Matsuoka Roshi, who was referred to by his students simply as “sensei,” was quite a guy. My teacher, Ken Hogaku Mcguire Roshi, often told stories about him. A quiet man truly dedicated to spreading the Dharma throughout the United States, Matsuoka Roshi gave talks wherever he was asked: schools, karate dojo’s, anywhere and everywhere. Some of his early documents showed that he had developed Zen Centers in several states. He was once featured in “Black Belt” magazine as offering the practice of Zen as an adjunct to karate practice.
Matsuoka Roshi ‘s legacy has been tarnished by gossip and false stories, a clear violation of the seventh grave precept. It’s a shame that in a world purported to be a world based on the moral and ethical teachings of the Buddha such would be the case.
I ask now that any author, blog writer, and/or Zen Teacher who has passed these unsubstantiated stories along print retractions and offer apologies. Matsuoka was a pioneer of Zen in America and deserves recognition as such. His Dharma heirs ought be recognized as true Zen disciples and authentic Zen teachers, as in the ancient tradition of the Buddha Way, mind to mind transmission.
May his memory be for a blessing.
Yours in the dharma,
Daiho
Matsuoka Roshi ‘s legacy has been tarnished by gossip and false stories, a clear violation of the seventh grave precept. It’s a shame that in a world purported to be a world based on the moral and ethical teachings of the Buddha such would be the case.
I ask now that any author, blog writer, and/or Zen Teacher who has passed these unsubstantiated stories along print retractions and offer apologies. Matsuoka was a pioneer of Zen in America and deserves recognition as such. His Dharma heirs ought be recognized as true Zen disciples and authentic Zen teachers, as in the ancient tradition of the Buddha Way, mind to mind transmission.
May his memory be for a blessing.
Yours in the dharma,
Daiho