“If you give up the east and hide in the west, it is not that
– Eihei Dogen, Shobogenzo, GBZC Sutra Book
there is no object in the west…The farther away you push objects,
the deeper you become attached to them.”
The Greater Boston Zen Center is an independent, non-residential, non-profit organization founded in 2012. It is located in Cambridge’s Central Square neighborhood. It was founded by Josh Bartok and has a committee of Senior teachers including Edward Oberholtzer, Jeff Seul, Julie Nelson, and Fran Ludwig. It also has a board of directors, who can only serve 3 years, and what they call “Working groups”, which are groups that organize and serve the community. They offer a variety of Zen Buddhist practices including Zen meditation, breathing exercises, and koan introspection. Unfortunately, the Greater Boston Zen Center is currently rebuilding from an abuse of power situation with regard to their former Spiritual leader and other teachers in a different sangha who they are no longer affiliated with.
About the Founder
Josh Bartok is a Zen Buddhist priest, counselor, author, and photographer. He lives in Somerville, MA, and has been practicing Zen Buddhism for over 20 years. He is a Dharma heir of James Ishmael Ford Roshi and a senior editor at Wisdom Publications. He also has a Master’s of Science in Mental Health Counseling and is a Pastoral Therapist. He has been the editor of over 200 books in all areas of Buddhism, but recently is the co-author of Saying Yes to Life (Even the Hard Parts) and the editor of Daily Doses of Wisdom. He has also written 2 children’s books on Buddhist writings, I See You, Mara and I See You, Buddha. Unfortunately, in December of 2020, Bartok was suspended from the Greater Boston Zen Center because of sexual and emotional misconduct with one of the students. After this, he resigned from all of his positions. He was also suspended from his teaching role at the Soto Zen Buddhist association for the same reasons. This has hurt the community severely at the Greater Boston Zen Center and has led to the formation of what they call the Resilient Sangha Project.
Resilient Sangha Project
“If you exclude those who have broken precepts, you exclude all bodhisattvas. If you exclude those who may break precepts in the future, you exclude all bodhisattvas who arouse the aspiration for enlightenment.”
– Eihei Dogen, from Shobogenzo
The Resilient Sangha Project is the Greater Boston Zen Center’s way of trying to turn Josh Bartok’s abuse of power into a learning experience for all the members of the sangha. They want to be completely open about their past and the history of their practices, and in doing so they wish to encourage other sanghas/communities to do the same by creating a new model of the leadership community. In addition, they are coming together with survivors of abuse and are doing research on power dynamics in the clergy to better understand the issue. They hope to create a place where ethics can be thoroughly taught, people can practice without feeling unsafe or unsupported, and previous actions of the sangha, good or bad, can be skillfully discussed in a way that benefits the whole of the community.
Buddhist Traditions
“The world we live in is the world we create, based on how our mind
– Shohaku Okumura,
encounters the myriad dharmas. We cannot prevent our mind from
creating the world as it does, but it is possible to realize that the world
of our creation does not reflect true reality.”
from Realizing Genjokoan
The Greater Boston Zen Center is predominantly based on Zen Buddhism and Madhyamaka Buddhism, both forms of Mahayana Buddhism. Mahayana Buddhism arose around the 2nd century BCE or 1st century CE and is based on new writings that agree with Buddha’s previous words. It expands more on the role of the laypeople with its idea of a “New Buddhism”. “Old Buddhism” mainly focused on the cessation of the suffering of the self, whereas Mahayana Buddhism aims to end suffering for all beings by creating compassion and nurturing wisdom. In Mahayana Buddhism, the path of the bodhisattva is emphasized. This path entails reaching enlightenment, but not reaching complete Nirvana in order to stay and help everyone else become a bodhisattva. Mahayana is commonly called the “Great Vehicle” because it is believed to be the greater interpretation of Buddha’s word and to have greater acceptance of people. Mahayana is the more flexible, modern version of Buddhism compared to its counterpart, Theravada Buddhism, which is rooted in tradition.
Madhyamaka Buddhism
“When Buddhas are truly Buddhas they do not necessarily notice that
– Eihei Dogen, from Shobogenzo
they are Buddhas. However, they are actualized Buddhas, who go on
actualizing Buddhas.”
Madhyamaka Buddhism is a school of Mahayana Buddhism, founded in approximately 150-200 CE by Nagarjuna. He discovered the Perfection of Wisdom sutras, which are the basis for Madhyamaka Buddhism. These sutras, specifically the Heart Sutra, discuss the concept of emptiness and how everything is empty. This is called Perfect Wisdom. Nagarjuna believed in dependent origination, or the idea that everything exists because something else has caused it to exist; therefore, nothing has any intrinsic existence, making everything empty. Nagarjuna also believed that there is no distinguishable difference between Nirvana and Samsara; when someone reaches Nirvana, they are not transported somewhere, they are simply opened up to the true nature of reality. This idea also relates to the Chinese Caodong House’s idea of Silent Illumination, which states that in trying to reach Nirvana/Illumination, once we attain it, we forget about striving for it, like Nagarjuna’s idea of the relationship between Samsara and Nirvana. One may not realize when they have become enlightened.
Zen Buddhism
“Think not-thinking. Not-thinking—what kind of thinking is that? Beyond-thinking. This is the essential art of zazen.”
Fukanzazengi — “Universally Recommended Instructions for Zazen” from Dogen’s Extensive Record
Zen Buddhism is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that first originated in China. In China, it was called Chan, which translates to “meditation”. It spread to most of East Asia and eventually made its way to the west. There then became two main denominations of Zen Buddhism, one being Soto Zen Buddhism and the other being Rinzai Zen Buddhism. The Greater Boston Zen Center is a Soto Zen Buddhism practice space, meaning it puts extra emphasis on “zazen”, or Zen meditation, and believes that everyone is already enlightened, they just need to nurture that enlightenment by practicing meditation. Founded by Eihei Dogen, Soto Zen Buddhism focuses on the daily Zen: existing in the present moment and being mindful in all aspects of life, similar to the Western phrase, “Go with the flow.” The practice of Zazen is the heart of Soto Zen Buddhism and is meant to be a selfless practice dedicated to freeing and enlightening all living beings.
“Zazen is neither concentration practice, nor not concentration practice… Zazen is pure presence untouched by all human agency, relying on no contrivance… It is physical and mental non-interfering.”
– Reb Anderson, from Warm Smiles From Cold Mountains
Despite being proclaimed as practicing Soto Zen Buddhism, the Greater Boston Zen Center also practices elements of Rinzai Zen Buddhism, called koans. Koans are riddles for students meant to stimulate the unconscious mind and allow for the discovery of more truths about the world. The idea is, once a student has drained their analytic mind of energy trying to understand the koan, they realize that the koan must be understood by spiritual means, thus furthering their religious journey.
Practices/Schedule
The Greater Boston Zen Center predominantly practices Shikantaza/Zazen, or sitting. It has morning sits every weekday, and evening sits are on Tuesday and Wednesday. These sits include dharma talks as well as independent meetings. Saturday mornings consist of sits, discussions, dharma talks, and independent meetings. There are also sitting groups for persons of color and members of the LGBTQIA+ community. In addition, the center offers study groups, classes, and residential and non-residential meditation retreats, as well as a koan curriculum for those interested.
Congregation
The Greater Boston Zen center has approximately 75 formal members, however many more than that number of people participate in their activities over the course of a year. They have White, Asian, Hispanic, and Black members, with the majority being White. Most members are well-educated middle class, and their ages range from teenagers to the elderly. They do not have any monastics or people who are in the official Buddhist Sangha. Members describe feeling as though they have had their hearts opened and felt freedom and community by joining the Greater Boston Zen Center. One member by the name of Nick said, “What I most appreciate about Zen practice and GBZC is the generous spirit of tolerance for inevitable error.”
Funding
The Greater Boston Zen Center is funded by its members. When a person becomes a member, they must fulfill a monthly monetary pledge to the GBZC. In addition, people must pay to register for certain activities and everyone (including non-members) may make general donations at any time.
Affiliations
The Greater Boston Zen Center has some minor associations with other national and international Zen communities through Zen teacher groups and an acquaintance with a local Asian Buddhist community.
Its affiliate groups include: Kalyana Mitra Zen in Worcester, MA; Bright Sea Zen in North Weymouth, MA; Broken Broom Zen in South Natick, MA; Benevolent Zen in Providence, RI; Grass Hut Zen in Durham, NC; and Mustard Seed Zen in Middletown, CT.
Works Cited
“Boston Area Zen Meditation – Greater Boston Zen Center.” Greater Boston Zen Center, 16 Oct. 2022, bostonzen.org/.
“Greater Boston Zen Center.” Pluralism.org, 2021, pluralism.org/greater-boston-zen-center.
“Shobophoto Bio.” Shobophoto.com, 2022, www.shobophoto.com/Shobophoto/Bio.html.
“Josh Bartok – the Wisdom Experience.” The Wisdom Experience, 28 Jan. 2022, wisdomexperience.org/content-author/josh-bartok/.
“Josh Bartok – Enlightening Conversations.” Enlightening Conversations, 11 July 2015, enlighteningconversations.org/speakers/josh-bartok/.
“Madhyamaka Buddhist Philosophy | Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy.” Utm.edu, 2022, iep.utm.edu/madhyamaka-buddhist-philosophy/.
“What Is the History of Zen Buddhism?” Buddhism for Beginners, 29 Apr. 2020, tricycle.org/beginners/buddhism/what-is-the-history-of-zen-buddhism/.
Soto, Introducing. “Soto Zen Buddhist Association.” Soto Zen Buddhist Association, 2014, www.szba.org/introducing-soto-zen.
Domyo. “34 – Dogen’s Genjokoan Part 1: Non-Duality, Intimacy, and Enlightenment – the Zen Studies Podcast.” The Zen Studies Podcast, 19 Oct. 2017, zenstudiespodcast.com/genjokoan-1/.
Kuruvilla, Carol. “These Zen Buddhist Koans Will Open Your Mind.” HuffPost, HuffPost, 31 Oct. 2015, www.huffpost.com/entry/zen-buddhism-koan_n_563251dce4b0631799115f3c.