The Diamond Sangha
Robert Aitken Roshi and his wife Anne founded the Diamond Sangha in 1959 in Hawaii. This lineage now has thirty-seven teachers world-wide including Ross Bolleter Roshi in Perth; Mary Jaksch Roshi, Glenn Wallis Roshi, Arthur Wells Roshi and Sean Weaver Sensei in New Zealand.
Diamond Sangha teachers lead sitting groups and retreats in the USA, Chile, Argentina, Australia, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, England and Germany.
The Diamond Sangha lineage has roots in the Soto school of Zen, but emerged from a branch that blended teachings from both the Soto and Rinzai schools of Zen - using koan study, and shikantaza ('just sitting').
As a lay tradition we practice in the great 'monastery without walls'.
Diamond Sangha teachers lead sitting groups and retreats in the USA, Chile, Argentina, Australia, Saudi Arabia, New Zealand, England and Germany.
The Diamond Sangha lineage has roots in the Soto school of Zen, but emerged from a branch that blended teachings from both the Soto and Rinzai schools of Zen - using koan study, and shikantaza ('just sitting').
As a lay tradition we practice in the great 'monastery without walls'.
Our Lineage
A Genealogy of Zen in New Zealand
Ross Bolleter Roshi
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Ross Bolleter Roshi teaches primarily at the Zen Group of Western Australia. He was authorised to teach by John Tarrant Roshi in 1992, and received Dharma Transmission from Robert Aitken Roshi and John Tarrant Roshi in 1997.
He has taught extensively in Australia and New Zealand and has successors in both places. Ross led sesshin in regularly between 1993 and 2004. He gave Dharma Transmission to three of our four New Zealand teachers Mary Jaksch (2004), Glenn Wallis (2010), and Arthur Wells (2012). Ross' successors in Australia include Susan Murphy, Rob Joiner, Ian Sweetman, and Mari Rhydwen. Both Susan Murphy and Mari Rhydwen have practiced and taught in New Zealand as visiting teachers. Ross has published two books on Zen practice: Dongshan's Five Ranks: Keys to enlightenment The crow flies backwards: Western koans with commentaries |
Our Ancestors
Robert Aitken Roshi (1917-2010)
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Robert was born in Pensylvennia and raised in Hawaii from the age of 5. When he worked as a civilian in construction in Guam he was captured by the Japanese in WWII and spent the war years in Japanese military internship camps. It was during this time that he discovered an interest in Zen, partly through reading the book 'Zen in English Literature and the Oriental Classics', and then meeting its author (Blyth) who was interned in the same camp.
In 1959 Robert and his wife Anne began a meditation group in Honolulu at their residence, which became known as the Koko-an zendo and the community that gathered, as the Diamond Sangha. They invited Yamada Roshi to be the head of the Diamond Sangha and became his students. In 1974 Robert was given permission to teach by Yamada Koun Roshi, receiving full Dharma transmission from him in 1985. He has written many books on Zen and is one of the leading pioneers of Zen in the West. Robert Aitken was a social activist through much of his adult life, beginning with protests against nuclear testing during the 1940s. He was among the earlier proponents of deep ecology in religious America, and was outspoken in his beliefs on the equality of men and women. In 1978 Aitken helped found the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, with Anne Aitken and Nelson Foster. |
Yamada Koun Roshi (1907-1989)
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A student of Yasutani Roshi, who transferred the leadership of the Sanbo Kyodan to Yamada Koun Roshi in the 1960s.
He moved to Hawaii in 1971 and was invited to become the leader of the Diamond Sangha by Robert and Anne Aitken - who were both students of Yamada Roshi. Yamada authorised Robert Aitken as a Zen teacher in 1974. |
Yasutani Haku'un Roshi (1885-1973)
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Received Dharma Transmission from Harada Roshi in 1943, and went on to found the Sanbo Kyodan in 1954 - a blend of Soto and Rinzai Zen practice. He then traveled to the United States in 1962 to teach in the West. His teaching was documented in Phillip Kapleau's book 'The Three Pillars of Zen'.
Among his students were Yamada Koun and Robert Aitken. |
Harada Daiun Sogaku Roshi (1871-1961)
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Harada Roshi trained in both Soto and Rinzai Zen schools and pioneered blending these two traditions. His Dharma heir Yasutani would take this blend further in founding the Sanbo Kyodan. Harada Roshi also disrupted tradition by teaching lay-people with monks rather than separately.
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