Charlotte Joko Beck (March 27, 1917 – June 15, 2011) was an American Zen teacher and the author of the books Everyday Zen: Love and Work and Nothing Special: Living Zen. Born in New Jersey, she studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and worked for some time as a pianist and piano teacher. She married and raised a family of four children, then separated from her husband and worked as a teacher, secretary, and assistant in a university department. She began Zen practice in her 40s with Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi in Los Angeles, and later with Yasutani Roshi and Soen Roshi. Having received Dharma transmission from Taizan Maezumi Roshi, she opened the Zen Center San Diego in 1983, serving as its head teacher until July 2006.
Joko was responsible for a number of important innovations in Zen teaching. In particular, she taught students to work with the emotions of everyday life rather than attempting to avoid or escape them. Because she was adept at teaching students to work with their psychological states, she attracted a number of students who were interested in the relationship between Zen and modern psychology. Several of her Dharma heirs are practicing psychologists/psychiatrists. In 1995 Joko, along with 3 of her Dharma heirs, founded the Ordinary Mind Zen School. In 2006 Joko moved to Prescott, Arizona, where she continued to teach until she retired as a teacher in late 2010. In the spring of 2010, Joko announced Gary Nafstad as the last Dharma successor.
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[edit] References
- An account of Joko Beck's unique role and influence on the development of Zen in America can be found in Zen Master Who? by James Ishmael Ford, Wisdom Publications, Boston 2006.
- An in-depth interview with Charlotte Joko Beck appears in Meetings With Remarkable Women: Buddhist Teachers in America, by Lenore Friedman, Boston: Shambhala Publications, 1987. ISBN 087773366X. A revised and updated version of the book came out in 2000. ISBN 1570624747.
[edit] External links
| Persondata |
| Name |
Beck, Charlotte Joko |
| Alternative names |
|
| Short description |
US American Zen Teacher |
| Date of birth |
March 27, 1917 |
| Place of birth |
United States |
| Date of death |
June 15, 2011 |
| Place of death |
|
