John Garrie, later known as John Garrie Roshi (May 18, 1923 – September 22, 1998), was a British

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

who later became a respected teacher of

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

Buddhism 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 ...

Acting Garrige

As an actor, John Garrie played minor roles in a number of British television shows during the 1960s and 1970s, including ''

The Avengers Avenger(s) or The Avenger(s) may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Marvel Comics universe * Avengers (comics), a team of superheroes **Avengers (Marvel Cinematic Universe), a central team of protagonist superheroes of "The Infinity Sag ...

'', ''

Z-Cars ''Z-Cars'' or ''Z Cars'' (pronounced "zed cars") is a British television police procedural series centred on the work of mobile uniformed police and CID detectives in the fictional town of Newtown, based on Kirkby, near Liverpool. Produced by ...

'' and ''

UFO An unidentified flying object (UFO) is an object or phenomenon seen in the sky but not yet identified or explained. The term was coined when United States Air Force (USAF) investigations into flying saucers found too broad a range of shapes ...

''. He was also a bartender at the

Rovers Return Inn The Rovers Return Inn, also known simply as the Rovers, is a fictional public house in the long-running British soap opera ''Coronation Street''. The Rovers Return occupies a corner of the fictional Coronation Street and Rosamund Street set ...

on the drama ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' for one episode (Christmas Day, 1963). In the episode of ''

Danger Man ''Danger Man'' (retitled ''Secret Agent'' in the United States for the revived series, and ''Destination Danger'' and ''John Drake'' in other overseas markets) is a British television series that was broadcast between 1960 and 1962, and again ...

'' entitled "Koroshi", he played the role of an "Old Japanese Man" which foreshadows his later career as a teacher of Zen. He also appeared in the

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor. He was known for his work in the horror film genre, mostly portraying villains. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price ...

movie '' Madhouse''.

Meditation teacher

John Garrie Roshi's teaching drew on several traditions including

, Theravadan,

Tibetan Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism is a form of Buddhism practiced in Tibet, Bhutan and Mongolia. It also has a sizable number of adherents in the areas surrounding the Himalayas, including the Indian regions of Ladakh, Gorkhaland Territorial Administration, D ...

as well as

Taoism Taoism or Daoism (, ) is a diverse philosophical and religious tradition indigenous to China, emphasizing harmony with the Tao ( zh, p=dào, w=tao4). With a range of meaning in Chinese philosophy, translations of Tao include 'way', 'road', ' ...

and

martial arts Martial arts are codified systems and traditions of combat practiced for a number of reasons such as self-defence; military and law enforcement applications; combat sport, competition; physical, mental, and spiritual development; entertainment; ...

. He described the mindfulness practice he taught as "Sati", drawing heavily from concepts within Theravadan Buddhist

Satipatthana ''Satipatthana'' (; ) is a central practice in the Buddha's teachings, meaning "the establishment of mindfulness" or "presence of mindfulness", or alternatively "foundations of mindfulness", aiding the development of a wholesome state of mind. I ...

training. He founded the Sati Society which was generally based in the

West Country The West Country is a loosely defined area within southwest England, usually taken to include the counties of Cornwall, Devon, Dorset, Somerset and Bristol, with some considering it to extend to all or parts of Wiltshire, Gloucestershire and ...

. John Garrie Roshi wrote a

blessing In religion, a blessing (also used to refer to bestowing of such) is the impartation of something with doctrines of grace, grace, Sacred, holiness, spiritual Redemption (theology), redemption, or Will of God, divine will. Etymology and Germani ...

entitled "Peace to all Beings", which was used to introduce and to end meditations. It is still widely used by former and present students of Sati.Sati Centre
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Published works

Many of the talks he gave during Satipatthana 'Workshops' were taped and these recordings are available. A collection of his writings was published in print in 1998 under the title ''The Way is Without Flaw'', and published online in 2015.
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Selected filmography

*''

Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment ''Morgan – A Suitable Case for Treatment'' (also called ''Morgan!'') is a 1966 British comedy film directed by Karel Reisz and starring David Warner (actor), David Warner, Vanessa Redgrave, and Robert Stephens, with Irene Handl and Bernard Br ...

'' (1966) - Tipstaff *'' The Mummy's Shroud'' (1967) - Arab Cleaner (uncredited) *'' Far from the Madding Crowd'' (1967) - Pennyways (uncredited) *'' if....'' (1968) - Music Master (uncredited) *''

The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes ''The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes'' is a 1970 DeLuxe Color film in Panavision written and produced by Billy Wilder and I. A. L. Diamond, and directed by Wilder. The film offers an affectionate, slightly parodic look at Sherlock Holmes, ...

'' (1970) - First Carter *'' Madhouse'' (1974) - Inspector Harper (final film role)

References

External links

* * from former student Sonia Moriceau * by Venerable Ajahn Khemadhammo
Haracombe Sati Center

(audio recordings) {{DEFAULTSORT:Garrie, John 1923 births 1999 deaths English male television actors English Zen Buddhists English Buddhists 20th-century English male actors