Nyogen Senzaki - America

America

By the start of the 20th century Japan had become dangerously nationalistic. In 1905 Soyen Shaku was asked by friends in the San Francisco, CA area to come and give talks and lectures on Buddhism. Soyen needed an attendant for his time there, and asked Nyogen to come with him. Nyogen jumped at the opportunity, for he was dissatisfied with the nationalism all around him and the institutional way in which Zen was then being practiced. So they left that same year and landed in Seattle, WA where they stayed for a few days, and then headed for San Francisco. When it was time for the two to return to Japan, Soyen sensed his student's turmoil at the prospect of returning.

In Golden Gate Park, Soyen Shaku set down his friend Nyogen's suitcase and said the following to him:

With those words Shaku spun about and left Nyogen there, and the two would never meet face to face again. Nyogen stayed in the USA for the rest of his life, with the exception of a trip in 1955 back to Japan to visit his friend Soen Nakagawa. In the San Francisco area Nyogen performed jobs as a hotel clerk and elevator assistant (among other jobs) to get by. He certainly was struggling with his finances. During his spare time Nyogen would visit the San Francisco Public Library often and read books on Immanuel Kant, Ralph Waldo Emerson and William James. He was studying English and developed a good grasp of the language.