Alan Senauke
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Hozan Alan Senauke (December 13, 1947 – December 22, 2024) was an American
Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Caodong school, Cáodòng school, which was founded during the ...
priest,
folk music Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be ca ...
ianBuddenbaum, 398–399 and poet residing at the Berkeley Zen Center (BZC) in
Berkeley, California Berkeley ( ) is a city on the eastern shore of San Francisco Bay in northern Alameda County, California, United States. It is named after the 18th-century Anglo-Irish bishop and philosopher George Berkeley. It borders the cities of Oakland, Cali ...
, where he served as Abbot. He was an executive director of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship (BPF), holding that position from 1991 to 2001. Alan also was a founder of Think Sangha, a group of writers and intellectuals that are affiliated with the BPF and the International Network of Engaged Buddhists. Think Sangha is a group of individuals who meet together to identify some of the most pressing
social issue A social issue is a problem that affects many people within a society. It is a group of common problems in present-day society that many people strive to solve. It is often the consequence of factors extending beyond an individual's control. Soc ...
s that they feel engaged Buddhists should be addressing. Senauke, who was born to a secular Jewish family in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York, arrived in the
San Francisco Bay area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
in 1968 and soon started sitting at the Berkeley Zen Center. Along with his Dharma sister Maylie Scott, Senauke 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 him ...
from his teacher Sojun Mel Weitsman in 1998 during a ceremony at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center.


Biography

Alan Senauke was born in 1947 to a secular Jewish family in
Brooklyn Brooklyn is a Boroughs of New York City, borough of New York City located at the westernmost end of Long Island in the New York (state), State of New York. Formerly an independent city, the borough is coextensive with Kings County, one of twelv ...
, New York. While attending
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
, Senauke participated in the Columbia University strike of April 1968. That same year he left for California, arriving in the
San Francisco Bay area The San Francisco Bay Area, commonly known as the Bay Area, is a List of regions of California, region of California surrounding and including San Francisco Bay, and anchored by the cities of Oakland, San Francisco, and San Jose, California, S ...
where he began sitting
zazen ''Zazen'' is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. The generalized Japanese term for meditation is 瞑想 (''meisō''); however, ''zazen'' has been used informally to include all forms ...
at the Berkeley Zen Center. He became Executive Director of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship in 1991, a position in which he served until 2001 (though he remained active in the organization). Though he was a peace and
civil rights activist Civil and political rights are a class of rights that protect individuals' freedom from infringement by governments, social organizations, and private individuals. They ensure one's entitlement to participate in the civil and political life of ...
of the 1960s and 1970s, by the 1980s Senauke had more or less allowed his activism to become an exercise in intellectualism. His becoming director of BPF, as well as the emergence of the
Persian Gulf War , combatant2 = , commander1 = , commander2 = , strength1 = Over 950,000 soldiers3,113 tanks1,800 aircraft2,200 artillery systems , page = https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/GAOREPORTS-PEMD-96- ...
, allowed Senauke's activist tendencies and
Buddhist Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...
practice to merge. Together, he and his colleague Tova Green brought BPF to the forefront of American engaged Buddhism.Queen, 77 Along with Green, Senauke helped the BPF "become a place in US society, and in the world, where the sources of violence could be contemplated. The debate on the Gulf War was vital to this development."O'Grady, 399 During the late 1990s, Senauke also was a founder of Think Sangha, a group of writers and intellectuals that are affiliated with the BPF and the International Network of Engaged Buddhists. In 1998 Senauke received shiho (or, Dharma transmission) from his teacher Sojun Mel Weitsman along with Maylie Scott at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. Senauke was formerly a board member of
Nevada Desert Experience Nevada Desert Experience is a name for the movement to stop U.S. nuclear weapons testing that came into use in the middle 1980s. It is also the name of an anti-nuclear organization which continues to create public events to question the morality ...
, an organization that holds various retreats, protests and conferences on the subject of
nuclear testing Nuclear weapons tests are experiments carried out to determine the performance of nuclear weapons and the effects of Nuclear explosion, their explosion. Nuclear testing is a sensitive political issue. Governments have often performed tests to si ...
. He was also the founder of the Clear View Project, which focuses on social change and relief efforts in Asia, most recently in Burma (
Myanmar Myanmar, officially the Republic of the Union of Myanmar; and also referred to as Burma (the official English name until 1989), is a country in northwest Southeast Asia. It is the largest country by area in Mainland Southeast Asia and has ...
). As a result of the recent uprisings in Burma and the subsequent repression by Burma's
military junta A military junta () is a system of government led by a committee of military leaders. The term ''Junta (governing body), junta'' means "meeting" or "committee" and originated in the Junta (Peninsular War), national and local junta organized by t ...
, Senauke became increasingly involved in activism related to the cause of the Burmese people. In 2008 and early 2009, Alan made several trips to Burma along with other members of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship and visited communities and Buddhist temples affected by the repressive government. Senauke was installed as Abbot of Berkeley Zen Center on January 31, 2021. Alan was a member of the bluegrass ensemble Bluegrass Intentions with Suzy Thompson (fiddle, Cajun accordion, vocals), Eric Thompson (mandolin, guitar, vocals), Larry Cohea (bass, vocals), and
Bill Evans William John Evans (August 16, 1929 – September 15, 1980) was an American Jazz piano, jazz pianist and composer who worked primarily as the leader of his trio. His use of impressionist harmony, block chords, innovative chord voicings, a ...
(banjo, vocals). They released the 2002 album ''Old as Dirt'' on the Native and Fine record label. He was also a member of Cajun/Creole band the Midnite Ramblers. In the 1980s, he was a member of bluegrass band High Country and appeared on their 1987 album ''Blue Highway''. Senauke died at home in Berkeley on December 22, 2024, at the age of 77.


Bibliography

*Senauke, Hozan Alan (2023). ''Turning Words''. Shambhala, Boulder.
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*Senauke, Alan (2010). ''The Bodhisattva's embrace: dispatches from engaged Buddhism's front lines.'' Clear View Press, Berkeley.
OCLC OCLC, Inc. See also: is an American nonprofit cooperative organization "that provides shared technology services, original research, and community programs for its membership and the library community at large". It was founded in 1967 as the ...
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* * * *


Discography

* High Country, ''Blue Highway''. Turquoise Records, 1987. * * Alan Senauke, Everything is Broken: Songs about Things as they Are, 2012


See also

*
Buddhism in the United States The term American Buddhism can be used to describe all Buddhism, Buddhist groups within the United States, including Asian Americans, Asian-American Buddhists born into the faith, who comprise the largest percentage of Buddhists in the country. ...
*
Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States Below is a timeline of important events regarding Zen Buddhism in the United States. Dates with "?" are approximate. Events Early history * 1893: Soyen Shaku comes to the United States to lecture at the World Parliament of Religions held in ...
*
Nevada Desert Experience Nevada Desert Experience is a name for the movement to stop U.S. nuclear weapons testing that came into use in the middle 1980s. It is also the name of an anti-nuclear organization which continues to create public events to question the morality ...


References


Sources

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External links


Hozan Alan Senauke Interview







A Remembrance of Hozan Alan Senauke from Shambhala Publications
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Senauke, Hozan Alan 1947 births 2024 deaths Columbia College (New York) alumni American folk guitarists American male guitarists American male poets Engaged Buddhists San Francisco Zen Center Soto Zen Buddhists Zen Buddhist priests American Zen Buddhists 20th-century American Jews Jewish American poets Musicians from Brooklyn Religious leaders from the San Francisco Bay Area Guitarists from New York (state) Guitarists from California 20th-century American guitarists 20th-century American male musicians 21st-century American Jews