on Dainin Katagiri - a letter from Sojun Diane Martin - from sweepingzen.com

A Letter to Nonin Chowaney from Sojun Diane Martin on Dainin Katagiri
Posted by: Sojun Diane Martin on March 30, 2013 - on sweepingzen.com

This article was sent as a response to some recent conversations on the article Unethical Practices by Nonin Chowaney (for publication). To read those posts, please go to sweepingzen.com - for the specific conversations.

Nonin,

Both the Katagiri (disguised) stories in Natalie Goldberg’s book and Caryl Gopfert’s MD thesis are true: I myself provided the information and was in the situation at the time. The reason I know Katagiri Roshi had an affair with an extended sangha member (mentally ill) was that he confessed it to me when the woman became dangerous and chaotic. I did not see the woman therapeutically but advised her to seek treatment. I also informed Katagiri Roshi about the Wisconsin laws concerning a minister/priest having sex with a student: two years in prison.

Both Katagiri and the woman ignored me, she deteriorated and eventually made numerous phone calls threatening bodily harm to me and my children. After Katagiri did not respond to the reality of these threats or the woman’s illness, I broke with him as a teacher. Unfortunately he chose to retaliate, saying I had left the practice and abandoned him.

I never completely broke with Katagiri, and my husband and I remain to this day his students. I was transmitted through his lineage. And here is an example of the curious turns and complexities of human relationships. One night, after Katagiri Roshi and I had not spoken for about six months, he called at midnight from Tassajara to say tersely that he wanted me to bring a Japanese transmitted teacher and his family in to take over in Milwaukee and to get them a place to live and a practice center. I replied by saying that I couldn’t because I was in the middle of a divorce, had no money, and was depressed. He answered with “You’ll do fine” and hung up the phone. I knew what he meant and I put into reality what he intended.

I am writing this to you because I see that you are missing some very pertinent information as to Katagiri Roshi’s sexual problem and the effect it has had on our lineage. I have more seduction-level examples, if you care to hear about them of Katagiri Roshi’s behavior.

In my experience both with women coming to our Udumbara Zen Center with stories of Zen teachers acting out and my serving as a mediator between entangled teachers and their women students. Plus, just hearing and reading about this issue continuing that as Soto Zen priests we need to address a deep collective problem.

It is in the spirit of ongoing ethical exploration that I write you.

Diane Martin

Yes Wisconsin at least seems to take clergy abuse seriously:
http://www.snapwisconsin.com/10_8

If more jurisdictions did the same there would be much less of it.

What I find particularly shocking in this article is the statement:

Quote :

In a study conducted at the Baylor University School of Social Work, researcher Diana Garland found that in an average congregation with 400 adult members, at least seven women over the age of eighteen will have been victims of clergy sexual misconduct.

That is close to two percent. If that were replicated throughout all churches the numbers worldwide would be quite horrific. Clearly an area where a lot more research is needed to confirm the size of the problem elsewhere. From the article Wisconsin seems to have very considerable powers to prosecute and it would be good if it were so in other jurisdictions. I personally will be writing to my Member of Parliament and the UK Minister concerned to bring the Baylor findings to their attention and to urge them to instigate research and also at the very least to adopt Wisconsin style laws. I would urge others to do the same in their jurisdictions. Perhaps a California proposition?

Dianna Garland's paper mentioned in my last post is well worth a read it is a sober and sobering study of abuse throughout the ages, but particularly more modern abuse in American Christian Churches. She shows that the problem is old,

Quote :

The Old Testament reports that the sons of the priest Eli misused their position to engage in sexual misconduct with women serving at the Tent of Meeting (1 Samuel 2:12)

- that the reactions of the Church authorities is similar down the the ages

Quote :

In 1868, Henry Ward Beecher, the renowned pastor of Plymouth Congregational Church in New York, began visiting Elizabeth Tilton, the wife of a close friend and a member of his congregation. Their relationship led her husband to bring charges against the pastor. Despite overwhelming evidence of their pastor’s guilt, Plymouth Church stood by Beecher and excommunicated those who testified against him, including Elizabeth Tilton, who died ostracized and alone in 1897 (Grenz & Bell, 2001).

- sounds rather like the reaction of some Zen Centers.
And she goes on to show that the size of the problem is enormous,

Quote :

In a study in 1984 of 1100 Protestant clergy, 38.5 % admitted to inappropriate sexual contact and 12.7 % had engaged in sexual intercourse with a church member (Cooper, 2002). A more recent random sample survey of residents in the Dallas/Fort Worth area reported that 2.8% of respondents had personally experienced mental, sexual, or physical abuse by a clergyman, and 4.6% of the sample reported knowing a friend, relative, or co-worker who had experienced such abuse. Only 23% of victims reported the abuse to religious authorities and only 11% to civil authorities (Stacey, Darnell, & Shupe, 2000) [presumably the 2.8% is a conservative estmate since there is likely to have been under reporting even in a presumably anonymous survey - mstrathern comment]. One denominational group (the United Church of Canada) reported that women are more likely to experience sexual harassment in the church than in the workplace, and that clergy are sexually exploiting parishioners at twice the rate of nonsectarian therapists (Flynn, 2003).

The whole paper 'When Wolves Wear Shepherds’ Clothing: Helping Women Survive Clergy Sexual Abuse' can be found at: http://www.baylor.edu/content/services/document.php/96036.pdf

This all reinforces my view that the only way to tackle this problem is to do so proactively, with legal enforcement and externally to the organisation concerned. I personally would favor an external behavior audit carried out by professionals (like say the Faith Trust). We have it for finances, why not for people and behavior? But in our society it seems money is more important then people.
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing.” Edmund Burke (attrib.)

Mark

We don't need a new set of laws in the UK.

Crimes of harrassment are covered by the Anti Harrassment Act

Sexual Offences are covered by the Sexual Offences Act

Crimes of Violence are covered by the laws against assault.

People are often ignorant about these laws,and maybe think they do not apply in some places-this isn't true.

If a person is molested by a priest,teacher,parent or any other person,they are entitled to report the perpetrator to the police ,and to have their complaint logged,and given a Police Incident number.They are also entitled to have the offence investigated.If the molestation continues,the person can apply for a Non-Molestation order at the County Court or the Magistrates Court.They can do this themselves,or through a solicitor.

If a person is attacked,they are entitled to report the crime to the police and expect the perpetrator to be arrested.

If a person is attacked sexually,they are entitled to report the crime and expect the perpetrator to be arrested,and the crime to be investigated.Rape and other froms of sexual assault are taken very seriously these days.Where I live the Chief Constable and the Police Commissioner take a pro-active stance on these kinds of crime,and the front -line police training required.

For more information and detail about the laws that exist, and how they can be used,I recommend the "Womens Aid"Website,and the link to "Rights of Women",a specialist law firm.

The laws of the land apply everywhere in the country.So-called teachers,masters,geniuses,etc.,etc., are not exempt,neither are so called places of worship, retreat centres, temples etc.

As I have said several times,I would like to apply a Code of Standards to such places.The Code would be portable.The centre would be expected to provide evidence of a Duty of Care Policy.The Duty Of Care Policy is a committment to protect any resident or visitor from harm whilst on their premises."Harm" means all kinds of harm,including molestation,coercion,bullying , harrassment,sexual harrassment and sexual violence.

I would expect the grottiest bed and breakfast to accept and fulfill this minimum standard,and believe that any institution calling itself a church ,temple ,or place of worship should have such a Policy.They should be accountable to the standards of care invoked in the policy.

Good luck with your campaign!

Maisie - I would agree that we do not need any further laws if the present ones were being enforced. And actually the same is true of codes of conduct. Virtually all countries are signatories to the human rights convention. In the UK, and I presume in US and elsewhere, Churches are bound by the Charity Laws and have codes of practice and ethics committees, etc., etc., etc. Clearly however none of this is working. The civil authorities hate to intervene in churches and leave it to the churches to police their own affairs. And do they? No, all we seem to get is a spokesperson with a bucket of whitewash, saying 'This was an isolated one off incident that has been dealt with and there are now procedures in place so it will never happen again, ...blahdy, blahdy, blah.' And is it an isolated one off incident, and has it been dealt with adequately, and will it never happen again ...no, no and no; if past precedents are anything to go by.

If, of the professionals at a hospital, university or school '38.5 % admitted to inappropriate sexual contact and 12.7 % had engaged in sexual intercourse' with those in their care the institutions concerned would be closed down. Why? Because they had completely failed in their duty of care to the point where abuse and cover-up had become institutionalised. As we can see from my last post there have been laws and expectations of conduct since at least biblical times, with little or no effect. With financial matters any public institution, company or charity has to have an open and transparent finances with a proactive external audit of them. I don't see a problem with a similar kind of proactive audit for behavior. It would cost, but overall I would think about the same as a financial audit, something which organisations seem to be able to manage now. There would not need to much 'law'. Clearly there would need to be enabling legislation setting up the requirement for organisations to have a 'behavioral audit', but most of what is to be audited is, as Maisie has said, already covered by legislation. Anything further could be covered by an ethics policy drawn up and published by the institution itself along with clear, open and transparent mechanisms for complainants to draw the attention of the external auditors to breaches. Such behavioral policy documents abound already, for instance every school in England has to have a policy document on its policies for pupils with special educational needs. So I don't think a general ethics policy would be too onerous, and most churches, etc. have one already. It is just that there are no real mechanisms for holding them to account to it.Will this cure all the ills, no; did financial audits stop Enron? But I think that an open, transparent and proactive system would be infinitely better than the purely reactive, and frequently closed and secretive, systems we have now. Often they just tut-tut and avert their eyes, and have in the past many times even connived at abuse.

Mark
Yes,I agree,there is no motivation for any of these groups or institutions to change the status quo.There will be some beating of breasts,and some hair shirt wearing ,a few statements of regret,if the victims are lucky,but generally the rule is that the main task of the group is to preserve itself.So,no difference between these so called religious or spiritual groups and all other groups,including families,schools,governments etc.
Victims are scapegoated at the behest of the group.Crimes are minimalised and marginalisation occurs.I noticed Sojun Diane Martin cites the whistle blower she mentions as "mentally ill".
Of course ,I don't know how accurate the description,yet why even mention the state of health of this person?If the abuse happened,the state of health of the victim is irrelevant.The victim may have been more or less vulnerable,but that in itself does not bear upon the facts of the case.We do not need all this drama.We need ordinary protections and law enforcement for ordinary commonplace crimes.These sorts of crimes(sexual harrassment,predation and violence),commonly occur in all societies.Therefore all citizens should have a knowledge and understanding of the laws that can be invoked.
All groups and institutions likewise need to take responsibility for their obligations towards citizens who visit and reside in their premises.
I have grown impatient of the talk of ethics and the culture of institutional introversion.
They need to stop looking at themselves and look at the immediate locality,how that is governed,and how local law and social agencies view these crimes.
But as you say,and I have agreed,these little sect-like groups will not do this voluntarily.The tendency amongst often very intelligent attenders at these places,is to view them as set apart somehow in some little unaccountable bubble,and maintain this fantasy as a condition of their allegiance.And it is obviously in the interests of these little groups to collude with the fantasy.And often there is also this culture amongst other agencies that the church is somehow perceived to be off limits for interference.The Catholic Church is a prominent example,with disastrous results.
I am in sympathy with Jack's view,and yours,that there is so little that can be done.
And yet,the little that can be done must be done.The laws we have in the Uk,and the change of culture that has enabled some sex offenders to be prosecuted,has been achieved by a lot of people doing a little.And I for one am grateful for these changes in law and culture because they have saved my life.
So,what is to be done?(as Lenin once said).
What, in detail, can the participants on this site do?
If not a portable code of practice ,which is applied by each visitor(my idea),what other ideas does anybody have?
I need to know that if I go on retreat again,I won't be just hoping the group or institution will have something in place so that I can protect myself.I wish this for others too.So I need to do something.
And I don't want to be alone.I know that there are laws.I know they can be invoked.I know that if I were staying anywhere else,I would feel quite at ease asking for a Duty of Care policy.Because everywhere has them.I do work in a Methodist Church community centre.They have a Duty of Care policy.Etc., Etc.,And I don't want to be that lone voice,that scapegoated individual.....

I spent last night reading nonin's original article, all the comments to it, then diane martins reply that josh has posted above. Then i read this;
http://sweepingzen.com/zen-centers-sexual-liaisons-and-delusion/

I read all the comments to her article.

The behaviour of nonin and grace, 2 supposedly zen masters, is astonishing! What a read! How they reveal themselves! I am dismayed by their behaviour on these "threads", and it seems that grace has a husband who has joined grace in the aggressive controlling behaviour that they dont seem to realise they are doing. Astonishing, the level of unawareness of who they think they are.

Do they realise what they are doing to zen buddhism by acting like this in public?

Mark. 2% is not the true figure here. If 8 women in a congregation are sexually somethinged, then what percentage of priests are somethinging? And what is the something? More asking and listening to be done here.

Please bear in mind that at least 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men are sexually assaulted as children, and over 90% of the assaults are in the home by family members. Also at least 60% of children see violence in the home. This is for me the starting point for listening/loving and understanding whats really going on here.

david. wrote:

Please bear in mind that at least 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men are sexually assaulted as children, and over 90% of the assaults are in the home by family members. Also at least 60% of children see violence in the home.

Hi David, I'm just wondering where you get these figures from. I'm not questioning them, just interested. I find it quite shocking!

hello Glorfindal. Within the professions that work with this, this is pretty common knowledge, and all over the internet.See:

http://www.d2l.org/site/c.4dICIJOkGcISE/b.6250779/k.4BB6/How_Prevalent_is_Child_Sexual_Abuse.htm

and

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Child_sexual_abuse

and

http://theadvocacycenter.org/adv_abuse.html

OK, now here's my punchline. All of the many women I know who have been sexually abused as children it was the father (and maybe other family members too). With almost all of them full penetrative intercourse started before the age of 5. In all cases the woman when i met them had no memory of being sexually abused as a child.

Furthermore, for reasons i cannot divulge, I know for a fact that the truth is far worse than officially released research shows.

The 60% of children see violence in the home statisticis a Dr Bernado's statistic, so reliable.

see:
https://www.ncjrs.gov/childrenexposedtoviolence/

http://www.clarkprosecutor.org/html/domviol/facts.htm

etc etc etc etc etc ..... google it.....

Also, within alternative medicine, and spiritual communities, the figures will be far higher, for obvious reasons. Some research says 1 in 2 women...

So, when we take all this on board, the implications start to appear, if we are willing to ask and listen.....

I would respectfully suggest that fools rush in where angels fear to tread. I find that the more i open my heart to the truth of where people are really coming from, then I am less likely to throw stones, and more likely to want to listen more and ask more.

Reading the sweeping Zen articles i linked above by prominent Zen teachers, and reading the comments and their responses to comments, I believe more and more that Zen itself is deeply flawed, as of course it is in Japan.

The obvious culprits are not the problem in Zen, its the non-obvious ones, the "Establishment" leaders, the ones that on the surface appear to be really "enlightened", but are suddenly revealed to have no depth of understanding of themselves and others at all.

In my experience, anyone who has listened to others with any depth, and provided space for others with any depth, for a length of time, will have direct experience of all of the above truths about what is going on inside so many of us.

If we sit with ourselves honestly, and willing to feel, for just a few months and years, we realise that we've always known all this really. We just had to hide it all away and pretend....

oh man, those figures are the most depressing thing I've come across.

They have had a huge impact on me, and their implications for me are all pervading.

I can assure you that they are very conservative figures as well.

This is the 4th time I have quoted these figures on this site, and you are the first person to acknowledge them at all. Why is that?