryū Suzuki
• San Francisco Zen Center
• Berkeley Zen Center
• Soto Zen Buddhist Association
• American Zen Teachers Association
• Zen in the United States
• Buddhism in the United States
• Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States

• Ford, James Ishmael (2006).Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen. Wisdom Publications.ISBN 0-86171-509-8.
• Downing, Michael (2002).Shoes Outside the Door: Desire, Devotion, and Excess at San Francisco Zen Center. Counterpoint.ISBN 1-58243-254-6.
• Gach, Gary (1998).What Book!?: Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop. Parallax Press.ISBN 0-938077-92-9.
• Prebish, Charles S.; Kenneth Kenʼichi Tanaka (1998).The Faces of Buddhism in America. University of California Press.ISBN 0-520-21301-7.OCLC 37782936.
• Skinner Keller, Rosemary; Rosemary Radford Ruether; Marie Cantlon (2006).The Encyclopedia of Women and Religion in North America. Indiana University Press.ISBN 0-253-34685-1.OCLC 61711172.
• "Lineage, San Francisco Zen Center: About Us". San Francisco Zen Center. Archived fromthe original on October 14, 2010. RetrievedOctober 28, 2009.

• San Francisco Zen Center
• Soto Zen Buddhists
• Zen Buddhist abbots
• 20th-century abbots
• American Zen Buddhists
• Zen Buddhist spiritual teachers
• 1929 births
• 2021 deaths
• People from Long Beach, California
• Religious leaders from the San Francisco Bay Area

• Articles with short description
• Short description is different from Wikidata
• Use mdy dates from January 2021
• Pages using religious biography with multiple nickname parameters
• Articles having same image on Wikidata and Wikipedia