Here is an open letter signed by 66 Zen teachers, including my own teacher, sent to Dennis Genpo Merzel. It appears Merzel has not kept his promises to step out of the role of Zen teacher.

Earlier this year, Merzel resigned as head teacher of Kanzeon Zen Center in Salt Lake City after confessing to multiple improprieties. He disrobed from the Soto Zen priesthood and promised to stop presenting himself as a Zen teacher. For the backstory, see "Another Zen Master Scandal" and "Scandal and Allegation Update."

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Here and elsewhere, on and off the Web, people interested in Buddhism argue about whether they really have to have a Buddhist teacher.  I mean, can't they just study Buddhism in books to get the hang of it?

The word "teacher" suggests some guy standing in front of a blackboard lecturing about Buddhism, but that's not what we're talking about here. In most schools the "teacher" is more like a personal mentor who can give you one-on-one guidance. Usually, he or she is not just someone whose books you have read or whose lectures you attend, but someone who knows you and who can help guide you around your particular obstacles.

This kind of teacher is less interested in feeding you information than in helping you see where you are sticking. A good teacher will challenge your perspective and inspire you to step outside the limits of your current views. And a  good teacher won't let you settle for some half-baked conceptual understanding of the teachings. Books, alas, can't reach out and nudge you when you are misunderstanding them.

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Since I've been a bit hard on Olathe, Kansas, lately, it is good to note the tenth anniversary of the Phap Hoa Temple in Wichita. According to the Wichita Eagle, more than 4,000 people came to the temple on Saturday for a celebration that included viewing of the 8-foot-tall Jade Buddha, currently on a world peace tour.

The original Phap Hoa Temple, established in 1981, was Wichita's first Buddhist temple. It was built by Vietnamese, many of whom had fled Vietnam in the war-torn 1970s. The current building is a larger and more expansive temple completed ten years ago, and today it is one of six Buddhist temples in Wichita.

So congratulations, Phap Hoa Temple! May your fortunate karma continue!

I am an undisciplined reader. I rarely stick with one book all the way through before I start on another one. Sometimes I go back and finish the first book; sometimes I don't.

Right now on my "to be continued" pile is Red Pine's translation and commentary on the Diamond Sutra and St. Nadie in Winter: Zen Encounters With Loneliness by Terrance Keenan. The latter is borrowed from the sangha library, and (note to self) I really ought to finish it and return it before I spill coffee on it, or some such.

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