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MoreWhat is Sanbo Zen?
About 2,500 years ago, a young Indian man named Gautama Siddhartha (later known as Shakyamuni Buddha) discovered an astonishing truth: through Zen, he discovered that all existence in this world is one, without any boundaries between self and other, and that this is the true nature of this world.
Time passes and Japan enters the 20th century. Sanbo Zen was born to convey this "truth" to the modern era. Sanbo Zen began with Yasutani Hakuun Roshi, a disciple of Harada Sogaku Roshi. Harada Sogaku Roshi was a Zen monk of the Soto sect. He is said to be the greatest Zen master born in the Meiji era. Next, Yamada Koun Roshi, a disciple of Yasutani Hakuun Roshi, achieved a great awakening, which opened Sanbo Zen to the world and firmly established its foundations.
Now, Koun Roshi's son, Yamada Ryoun Roshi, has been entrusted with the great mission of passing on this important truth to people, and his teaching focuses on this "single emptiness" that contains infinite possibilities.
Zen, the highest wisdom of the East, is getting increasing attention around the world. The Sanbo Zen Sangha network is now spreading all over the world, making clear the truth of Gautama Siddhartha's discovery.
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Was ist Sanbo-Zen?
Vor etwa 2500 Jahren entdeckte ein junger Inder, Gautama Siddhartha (später Shakyamuni Buddha), eine erstaunliche Tatsache: durch „Zen“ entdeckte er erfahrungsmäßig, dass alle Seienden in dieser Welt „Eine Welt“ darstellt ohne Grenzen zwischen „Selbst“ und „Anderem“, und dass dies genau die wahre Wirklichkeit dieser Welt ist.
Die Zeit verging. Es war das 20. Jh. in Japan: Um jene „Tatsache“ der modernen Welt zu vermitteln, wurde Sanbo-Zen von Yasutani Haku´un Roshi initiiert, einem Schüler des Soto-Zen-Mönchs Harada Sogaku Roshi, der als der größte Zen-Meister der Meiji-Ära gilt. Nach Yasutani Roshi stieß Yamada Koun Roshi, der ein großes Erwachen erlebt hatte, die Tür zur Welt weit auf und festigte die Grundlagen des Sanbo-Zen.
Jetzt treibt Yamada Ryoun Roshi die große Mission fort, diese wichtige Tatsache an die Menschen weiter zu vermitteln, indem er „das eine leere Firmament“ (Kokû) verkündigt, das unendliche Möglichkeiten in sich trägt.
ZEN, die höchste Weisheit des Ostens, erfreut sich weltweit wachsender Faszination. Das Sangha-Netzwerk des Sanbo-Zen hat sich inzwischen über die ganze Welt ausgebreitet und beweist, dass die Entdeckung von Gautama Siddhartha wahr ist.
Teachers
Abbot Yamada Ryoun Roshi
Yamada Ryoun Roshi was born in 1940 in Manchuria and became Yasutani Roshi's disciple when he was 16 years old. In 1978, he finished his formal Zen training under his father, Yamada Koun Roshi, and in 1985, he succeeded the Dharma of Koun Roshi. As the Zen Master of Sanbo Zen he became the Abbot in October 2004.
Gundula Meyer Roshi
Gundula Meyer (Zuiun-an) Roshi was born in Lubeck in Germany and is an ordained minister in the Protestant Church. She became a disciple of Yamada Koun Roshi in 1977 and has devoted herself in Zen ever since. Completing her koan study after several years, she went back to Germany and opened her Zendo in Ohof in northern Germany in 1987. She has been active in guiding a zendo also in Sweden. In 2001 she received the Dharma from Kubota Roshi and was appointed Zen Master (Shoshike) of the Sanbo Zen.
Tonoike Hekiun Roshi
Tonoike Roshi was born in 1926 and started his Zen practice under Yasutani Haku'un Roshi in 1968. After Hakuʼun Roshi's retirement in 1971, he practiced under Yamada Koun Roshi. From 1976 on, he was attendant to Yamada Roshi, finishing his koan study in 1978. For a long time, he has been the secretary general of the Secretariat of the Sanbo Zen Society. He spent many years guiding the practitioners as the chief leader of the Sanʼun Zendo assembly and as the leader of his Kanda-Zazenkai in Tokyo. In November 2009, he was appointed Zen Master (Shoshike) of Sanbo Zen by the Abbot Yamada Ryoun Roshi.
Sato Migaku Roshi Kyuun-ken
Sato Migaku Roshi was born in 1948 and is the Professor emeritus for the New Testament at Rikkyo University in Tokyo (Dr. theol. in Berne in 1985). His first contact with Zen was with Father Enomiya- Lassalle in 1982
in Switzerland. In 1985, he became the Zen student of Yamada Koun Roshi of the Sanbo Zen. After Yamada Koun Roshiʼs death in 1989, he became the student of Kubota Ji'un Roshi, and from 2004, the student of Yamada Ryoun
Roshi. He has been licensed to teach since 2004. In August 2020, he received the Dharma transmission from Yamada Ryoun Roshi and was appointed Zen Master (Shoshike) of Sanbo Zen.
Presently, he is mainly active at Sanbo Zendo Weyarn in Bavaria, Germany. He also gives sesshin in Israel and in Tokyo.
Othmar Franthal Roshi Shuho-ken
Othmar Franthal Rôshi was born in 1956 in Vorau, Austria. He was the victim of a serious traffic accident at the age of 19, which led to a new orientation in his life plan. He retrained as a certified geriatric nurse and worked in the social center of the Parish Herz Jesu in Graz, Austria. He attended the Catholic Social Academy in Vienna and received basic training in client-centered conversation according to Rogers. He has been married to his wife Barbara since 1982. As founding members of the Franciscan Community of the "House of Silence" near Graz, they participated in community life there for ten years, until he and his wife moved to Dietfurt, Germany, in 1991.
Bruce Harris Roshi Soun-ken
Bruce Harris Rô shi was born and raised in Northern California. He is a painter and a wood-block artist. He practiced Rinzai Zen throughout the seventies, first in London, then at Daishu-in in Kyoto under the direction of Morinaga Sôkô Rôshi, who gave him guidance by correspondence on his return to France. In the early 80's, Bruce turned to the Sanbo Zen lineage, studying with Yamada Kôun Rôshi in Kamakura, until Rôshi 's death in 1989. Bruce continued to study under Yamada Kôun Rôshiʼs successor, Yamada Ryôun Roshi. Over the years, Bruce has returned to Japan as frequently as possible, receiving Ryôun Rôshi 's vividly clear, kind, and uncompromising dokusan guidance. He received the Dharma from Ryôun Rôshi in August 2020 and was appointed Zen Master (Shôshike) of Sanbo Zen. Residing in Montpellier, in the South of France, he shares his practice in a simple, non-monastic style in France, the United States (California and West Virginia), and Spain.
Henry Shukman Roshi Ryoun-ken
Henry Shukman Roshi began meditating at the age of 25 in the Transcendental Meditation style, transitioning into Zen a few years later. He received guidance from various teachers in Britain and America, prior to meeting his primary Zen teachers, Joan Rieck Roshi, Zen Teacher John Gaynor and Ruben Habito Roshi. Since 2007, he has trained under Yamada Ryoun Roshi, Abbot of Sanbo Zen. In 2020, he received the Dharma transmission from Ryoun Roshi and was appointed Zen Master (Shoshike) of Sanbo Zen. He is currently the spiritual supervisor of Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Henry is also a writer and poet of British-Jewish origin, who has published about ten books to date, including fiction, poetry and nonfiction. He lives in Santa Fe with his wife Clare, with whom he has two adult sons.
Members-only Content
You will find many videos of Yamada Ryoun Roshi, as well as readings such as the kyosho.
To gain a deeper understanding of the Zen world of Sanbo Zen, please register as a member and have a look.
References
Our basic Zen position is set out in the following books.