Joshu Sasaki Roshi (Leonard Cohen's teacher) Obituary: Mark Oppenheimer, "Joshu Sasaki Roshi, Rinzai Zen Master, Dies at 107, The Influential Teacher Leaves a Mixed Legacy," Tricycle (July 30, 2014). Obituary: Paul Vitello, "Joshu Sasaki, 107, Tainteed Zen Master" New York Times (Aug 4, 2014). In Malka Marom's book of interviews with Joni Mitchell, we find this remarkable discussion of Leonard Cohen's Zen teacher Joshu Sasaki Roshi. Joshu Sasaki's bad behavior did finally catch with him in 2012. But this is in the 1970s. It's interesting to see Joni Mitchell and Malka Maron processing having a problem with his behavior as basically deriving from their own Judeo-Christian hang ups: I did some drawings of Leonard’s teacher, Roshi, for a cookie drive; they were printed in a Zen magazine called Zero . So I had a little bit of contact with Roshi. He was a jolly little guy. He liked to drink and he liked to sm...
Comments
Post a Comment