Seeking Info on Sangha Members

In this section we can ask about current and former OBC sangha members and see if anyone knows how they are.

PLEASE NOTE: The intent is not to intrude upon anyone's privacy or disclose highly personal or confidential information in any way; the intent is to share general status updates. [Any posts deemed to infringe upon another's right to privacy will be removed.]

We would like to hear from or about these individuals:

Jay Fulcher (former Rev. Alden)
James McGinn (former Rev. Neil)
former Rev. Berenice Sykes -- might be in India?
Rev. Gemma
former postulant Lynn McDougall from Shasta Abbey (her last name may be Dougall?)
formula postulant Paula, who was resident at Shasta Abbey before going to the North Cascades priory

I would like some news about Serena Holt, Alden Fulcher

Why is Alden referred to as the former Alden, did he leave the Order?

hi John -- the most current information I have is that he did leave the OBC and was in Seattle, at least as of late 2008. If someone else knows differently maybe they will update this thread.

I really liked him too -- still do, wherever he is. He was consistently nice, didn't put on airs and was very interesting to talk with. Wicked sense of humor and he can recite poetry from memory. I heard him do "The Owl and the Pussycat" once during a talk in the guesthouse

Maybe we'll hear more --

Lise

Dear Lise, Thanks for the info about Jay Fulcher. I agree with you. Jay is a genuinely nice fellow. He was the one who kept me going to the Berkeley Buddhist Priory. I would love to be in touch with him. I wonder where his mother is? She was a novice at one point.

Thanks again for the update. John San Francisco

I haven't heard anything on his mother -- to the best of my knowledge she is still in the Order. But I've also been out of the loop for quite awhile --

The last I heard about Jay Fulcher's mother -- Rev. Winola -- was that she was happily living at the North Cascades Buddhist Priory in McKenna, Washington. She is quite advanced in years and wasn't seeing or hearing well. But when I last saw her , she was quite happy with her decision to become a monk. I don't know what happened to her son, the former Rev. Alden, but I heard that he just walked out one day. I would like to know why long-term, almost life-long monks leave. It can't be easy for a person who has been a monk for their entire adult life.

Of course, my first post will be contrarian--why didn't I see that coming.
Like many others did, I knew and liked very much several of these monks. (In my experience, most monks are pretty likable.) But I think that one of the greatest of Buddha's teachings is that, sooner or later, you're going to say good-bye to everything. And everyone. Some circumstances maybe more satisfying than others, some less so, but the final result is inevitable.
Yes, I would love to hear good news about this person or that, but the circumstances of our lives have made that impossible, apparently. (Quite by accident, I do have the email address of one person mentioned here, but it is not my place to intrude.) For whatever reason, these monks have gone silent (though I realize that they may be on a more private forum). I would welcome their contact--anyone is free to connect with me: georgekastner@hotmail.com--and of equal value is my own internal inspection of my desires to find some of these ex-monks. I've got my own prominent, life-long karmic issue right in the middle of this particular problem of connection.
So win-win for me: good if I find out about them, good if I find out about myself!

George wrote:

So win-win for me: good if I find out about them, good if I find out about myself!

That's great, I like it.

Having looked at this, my interest in a Contacts thread comes from --

* Guilt about not saying goodbye to the few monks I felt close to, who might have wondered why I stopped coming. Or maybe they didn't wonder, being monks who don't cling, but at least they can see where I am now. I also think of others I didn't know as well, but who were always kind to me, like Rev. Teijo, Rev. Mugo from the UK, Rev. Scholastica . . . mentioning them here is just a way to give them a shout-out and say "thanks", basically.

* I want some of the former monks/postulants/others to know that lay people did care when they left and we don't think they are "failures". I know the Abbey has a strong motivation to keep people in, but only the individual knows what is right for his or her life. Choosing a different path than monasticism isn't "failure".

I am glad that this discussion is going in the direction that it is. After High School, in 1966, I joined the Jesuits and spent 2 years in a cloister in silence in Poughkeepsie, NY. When I left, my Irish catholic family wanted nothing to do with me. I eventually was able to see that my spiritual life was not dead, but was a continuum and that I had actually had been developing all along and continue to develope spiritually. Monks leaving OBC are on the same continuum. I'ts just the next stage for them. I object to the term used by another poster that Eko's leaving is seismic. It is just the next step for him. I'm sure that both Eko and Alden will do well. I also cringe at the report that Eko was asked to leave immediately because he developed a relationship with someone, that sounds like the Church of Rome, Italy. that sounds very UnBuddhist. Many Soto Zen Masters are married with kids. Maybe the OBC needs to go back to the time when they excluded Kyogen and Gyokuko Carlsen and it's subsequent nasty treatment of this loving couple. There is a strain of nastiness in the OBC that they ought to eliminate. I also think that they ought to take a closer look at Peggy Kennett. She did a lot of good things, but I think that their veneration of her is a little overboard. Especially troubling to me, as a health care professional is the fact of her diabetes and her refussal of treatment in light of her visions. There is a lot of good in Soto Zen, but it is not all good, there is a lot of good in OBC, but it is not all good.

Hi John, I fully agree with all of your points here. And I certainly agree, as a former monk myself, that spiritual life is a continuum that is not diminished in the slightest by leaving an institution!

Also, my apologies for not being more clear when I referred to Eko's resignation as a "seismic event" within the OBC. I did not mean that it would be a seismic event for him--but that the departure of an Abbot, out of disagreement with the direction the OBC was taking, should have been a wake-up call impossible to ignore. Unfortunately, within the OBC culture, the alleged "concealed romantic relationship" (I'm not at all sure what this term actually signifies, or what the circumstances were) becomes all the excuse the OBC needs to dismiss Eko's concerns altogether.

And I fully agree with you about the exclusion of Kyogen and Gyokuko. I think it was one of RM Jiyu-Kennett's most tragic mistakes, and one the OBC should, in my opinion, rectify.

It would be good to have news of former RM Raymond and to have contact with him, if he cared to make contact. I am sure many wish him all the best and remember him with gratitude.

Hi Ian,
I wondered if you have had any messages from Rev. Raymond and if it be the case, is he OK

Gassho, Roy

With these inquiries about various people whose names I don't know, I was inspired to write to my friend and colleague, Nonin Chowaney in Omaha Nebraska about a friend of his who ordained with the OBC. He would have been at the Abbey in the 1980's. I have Nonin's permission to post his letter to me.

in Gassho,
Gyokuko



"Gyokuko,

My friend was Rev. Cuthbert -- Joe Juettner. We taught English together at a community college on Long Island, NY from the mid- 60's to the early 70's when I left. He continued to teach there for some years, and then left and built a cabin in the woods near Kalispell, Montana. He sat with a Shasta Abbey affiliate group and later went to the Abbey to live and ordained there. After a few years, he left the abbey and set up a small zendo on Long Island, NY, where he was originally from. He was riding his bike near the zendo one day, was hit by a truck, and died instantly, in, I think, 1991. His ashes are at the Abbey.

Hands palm-to-palm,

Nonin"

Does anyone know the whereabouts or the state of being of the monk formerly known as Kaikan? She has a workshop below stairs in the Main House and had a droll sense of humor that you could catch if you sat right next to her at a monk's tea. She wrote to me many years ago when I was overworked and having health problems. I regret that I didn't take time to send a thoughtful answer to her letter, and now I wouldn't know how to begin.
Gyokuko

Hi Gyokuko,

I have not been in touch with Kaikan for some time--but in the catagory of small-world synchronicities, we have followed each other's life changes for some time.

Kaikan was from Seattle--I am from Chicago (and, of course, still living in California). But it turns out that her aunt (and her aunt's husband), were long-time Chicago residents and very good friends of my parents. When Kaikan left the Abbey, she moved to Chicago, with the support of her aunt (for whom she was named). My mother remained in contact with Kaikan for many years.

I will Private Message you with more details.

I can tell you exactly why the long term monks may leave ... at some point the lion roars!

R A Foley wrote:

I wondered if you have had any messages from Rev. Raymond and if it be the case, is he OK

Gassho, Roy

I've heard recently that he is very well.

(Apologies for not having introduced myself yet, I'll try to write more in the next week.)

Has anyone heard how Rev Muriel/Inge, Rev Ryokai, Rev Edwin, Rev Ryuji and Rev Galen are?

Last thing I heard Rev. Edwin and Rev. Galen were well, but this was about a year ago. It would be nice to hear from them themselves since there's really only so much you can say about other people on a public forum.

[In replacement of a previous post:]

Several forum members (Kyogen, Kaizan, Isan) are interested in hearing from the former Rev. Genmon from Shasta Abbey.

thanks,
Lise

Are you out there, Reverend Master Hogetsu? I remember you fondly from Pine Mountain Buddhist Temple and I think of you often. Hope you are well and content. I would love a PM from you, or perhaps an email: georgekastner@hotmail.com With Bows/George

Reading the forum, Reverend Fristan? We met only twice (the last time at Throssel in 2000), and I remember each meeting vividly. Would love to hear from you, PM or email: georgekastner@hotmail.com. With Bows/George

I would like to get in touch with a lay trainee named Annabelle who attended the Santa Barbara priory in the mid-1990s. Sorry, I don't know her last name.

[Admin note: I received the following from a sender identifying as Gemma. Forum policy has for some time prohibited posting messages on behalf of others, but in this case the mods available to discuss it considered it appropriate.]


I recently stumbled upon this website and saw that people are
wondering what became of me. I asked Lise to post this statement to
let people know that I am well and very happy in my present life. I
spent a lot of energy healing from my experiences as a member of the
OBC, and have moved on in my life and in my Buddhist practice. I
appreciate that this site exists and is a forum for discussion, but I
have no desire to relive my experiences or reconnect to the OBC in any
way.

To those who helped me in myriad ways large and small, my deepest
thanks. To those whom I hurt in any way, my sincere apology.

Best wishes to you all, and may you find a path with heart on which
you can experience "the sweet joy of the way."

Rev. Gemma

Gemma, thank you for coming here and saying hello. I remember meeting you at Shasta and I've thought of you quite often over the years, as I know others have as well. So good to know you're well and happy

Best regards,
Lise

Anyone know the whereabouts of Rev. Reian who was allowed to change his name to Rev. Geoffrey?

I know his given name is Robert Glass and he's Canadian.

Thank you.

I find myself wondering about Myozen Delport, who married and became Miagaowa and moved to Canada.

Taught me zazen as a serious practice, and I remain grateful...

Yes James, Myozen and Arnold, I forget his ordained name, rather fell off the radar after they retuned to Canada. By the way didn't they spell their name Miyagawa

At one point they turned up in Japan to study with another teacher over there. That would have been between 1977-79. They didn't reveal that they had been ordained by Jiyu Kennett, and that Myozen had been transmitted. She had been registered with the Sotoshu in Japan, so this caused a big commotion. I don't know what happened after that came out, whether they found a way to stay there or left, or what.

Kyogen

Arnold Miyagawa's ordained name was Myoshu. That is now irrelevant (see Kyogen's message). In 1974 they lived in Vancouver - I visited them there. It was lovely. Myozen (Jean) introduced me to zazen in Toronto 1970.
I wonder if anyone knows anything about Shuyu (George) and Gyozan (Joanne) Singer and there twins Rebecca and Matthew. I understand they had another child. I really loved them, they were very approachable and natural when we all lived in Shasta in early 70s. I also enjoyed baby-sitting for them. Shuyu made those beautiful tables and benches for the dining-room.
Ol'ga (Chinso)