Rubén L. F. Hábito (born c. 1947) is a Filipino

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 ...

rōshi (Japanese language, Japanese: "old teacher"; "old master") is a title in Zen Buddhism with different usages depending on sect and country. In Rinzai Zen, the term is reserved only for individuals who have received ''inka shōmei'', meaning the ...

'' of the

Sanbō Kyōdan is a lay Zen school derived from both the Soto ( Caodong) and the Rinzai ( Linji) traditions. It was renamed Sanbo-Zen International in 2014. The term ''Sanbo Kyodan'' has often been used to refer to the Harada-Yasutani zen lineage. However, ...

lineage.

Biography

Hábito started out as a

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest doing

missionary work A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thoma ...

in Japan. There, he began practising under

Yamada Kōun , or Koun Yamada, was a Japanese Buddhist who was the leader of the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen Buddhism, the Dharma heir of his teacher Yasutani Haku'un Ryoko. Yamada was appointed the leader of the Sanbo Kyodan in 1967, 1970 or 1973 and cont ...

, a

'' who taught

Christian A Christian () is a person who follows or adheres to Christianity, a Monotheism, monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus Christ. Christians form the largest religious community in the wo ...

students, which was unusual for the time. In 1988, Hábito 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 Yamada. Ruben subsequently

left Left may refer to: Music * ''Left'' (Hope of the States album), 2006 * ''Left'' (Monkey House album), 2016 * ''Left'' (Helmet album), 2023 * "Left", a song by Nickelback from the album ''Curb'', 1996 Direction * Left (direction), the relativ ...

the

Jesuit order The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rome. It was founded in 1540 by ...

in 1989, and in 1991 founded the

Maria Kannon Zen Center Maria Kannon Zen Center (MKZC) is a non-profit practice center in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition of Zen Buddhism, located in Dallas, Texas and founded in 1991 by the guiding teacher Ruben Habito (a Dharma heir of Yamada Koun).Post; xiii MKZC derives ...

, a lay organization in

Dallas, Texas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

. Hábito has been a faculty member of the

Perkins School of Theology Perkins School of Theology is one of Southern Methodist University's three original schools and is located in Dallas, Texas. The theology school was renamed in 1945 to honor benefactors Joe J. and Lois Craddock Perkins of Wichita Falls, Texas. De ...

at the

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

since 1989. He is married and has two sons.

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

External links

Ruben Habito Interview
*Rubin Habito's 2017 Dharma Talk for '' Tricycle: The Buddhist Review''
We Are All Refugees: Seeking Our True Home
1947 births Former Jesuits Laicized Roman Catholic priests Filipino Buddhists Filipino Zen Buddhists Sanbo Kyodan Buddhists Rōshi Filipino expatriates in the United States Southern Methodist University faculty Zen Buddhism writers Living people Christian Zen {{Philippines-reli-bio-stub

Biography

Bibliography

See also

References

External links