Zengaku Soyu Matsuoka Roshi is an important
historical figure in the propagation of Soto Zen in
the United States. Matsuoka-roshi was born in Japan,
in Yamaguchi Prefecture hear Hiroshima on November 25,
1912, into a family which had a history of Zen priests
dating back six centuries. He attended Komazawa University
in Tokyo, where he graduated with a bachelor's degree.
From there, he studied and practiced Zen a Sojiji Zen
Monastery which is one of two of the Japanese Soto Zen
headquarter monasteries. . After several years at Sojiji,
he was given an assignment to establish a Zen Temple
in northern Japan, on Karafuto (Sakhalin) Island. Prior
to his coming to America, Matsuoka-roshi earned a Ph.D.
in philosophy, from Political Science University in
Tokyo.
In 1939, Soto Zen Headquarters in Japan asked him to
travel to the United States, where he first became an
assistant minister at the Los Angeles Zen Buddhist Temple,
and later the Superintendent of the San Francisco Zen
Buddhist Temple, which later became the San Francisco
Zen Center. After serving as a Zen Priest on the West
Coast of the U.S., he attended Columbia University in
New York, where he undertook further graduate study
under the guidance of Dr. Daisetsu Suzuki. Immediately
following these studies, he moved to Chicago, where
he founded the Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago in 1949.
In addition to teaching meditation (zazen), Matsuoka-roshi
extended his activities beyond the temple. He lectured
and traveled extensively to local high schools and nationally
to colleges and universities. He also served as an instructor
of zazen for the Chicago Judo-Karate School, and later
as a special instructor at the Colorado State University
and Chicago Central YMCA College. Beginning in 1968,
he made a yearly tour of Japan. His initial tour was
sponsored by the U.S. Embassy to Japan, during which
he lectured on the topic of “Unknown America”
in order to promote cultural understanding between Japan
and the United States. In 1971, he moved to Long Beach,
California where he founded the Long Beach Zen Buddhist
Temple. His life was dedicated to establishing the spirit
of Zen in America. He frequently used the phrase: 'Moku-rai'
as an expression of his deep understanding. It is translated
as 'Silent Thunder.' Much of what one learned from Sensei
('teacher'), as he preferred to be called, was not from
preaching, but from his manner, the way he expressed
himself through his attitude and actions. His Zen dharma
was transferred silently, naturally, through his presence.
The core of his teachings is the practice of zazen,
Zen meditation, and the realization of its power in
daily life. His disciples lead temples around the USA
and Canada. Matsuoka-roshi died on November 20, 1997.
Kongo Langlois Roshi
Rev. Kongo Richard Langlois, Roshi was the Abbot of
the Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago for 28 years. He
also served as the Director/Head Instructor of the Chinese
Cultural Academy in Evanston, Illinois. As one of the
first Americans to teach the spiritual practices of
Zazen and Tai Chi Chuan, Kongo Roshi played a crucial
role in determining how these arts would be transplanted
from their deep roots in Asian culture and the philosophies
of Buddhism and Taoism to the American mind. Kongo Roshi
inherited his deep understanding of these arts through
direct transmission and decades of study with two teachers:
Rev. Soyu Matsuoka, Roshi, founder of the Zen Buddhist
Temple of Chicago, and Professor Huo Chi-Kwang, the
founder of the Chinese Cultural Academy.
Kongo Roshi was born Richard Valentine Langlois in
Chicago, Illinois on January 25, 1935. His 'first love'
was the piano, which he began studying at ten years
of age. Richard Langlois served two years in the Army
from 1954 to 1956. Following military service he enrolled
in the American Conservatory of Music, majoring in piano.
He began his spiritual study in 1956 under the guidance
of Swami Vishwananda, of the Vedanta Society and continued
the study and practice of Yoga as a disciple of Sri
Nerode. Although this training involved a great deal
of intellectual study, the main work with Sri Nerode
was intense meditation practice.
Richard began training in Soto Zen Buddhism under Matsuoka
Roshi in 1960 and officially became his disciple in
1963. Matsuoka Roshi gave Richard the Buddhist name
Kongo, meaning 'Diamond'. This name signifies more than
just a sparkling gem. Its spiritual essence is that
of enduring brilliance, dignity and strength. More significantly,
Kongo signifies the Diamond Sutra and its teaching of
the Diamond Sword of Discriminating Wisdom, which cuts
away all doubts. He became the first American to be
ordained a Zen Buddhist priest in 1967. In 1970 when
Matsuoka Roshi left Chicago to found another Zen Center
in Long Beach, California, he appointed Reverend Kongo
Langlois his Dharma Successor and Abbot of the Zen Buddhist
Temple of Chicago. In 1974, Matsuoka Roshi bestowed
the Roshi degree upon Reverend Langlois. The title Roshi
is bestowed upon a Zen priest by another who holds the
Roshi degree to acknowledge a high level of understanding
and realization. Roshi began his training with Professor
Huo Chi-Kwang in 1966 as a private student. Prof. Huo
imparted a thorough grounding in the internal connections
and spirit of Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism, as
well as their meditation traditions. Roshi studied and
mastered an extensive list of arts from Professor Huo.
He learned the Yang, the Chen, the Wu Style of Tai Chi
Chuan, Tai Chi Push Hands, Pa Kua, Hsing Yi, and Tai
Chi Sword and the Chinese Health Methods. Six years
were then spent learning both script and cursive styles
of Chinese calligraphy using traditional philosophic
texts. Through this study of the classics in the original
Chinese language Roshi received a thorough grounding
in the essence of Buddhist, Taoist, and Confucian philosophy.
In May 1988, Kongo Roshi became Prof. Huo's successor
and was appointed Director of the Chinese Cultural Academy.
After months of battling cancer, Rev. Kongo Langlois
Roshi died on October 28, 1999.
Rev.
Zenku Jerry Smyers
Zenku, Jerry Smyers is a Soto Zen Priest in the Lineage of Soyu Matsuoka Roshi. Zenku became a disciple of Kongo Langlois Roshi, Abbot of the Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago and a dharma heir of Matsuoka Roshi, in 1976. Zenku trained at the Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago and was ordained a Zen Priest in 1982. Zenku was a Priest in Chicago until 2005, assisting Kongo Roshi until his passing in 1999, and then providing Temple leadership.
In 2005, Zenku moved to northwest Montana and established the Mission Mountain Zen Group which currently meets on Wednesdays in Dayton Montana.
In 2010 Zenku became a disciple of Taiun Elliston Roshi, Abbot of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center, a dharma heir of Matsuoka Roshi and Shohaku Okumura Roshi from the Uchiyama Lineage. In 2012, Zenku received dharma transmission from Taiun Roshi. Zenku is a member of the Silent Thunder Order Zen lineage founded by Matsuoka Roshi and a member of Soto Zen Buddhist Association
