Soyu Matsuoka | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | 1912 (1912) |
| Died | 1997 (aged 84–85) |
| Education | Komazawa University |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Zen Buddhism |
| School | Sōtō |
| Senior posting | |
| Successor | Richard Langlois, Zenkai Taiun Michael Elliston (East Coast), Hogaku Shozen McGuire (West Coast) |
| Website | http://www.azszc.org/dedication.htm |
| Part of a series on |
| Western Buddhism |
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 Statue of theBuddha in theJapanese Tea Garden,San Francisco |
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Dr.Soyu Matsuoka (松岡 操雄, 1912–1997), along withSokei-an andNyogen Senzaki, was one of the earlyZen teachers to make theUnited States his home.
Shortly before World War II Matsuoka went to the US, to serve Japanese immigrants.[1] He arrived to be the assistant to the abbot of Zenshuji Temple in Los Angeles, and was later the supervisor at Sokoji Soto Zen Mission (Temple) in San Francisco.
Matsuoka established the Chicago Buddhist Temple in 1949 (now the Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago). In the 1960s he gathered a following ofAmericans. Richard Langlois was one of the first Americans ever to receiveDharma transmission. In 1970 Matsuoka left Chicago and moved toLong Beach, California, where he continued to preside over other communities. Matsuoka left the Soto-shu,[1] Matsuoka holding that Zen is a personal experience, and that the authority of the Soto Sect and its training monasteries (専門僧堂) inhibit the practice of Zen.
Matsuoka died in 1997.[1][2][3]
According to Kozen Sampson, at least three of Matsuoka's students received inka shomei. These three "were considered to be fully transmitted priests with the status of Roshi by him".[4] Four students were registered with the Soto-Shu as "initial novice priest", and to five students was conferred "full priesthood".[4]
Three Dharma Heirs of Soyu Matsuoka were:
Hogaku established Daibutsuji Zen Temple in Cloudcroft and theZen Center of Las Cruces, in Las Cruces, New Mexico. So Gozen is now the Abbot of Daibutsuji and the Zen Center of Las Cruces.[5]Daiho Hilbert left Daibutsuji to establish theOrder of Clear Mind Zen, a socially engaged sangha in New Mexico.[6]Taiun Elliston Sensei established the Atlanta Soto Zen Center and is working to establish an order honoring Matsuoka.
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