Suzuki-roshi, Shunryu

Shunryu Suzuki (d. 1971) arrived in America in 1959 to serve as the priest of the Soto Zen Mission in San Francisco. Unlike his predecessors at the Mission, Suzuki not only served the Japanese congregation, but also devoted himself to teaching the practice of shikantaza (“just sitting”) to Euro-Americans. In 1966, he established Tassajara Zen Mountain Center (located in Los Padres National Forest) as America’s first mountain retreat for Zen practice. That same year, he opened the Zen Center on Page Street in downtown San Francisco to accommodate the ever-increasing number of Euro-Americans studying under him.