Our Founder
VENERABLE HAKUYU TAIZAN MAEZUMI, ROSHI (1931-1995)
Born into a Zen temple family, Taizan Maezumi Roshi was ordained as a Soto Zen monk at the age of eleven. He lived with his parents Baian Hakujun Kuroda Roshi and Yoshie Maezumi Kuroda and six brothers at Koshinji, the family temple in Otawara, Japan. He later took his mother’s family name as a way of honoring her.
He received degrees in Oriental Literature and Philosophy from Komazawa University and studied at Sojiji, one of the two main Soto monasteries in Japan. While studying at Komazawa, he lived at the dojo of the lay Rinzai Master Osaka Koryu and began koan study. In 1955, Maezumi Roshi received Dharma transmission from his teacher and father Kuroda Roshi, who headed the Soto Sect Supreme Court and was one of the leading figures of Japanese Soto Zen.
In 1956, Maezumi Roshi came to Los Angeles as assistant to Yamada Reirin Roshi at Zenshuji Temple, the U.S. Soto Zen Headquarters. He arrived in Los Angeles with an unshakeable vow to establish Zen Buddhism in the West. It was in Los Angeles that he met his third teacher, Yasutani Hakuun Roshi, and began koan study with him.
In 1967, with help from his family and students, Maezumi established the Zen Center of Los Angeles. In 1970, he received Dharma Transmission from Yasutani Roshi, and in 1973, from Koryu Osaka. Thus, Maezumi Roshi became one of few teachers to receive Inka from both the Inzan and Takuju Rinzai lineages, as well as Dharma transmission in the Soto lineage.
In 1975, he married Martha Ekyo Cornell. The couple had three children together.
In 1976, he established The Kuroda Institute for the Study of Buddhism and Human Values. The Institute publishes a book series with the University of Hawaii Press devoted to the translation of East Asian Buddhist classics. Among other endeavors, he would also play a pivotal role in the founding of Kanzeon Zen Sangha in Utah, Zen Mountain Monastery in New York, the Zen Center of Mexico City, and Yokoji Zen Mountain Center—a monastic retreat center in the San Jacinto Mountains, two hours from ZCLA. His Dharma heirs have also established numerous temples and training centers in Maezumi Roshi’s line.
Maezumi Roshi founded the White Plum Asanga, named after his father Baian Hakujun (White haku, Plum bai). There are now over two hundred and fifty teachers and Zen groups that are affiliated with the White Plum Lineage. He transmitted the Dharma to twelve successors, Roshi Bernie Glassman being his first disciple in 1977. During his lifetime, Maezumi Roshi ordained 68 Zen priests and gave the lay Buddhist precepts to over 500 people. He was married and the father of three children.
Maezumi Roshi was instrumental in the formation of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association (SZBA), an organization designed to foster communication and collaboration amongst American Soto teachers and priests. He also promoted exchange programs among priests and lay practitioners from the United States and Japan. He was author or co-author of several books including On Zen Practice: Body, Breath, and Mind; and The Hazy Moon of Enlightenment (which includes his commentary on Genjokoan), both by Wisdom Publications. Two posthumous collections of his talks and writings have also been published: Appreciate Your Life (Shambhala Publications) and Teaching of the Great Mountain (Zen River).
On May 14, 1995, Maezumi Roshi passed away at the age of 64 while visiting family in Tokyo.
◉ Watch the 26th Year Anniversary Memorial Service (spring 2021) for Maezumi Roshi.
Maezumi Roshi with his parents: Baian Hakujun Kuroda, Roshi and Yoshiko Myokei Maezumi, Zenni