Bernie Glassman (January 18, 1939 – November 4, 2018) was an American Zen Buddhist roshi and founder of the Zen Peacemakers (previously the Zen Community of New York), an organization established in 1980. In 1996, he co-founded the

Zen Peacemaker Order The Zen Peacemakers is a diverse network of socially engaged Buddhists, currently including the formal structures of the Zen Peacemakers International, the Zen Peacemaker Order and the Zen Peacemaker Circles, many affiliated individuals and gro ...

with his late wife Sandra Jishu Holmes. Glassman was a Dharma successor of the late

Taizan Maezumi Hakuyū Taizan Maezumi ( Maezumi Hakuyū, February 24, 1931 – May 15, 1995) was a Japanese Zen Buddhist teacher and rōshi, and lineage holder in the Sōtō, Rinzai, and Sanbo Kyodan traditions of Zen. He combined the Rinzai use of '' kōan ...

-roshi, and gave inka and Dharma transmission to several people. Glassman was known as a pioneer of

social enterprise A social enterprise is an organization that applies commercial strategies to maximize improvements in financial, social and environmental well-being. This may include maximizing social impact alongside profits for co-owners. Social enterprises ca ...

, socially

engaged Buddhism Engaged Buddhism, also known as socially engaged Buddhism, refers to a Buddhist social movement that emerged in Asia in the 20th century, composed of Buddhists who are seeking ways to apply the Buddhist ethics, insights acquired from meditation ...

and "Bearing Witness Retreats" at

Auschwitz Auschwitz concentration camp ( (); also or ) was a complex of over 40 Nazi concentration camps, concentration and extermination camps operated by Nazi Germany in Polish areas annexed by Nazi Germany, occupied Poland (in a portion annexed int ...

and on the streets with homeless people. According to author

James Ishmael Ford James Ishmael Ford (Zeno Myoun, Roshi) is an American Zen Buddhist priest and a retired Unitarian Universalist minister. He was born in Oakland, California on July 17, 1948. He earned a BA in psychology from Sonoma State University, as well as ...

, in 2006 he

Biography

Bernie Glassman was born to

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

immigrants in

Brighton Beach Brighton Beach is a neighborhood in the southern portion of the New York City borough of Brooklyn, within the greater Coney Island area along the Atlantic Ocean coastline. Brighton Beach is bounded by Coney Island proper at Ocean Parkway to the ...

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

in 1939. He attended university at the

Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute The New York University Tandon School of Engineering (commonly referred to as Tandon) is the engineering and applied sciences school of New York University. Tandon is the second oldest private engineering and technology school in the United St ...

and received a degree in

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad range of more speciali ...

. Following graduation he moved to

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

to work as an

aeronautical engineer Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is sim ...

McDonnell-Douglas McDonnell Douglas was a major American aerospace manufacturing corporation and defense contractor, formed by the merger of McDonnell Aircraft and the Douglas Aircraft Company in 1967. Between then and its own merger with Boeing in 1997, it pr ...

. He then received his Ph.D. in

applied mathematics Applied mathematics is the application of mathematical methods by different fields such as physics, engineering, medicine, biology, finance, business, computer science, and industry. Thus, applied mathematics is a combination of mathemati ...

from the

University of California, Los Angeles The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the Californ ...

. Glassman first encountered Zen when he was assigned Huston Smith's '' The Religions of Man'' for an English class in 1958. From there, he continued reading including books by

Alan Watts Alan Wilson Watts (6 January 1915 – 16 November 1973) was an English writer, speaker and self-styled "philosophical entertainer", known for interpreting and popularising Japanese, Chinese and Indian traditions of Buddhist, Taoist, and Hindu ...

Christmas Humphreys Travers Christmas Humphreys, QC (15 February 1901 – 13 April 1983) was a British barrister who prosecuted several controversial cases in the 1940s and 1950s, and who later became a judge at the Old Bailey. He also wrote a number of works on M ...

, and

D.T. Suzuki , self-rendered in 1894 as "Daisetz", was a Japanese-American Buddhist monk, essayist, philosopher, religious scholar, translator, and writer. He was a scholar and author of books and essays on Buddhism, Zen and Shin that were instrumental in s ...

. In the early 1960s, Glassman began meditating and soon after sought a local

Zen Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), and ...

teacher. He found

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

and Glassman became one of the original founding members of the

Zen Center of Los Angeles The Zen Center of Los Angeles (ZCLA), temple name Buddha Essence Temple, is a Zen center founded by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi in 1967 that practices in the White Plum lineage. ZCLA observes a daily schedule of zazen, Buddhist services, and work pr ...

. He received

Dharma transmission In Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' (''kechimyaku'') theoretically traced back to the Buddha himse ...

in 1976 from Maezumi and then inka in 1995 shortly before Maezumi's death. In 1980, he founded the Zen Community of New York. In 1982 Glassman opened Greyston Bakery in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City and Buffalo. The population of Yonkers was 211,569 as en ...

, which initially provided jobs for the Zen students and evolved into an effort to help alleviate the widespread

homelessness Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and adequate housing. People can be categorized as homeless if they are: * living on the streets, also kn ...

in the area. The bakery provided jobs for inner city residents who lacked education and skills. Greyston employed low-skilled workers from the neighborhood, many of whom were homeless themselves, and sold baked goods to shops and restaurants in

Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. In 1989 Glassman entered an agreement with

Ben & Jerry's Ben & Jerry's Homemade Holdings Inc., trading and commonly known as Ben & Jerry's, is an American company that manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt, and sorbet. Founded in 1978 in Burlington, Vermont, the company went from a single ice cream ...

, and Greyston Bakery has become the supplier of brownies for several lines of

ice cream Ice cream is a sweetened frozen food typically eaten as a snack or dessert. It may be made from milk or cream and is flavoured with a sweetener, either sugar or an alternative, and a spice, such as cocoa or vanilla, or with fruit such as ...

. Through the success of his bakery–which in 2016 was earning $12 million in revenues–Glassman founded the Greyston Foundation (sometimes called Greyston Mandala) with his wife Sandra Jishu Holmes in 1989. He retired from the Greyston Foundation in 1996 to pursue socially engaged Buddhist projects through the Zen Peacemakers. As of 2004 the Foundation had developed $35 million worth in

real estate Real estate is property consisting of land and the buildings on it, along with its natural resources such as crops, minerals or water; immovable property of this nature; an interest vested in this (also) an item of real property, (more genera ...

development projects in

Westchester County, New York Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population ...

. The Foundation offers

HIV/AIDS Human immunodeficiency virus infection and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) is a spectrum of conditions caused by infection with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), a retrovirus. Following initial infection an individual ...

programs, provides job training and housing,

child care Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(r ...

services, educational opportunities, and other endeavors. In 2003 the bakery moved to a new building, which allows for higher output and more employment opportunities. In 1996 Glassman, with his wife Sandra Jishu Holmes, founded the Zen Peacemaker Order. According to professor Christopher S. Queen, "The order is based on three principles: plunging into the unknown, bearing witness to the pain and joy of the world, and a commitment to heal oneself and the world." Richard Hughes Seager writes, "The Zen Peacemaker Order...has the potential to rival

Thich Nhat Hanh Thích is a name that Vietnamese monks and nuns take as their Buddhist surname to show affinity with the Buddha. Notable Vietnamese monks with the name include: * Thích Huyền Quang (1919–2008), dissident and activist * Thích Quảng Độ ( ...

's groups and the

Buddhist Peace Fellowship The Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF) is a nonsectarian international network of engaged Buddhists participating in various forms of non-violent social activism and environmentalism. The non-profit BPF is an affiliate of the international Fellowship ...

as a force in American activism." Glassman died on November 4, 2018, from complications of a

stroke A stroke is a disease, medical condition in which poor cerebral circulation, blood flow to the brain causes cell death. There are two main types of stroke: brain ischemia, ischemic, due to lack of blood flow, and intracranial hemorrhage, hemorr ...

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, th ...

at the age of 79.

Teachings

Glassman taught about what his teacher, the late

, called the "unknowing." Not-knowing is the first tenet of the Zen Peacemakers, and Glassman said of it, "In Zen the words source and essence are the equivalent of Unknowing, and they come up again and again. We have the absolute and the relative perspectives about life, and Unknowing is the one source of both of these." Also, Glassman was known for his many "street retreats." Author

writes, "...'street retreats,' for instance, moves

sesshin A ''sesshin'' (接心, or also 摂心/攝心 literally "touching the heart-mind") is a period of intensive meditation (zazen) in a Zen monastery. While the daily routine in the monastery requires the monks to meditate several hours a day, d ...

into the streets: participants eat in

soup kitchen A soup kitchen, food kitchen, or meal center, is a place where food is offered to the hungry usually for free or sometimes at a below-market price (such as via coin donations upon visiting). Frequently located in lower-income neighborhoods, soup ...

s, and, if they know they're not displacing homeless people, sleep in homeless shelters or, otherwise, sleep in public places.

Zazen ''Zazen'' (literally " seated meditation"; ja, 座禅; , pronounced ) is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. However, the term is a general one not unique to Zen, and thus technical ...

takes place in parks." In the 2000s, Glassman developed an experiment in sociocratic consensus-based zen training and interfaith facilitation, known initially a
Peacemaker Circle International
and later Zen Peacemaker Circles. Interconnected projects were established globally, replacing the role of 'Zen teacher' with participants learning from each other and sharing ideas between Circles. Starting in 2001, Glassman taught "Clowning Your Zen" workshops with Moshe Cohen, and founded a "clown order" called the Order of Disorder within the Zen Peacemaker Order. In his last years, having disrobed from the priesthood, Glassman together with his third wife Eve Marko continued the work of his teacher Koryu Osaka Roshi in developing lay forms of Zen practice.

Lineage

Bernie Glassman appointed several "

sensei Sensei, Seonsaeng, Tiên sinh or Xiansheng, corresponding to Chinese characters , is an East Asian honorific term shared in Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese and Chinese; it is literally translated as "person born before another" or "one who c ...

s"Sanbo Kyodan: Harada-Yasutani School of Zen Buddhism and its Teachers
/ref> and " roshis" in traditional zen, and established the non-hierarchical roles of 'Steward' and 'Circle Dharmaholder' as coordinators and visionholders to continue the Zen Peacemaker Circles model. A number of his successors have also given dharma transmission to some of their own students:White Plum Asanga teachers (Maezumi lineage)
/ref> # Ancheta, Alfred Jitsudo Roshi ## Arbiter, Eric Kishin Sensei ## Bruce-Fritz, Carol Myoshin Sensei ## Elkin, Rick Issan Sensei ## Fritz, Ralph Kendo Sensei ## Helzer, Douglas Red Heart Sensei ## Walter, Sydney Musai Roshi ## Whalen, Thomas Zenho Sensei # Baker, Nancy Mujo Roshi # Barragato, Stefano Mui Sensei (b. 1930) ## Barragato, Margaret Ne-Eka ### Wohl, Peter Seishin Sensei #### Peter Joryu Harris #### Jaime Heiku McLeod #### Todd Hotai Watson ## Paquin, Linda-Lee Abhaya # Bastien, James Daikan Sensei # Byalin, Kenneth (Ken) Tetsuji Sensei # Ciepielewski, Jakub Bokkuren Roshi # Collande, Cornelius v. Roshi # Dubois, Michel Roshi # Gauntt, Grover Genro Sensei # Gyger, Pia Jinji Roshi # Halifax, Joan Jiko Roshi ## Bakker, Irene Kaigetsu Sensei ## Byrnes, Brian Joshin Sensei ## Kazniak, Al Genkai Sensei ## Stolte, Beate Sensei ## Palma, José Shinzan Sensei ## Quennell, Genzan Sensei # Krajewski, Andrzej Getsugen Roshi # Harkaspi, Helen Kobai Yuho # Hixon, Lex Nur Jikai (1941-1995) # Hixon, Sheila Jinen Sensei # Holmes, Sandra Jishu Angyo Roshi (1941-1998) # Kahn, Paul Kuzan Genki Roshi ## Ackerman, Joan Noge ## Brown, Tucker Sansui ## Bruce, Susan Kijin ## Bruner, David Moksui ## Dowd, Cathleen Kanno ## DuFrene Troy Kyokai ## Duncan, Shoko Sings-Alone ## Greenberg, Bill Jikai ## Kahn, Jacks Jocelyn Myoen ## Kahn, Monika Seiryo Genmitsu Roshi ### Johnson, Trish Kojindo ### Mancuso, John Mitsudo ## Kolman, Phil Sengetsu ## Koopalethes, Wally Toryu ## Noble, Greg Tensho ## Peterman, John Reizan ## Sato Gerpheide, Karen C. (KC) Zero Kyozen Sensei ## Schmachtenberg, Wolfgang Okami ## Stern, Paul Kisho Roshi ### Hansen, Eileen Toshin ## Tirch, Dennis Doshini ## Vardi, Eran Kyoka Junryu Roshi ## Wagner, Ann Ankai Roshi ### Senegeto, Thomas Kian Sensei # Kennedy, Robert E. Jinsen S.J. Roshi (b. 1933-) ## Abels, Gregory Hosho Sensei ## Abels, Janet Jiryu RoshiStill Mind Zendo
/ref> ## Bachman, Carl Genjo Sensei ## Birx, Charles Shinkai Sensei (b. 1944) ### Pumphrey, Ben Mui Sensei ### Thompson, Scott H. (b. 1948) Dharma Holder (Assistant teacher) ## Birx, Ellen Jikai Roshi (b. 1950) ## Butler, Tim Tomei Sensei ## Cicetti, Raymond Ryuzan Roshi (b. 1950) ### Daniels, Michele Keido Sensei ## Eastman, Patrick Kundo Roshi ### Averbeck, Marcus Hozan Sensei ### Collingwood, Chris Ryushin Sensei ### Woodcock, Jeremy Ryokan Sensei ## Efird, Susan KoDo Sensei ## Healy, Miriam Yukan Roshi ## Holleran, Michael Koryu Sensei ## Hunt, Kevin Jiun Roshi (b. 1933-), O.C.S.O (Order of Cistercians of the Strict Order) ### Taberner, Cynthia Kin Ryu Sensei ### Tacy, Madeleine Seikai Sensei ### Onge, Timothy Mangetsu Sensei ### Seul, Jeff Kōgen Sensei ## Laheen, Mary Soshin Sensei ## Maher, Carl Chimon Sensei ## Montecel, Maria "Cuca" Kosen Roblwedo Sensei ## Richardson, Janet Jinne, CSJP Roshi ### Blackman, Bruce Seiryu Sensei (b. 1942) ### Craig, Barbara Shoshin, RSM Sensei eligious Sisters of Mercy(b. 1932) #### Falcone, Anthony Hoetsu Sensei #### Hebb, John Joho Sensei #### Sullivan, Edward Sangetsu Sensei ### Dougherty, Rose Mary Myoan SenseiOne Heart Sangha
/ref> #### Dietrich, William (Bill) Ji An Sensei #### Ertman, Robert Jin Gen Sensei ##### Palmiter, Martine Taikai Sensei ### McQuaide, Rosalie Jishin, CSJP Sensei ## Schubert, Paul Seiko Sensei ## Yee, Amy Enhai Sensei ## Viggiani, Carl Chimon Sensei ## von Wobeser-Hopfner, Inge Eigen # Lee, Robert Sokan Roshi # Lugovina, Francisco Genkoji "Paco" Roshi ## williams, angel Kyodo Sensei ## Nelson, Craig Daiken Sensei ## Salazar, Joaquin Ryusho Sensei # Marko, Eve Myonen # Matthiessen, Peter Muryo Roshi (May 22, 1927 – April 5, 2014) ## Bastis, Madeline Ko-i Sensei ### Cantor, Mitchell Doshin Sensei #### May, Wilbur Mushin Sensei ## Dobbs, Michel Engu Sensei ## Friedman, Dorothy Dai-en (Daien) Sensei ### Campbell, Chodo Sensei ### Paley Ellison, Koshin Sensei # Maull, Fleet Shinryu Roshi # Merzel, Dennis Genpo Roshi # Nakao, Wendy Lou Egyoku Roshi ## Berge, Raul Ensho, Dharma Holder (2006) ## Boyd, Merle Kodo Plum Dragon Sensei ## Hawley, Kipp Ryodo Sensei ## Janka, Gary Myogen Koan Sensei # Nordstrom, Louis Mitsunen Roshi (b. 1943) ## Denton, Timothy Issai Sensei ## Hawkins, Roger Sensei ## Thompson, Phil Zenkai Sensei # O'Hara, Pat Enkyo Roshi ## Eiger, Randall Ryotan ## Harris, Jules Shuzen ### Rapaport, Al Tendo Fusho #### Linda Myoki Lehrhaupt ## Hondorp, Catherine Anraku Eishun Sensei ## O'Hara, Barbara Joshin Sensei ## Terestman, Julie Myoko Kirin Sensei ## Thomson, Sinclair Shinryu Sensei # Saunders, Anne Seisen ##Deer, Herb Eko ##Wild, Sara Kokyo # Singer, Don Ani Shalom Rabbi Sensei # Richardson, Janet Jinne Roshi # Waele, Frank de Roshi # Wegmueller, Barbara Salaam Roshi # Wegmueller, Roland Yakushi Roshi Circle Zen Dharmaholders: # Margueritte Gregory ## Jeana Moore # Barbara Wegmueller ## Gabriele Blankertz ## Chris Starbuck ### Geoff Taylor and the Western Massachusetts Circle ### Frances Collins ## Steve Hart ## Franziska Schneider ## Kathleen Battke # Roland Wegmueller #Ohad Pele Ezrahi (Rabbi)

Bibliography

* * * * * *

Other media

Audio

Video

* * * * *

Selected honors

* 1991 Best of America Award for Social Action, U.S. News & World Report * Ethics in Action Award, Ethical Culture Society of Westchester * E-chievement Award, E-Town, Tom's of Maine * Man of the Year, Westchester Coalition of Food Pantries * 2016 Babson College Lewis Institute Social Innovator Award

Selected board participation

* The Temple of Understanding *

White Plum Asanga White Plum Asanga, sometimes termed White Plum Sangha, is a Zen school in the Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi lineage, created by Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi. It consists of Maezumi's Dharma heirs and subsequent successors and students. A diverse organization ...

* AIDS Interfaith National Network * Social Venture Network * Westchester Interfaith Housing Corp.

References

External links

Zen Peacemakers

www.greyston.org/

www.greystonbakery.com/

Peacemaker Circles International

Shambhala Sun interview with Roshi Bernie

White Plum Asanga

Videos about Zen Peacemakers and Bernie Glassman

Audio Interview Series
on

Buddhist Geeks ''Buddhist Geeks'' is a podcast, online magazine and annual conference with a primary focus on American Buddhism. It was established in 2006 by Vince Horn and Ryan Oelke. Past guests have included Brad Warner, Shinzen Young, and B. Alan Wallac ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Glassman, Tetsugen Bernard 1939 births 2018 deaths Zen Buddhism writers Engaged Buddhists Engaged Buddhism Soto Zen Buddhists White Plum Asanga Rōshi 20th-century American Jews American Zen Buddhists Converts to Buddhism People from Brighton Beach Polytechnic Institute of New York University alumni Writers from Brooklyn