Kyozan Joshu Sasaki

Kyozan Joshu Sasaki
Mary Gilliland & Joshu Sasaki
TitleRoshi
Personal life
Born(1907-04-01)April 1, 1907
DiedJuly 27, 2014(2014-07-27) (aged 107)
Religious life
ReligionBuddhism
SchoolRinzai
Senior posting
TeacherJoten Soko Miura|Joten Soko Miura Roshi
Based inMount Baldy Zen Center
Bodhi Manda Zen Center
Rinzai-Ji Zen Center

Kyozan Joshu Sasaki (佐々木承周, Sasaki Jōshū), Roshi (April 1, 1907 – July 27, 2014) was a Japanese Rinzai Zen teacher who lived in Los Angeles, United States since 1962. He was one of the most influential but also controversial Zen masters in America, "coercing hundreds of [students] into having sexual contact with him" since at least the early 1970s. He sought to tailor his teachings to westerners, opening dozens of centres, and founding serving as head abbot of the Mount Baldy Zen Center, near Mount Baldy in California, and of the Rinzai-Ji order of affiliated Zen centers.