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Zen Peacemakers Order: Overview: Introduction to ZPO Charter
Mission We the undersigned Zen teachers and chosen representatives of Zen Peacemaker groups (Zen centers, groups, institutes and circles) agree to come together to create a Zen Peacemakers Order with a Mother House and an educational institute called the Maezumi Institute. The purpose for our cooperative efforts is to maintain Zen practice, realization and actualization, and to nurture, promote and creatively transform Zen traditions. We welcome your comments and suggestions. Please link here to send an email to us. Vision We recognize that no one teacher or group holds all truth and that we can better maintain and advance our Way through cooperation and learning from one another. Our efforts to establish a Sangha speaks to this wish to share our diverse methods of practice and teaching, to continue to educate and develop ourselves as practitioners and teachers, and to provide the best possible opportunities for practice, realization and actualization for our students and the generations that follow. Unifying Principles Zen manifests through the dedicated efforts of individuals and groups who realize and actualize the interconnectedness of life through their practice in training halls, at work, within families and within community. The Three Treasures and the Three Tenets serve as the common foundation for our Zen practice. The Three Treasures can be understood from many different perspectives, including Buddha, Dharma and Sangha, and Oneness, Diversity and Harmony; as such, the Three Treasures are not limited to any one faith or belief system. The Three Tenets are the human embodiment and functioning of the Three Treasures and consist of Not-knowing, Bearing Witness and Loving Actions. The Three Treasures and Three Tenets are the foundation of our commitment to zazen, to the uniquely relational nature of Zen teaching, to the mind-to-mind transmission of teaching authority, to circle practice, to peacemaking, to social service, to broad-based inclusivity, to community, to Oneness and to the interconnectedness of all life. Organizing Principles A deep understanding of the interpenetration of Oneness and Diversity lies at the heart of Zen. This is expressed in taking great care to maintain balance in the subtle relationships between whole and parts, to recognize the interplay of perspectives, and to make wise choices as to the appropriate perspective for each situation. Teaching and transmitting this understanding calls for a knowledge of traditional teaching methods (upayas) that have come to us from our ancestors, as well as for the creativity to develop new upayas relevant to the needs of sanghas and practitioners in the ever-unfolding present. In this spirit, we honor the authority invested in realized Zen
teachers and support their wisdom and vision; and we honor Zen circle
practices, which foster and draw nurturence from the horizontal wisdom,
compassion and creativity of the peer group. In this spirit, we seek to
create a union that will honor the autonomy and creativity of
individual teachers and groups while opening paths of mutual
understanding, learning, shared endeavors and some common practices. We
embrace a Federalist model, in which decisions are made at the lowest
appropriate level. Thus we seek to protect the integrity, autonomy and
authority of each group while developing a cooperative union that
utilizes the Mother House and the Maezumi Institute. The members of the
Zen Peacemakers Sangha - teachers, centers and circles - will develop
their own styles and ways of practice, their own liturgy, rituals and
vestments. When the various members and affiliates gather in union,
common liturgy and rituals may be used.
![]() As co-spiritual directors of the Zen Peacemakers Order, Roshi Bernie Glassman and Roshi Pat Enkyo O'Hara will have a part in developing these common liturgies and rituals and other matters that the Zen Peacemakers Order decides that it would like to hold in common. For example, common titles and roles for empowered positions such as Dharma holder. Issues of discipline within a group or center will be dealt with by each individual community. Teachers, groups and circles can consult with Mother House committees for advice and guidance as they wish. Policies and procedures regarding responsible and ethical leadership, as well as the rights and privileges accorded to different teaching and clerical ranks, will need to be explored and developed both in common and within individual communities. |
Bernie's Zen
The Dude Abides
