James Ishmael Ford
Encyclopedia
James Ishmael Ford is an American Zen Buddhist priest and Unitarian Universalist minister
. He was born in Oakland, California
on July 17, 1948. He earned a BA in psychology from Sonoma State University
, as well as an MDiv and an MA in the Philosophy of Religion, both from the Pacific School of Religion
.
under the direction of Mel Weitsman
, later Weitsman, Roshi. He was ordained unsui
and received Dharma transmission from the late Jiyu Kennett Roshi. After leaving Kennett Roshi's Shasta Abbey
and for a brief time exploring other religious traditions including the Episcopal Church, the western Gnostic tradition and Inayat Khan
Sufism
, Ford pursued Zen koan introspection for nearly twenty years with the Sanbo Kyodan
derived Harada-Yasutani Zen master Dr John Tarrant
, with whom he completed formal training and from whom he received Inka
Shomei in 2005.
Ford also began to be seriously involved in Unitarian Universalism
at about the same time he began his work with Tarrant Roshi. After completing theological studies he became a Unitarian Universalist minister, serving Unitarian Universalist congregations in Wisconsin and Arizona before becoming senior minister of the First Unitarian Society in Newton
, MA in 2000. In May 2008 First Unitarian Church of Providence, RI called him to its pulpit; he began his ministry there in the summer of that year.
He also maintained his relationships within the Soto community, and in 2004 Ford participated in the first Dharma Heritage ceremony of the forming North American Soto Zen Buddhist Association
. This event designed to be the equivalent of the Japanese Soto Zuisse ceremony was a public acknowledgment of Ford (among others) as a senior member of the North American Zen community. Ford, a past president of the Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship
, was the first Unitarian Universalist minister to be named a Zen master.
Ford is currently a teacher at Boundless Way Zen, a network of Zen meditation groups mostly in eastern Massachusetts. He joins in this project with David Rynick, a Dharma successor of Zen Master George Bowman
in the Korean lineage of Zen Master Seung Sahn and Rynick's wife and Ford's Dharma heir, Melissa Myozen Blacker. The Boundless Way appears to be the first Western Zen community to attempt to blend several lineages into a single organization.
Ford is co-editor of The Transient and Permanent in Liberal Religion, and is the author of This Very Moment: A Brief Introduction to Buddhism and Zen for Unitarian Universalists, both published by Skinner House Books
and a study of Zen teachers and communities in North America, Zen Master Who? A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen, from Wisdom Publications.
Ford sees himself as part of a westernized Zen which is still evolving in important areas. In his dharma talks and teishos he regularly draws attention to the fact that Zen, as it is practiced in the West, often blends classic Zen Buddhism and its practices with a Western rationalist and humanistic understandings. "Liberal Zen", as he chooses to call it in contradistinction to "traditional Zen," may differ considerably from traditional Zen, particularly as practiced in the social and cultural milieu of its Asian sources. The inclusion of women and homosexuals on equal footing with other practitioners, the emphasis on lay practice, and a concern that spiritual insights lead to ethical and social engagement represent a few of the areas in which liberal Zen may be seen to vary from a more traditionalist perspective. Ford regards the tensions between these perspectives as one of the great creative opportunities for practice in the West, while also taking care to warn his students not to mistake their own concerns with social justice or political progressivism with the attitudes of the Buddha.
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
. He was born in Oakland, California
Oakland, California
Oakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
on July 17, 1948. He earned a BA in psychology from Sonoma State University
Sonoma State University
Sonoma State University is a public, coeducational business and liberal arts college affiliated with the California State University system. The main campus is located in Rohnert Park, California, United States and lies approximately south of Santa Rosa and north of San Francisco...
, as well as an MDiv and an MA in the Philosophy of Religion, both from the Pacific School of Religion
Pacific School of Religion
Pacific School of Religion is an ecumenical seminary located in Berkeley, California. It maintains covenantal relationships with the United Church of Christ, the United Methodist Church and the Disciples of Christ, providing all necessary expectations for candidates to their ordained ministries....
.
Biography
Ford began his Zen studies in 1968 at the Berkeley Zen CenterBerkeley Zen Center
Berkeley Zen Center , temple name , is a Sōtō Zen Buddhist practice center located in Berkeley, California led by Sojun Mel Weitsman. An informal affiliate to the San Francisco Zen Center , BZC was originally founded in 1967 by Weitsman and Shunryu Suzuki as a satellite group for the SFZC...
under the direction of Mel Weitsman
Mel Weitsman
Sojun Mel Weitsman , born Mel Weitsman, is the founder, abbot and guiding teacher of Berkeley Zen Center located in Berkeley, California. Weitsman is a Soto Zen roshi practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki, having received Dharma transmission in 1984 from Suzuki's son Hoitsu...
, later Weitsman, Roshi. He was ordained unsui
Unsui
Unsui , or kōun ryūsui in full, is a term specific to Zen Buddhism which denotes a postulant awaiting acceptance into a monastery or a novice monk who has undertaken Zen training. Sometimes they will travel from monastery to monastery on a pilgrimage to find the appropriate Zen master to study with...
and received Dharma transmission from the late Jiyu Kennett Roshi. After leaving Kennett Roshi's Shasta Abbey
Shasta Abbey
Shasta Abbey is a Zen Buddhist Monastery, established in 1970 by Houn Jiyu-Kennett in Mount Shasta, California, in the United States. It is a training monastery, and is open to visitors who want to learn about Buddhism....
and for a brief time exploring other religious traditions including the Episcopal Church, the western Gnostic tradition and Inayat Khan
Inayat Khan
Inayat Khan was an exemplar of Universal Sufism and founder of the "Sufi Order in the West" in 1914 . Later, in 1923, the Sufi Order of the London period was dissolved into a new organization formed under Swiss law and called the "International Sufi Movement"...
Sufism
Sufism
Sufism or ' is defined by its adherents as the inner, mystical dimension of Islam. A practitioner of this tradition is generally known as a '...
, Ford pursued Zen koan introspection for nearly twenty years with the Sanbo Kyodan
Sanbo Kyodan
Sanbo Kyodan is a Zen sect derived from both the Rinzai and Soto traditions of Japanese Zen.-History:...
derived Harada-Yasutani Zen master Dr John Tarrant
John Tarrant
John Tarrant is a Western Zen teacher, currently director of the Pacific Zen Institute in Santa Rosa, California.-Biographical Portrait:...
, with whom he completed formal training and from whom he received Inka
Inka
, is a term used in Zen Buddhism to denote a high-level of certification, and literally means "the legitimate seal of clearly furnished proof." In ancient times inka usually came in the form of an actual document, but this practice is no longer commonplace...
Shomei in 2005.
Ford also began to be seriously involved in Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism
Unitarian Universalism is a religion characterized by support for a "free and responsible search for truth and meaning". Unitarian Universalists do not share a creed; rather, they are unified by their shared search for spiritual growth and by the understanding that an individual's theology is a...
at about the same time he began his work with Tarrant Roshi. After completing theological studies he became a Unitarian Universalist minister, serving Unitarian Universalist congregations in Wisconsin and Arizona before becoming senior minister of the First Unitarian Society in Newton
First Unitarian Society in Newton
The First Unitarian Society in Newton is located at 1326 Washington Street in the village of West Newton in Newton, Massachusetts. Its building is listed on the National Register of Historic Places as the First Unitarian Church, Newton...
, MA in 2000. In May 2008 First Unitarian Church of Providence, RI called him to its pulpit; he began his ministry there in the summer of that year.
He also maintained his relationships within the Soto community, and in 2004 Ford participated in the first Dharma Heritage ceremony of the forming North American Soto Zen Buddhist Association
Soto Zen Buddhist Association
The Soto Zen Buddhist Association was formed in 1996 by American and Japanese Zen teachers in response to a perceived need to draw the various autonomous lineages of the North American Sōtō stream of Zen together for mutual support as well as the development of common training and ethical standards...
. This event designed to be the equivalent of the Japanese Soto Zuisse ceremony was a public acknowledgment of Ford (among others) as a senior member of the North American Zen community. Ford, a past president of the Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship
Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship
The Unitarian Universalist Buddhist Fellowship is a "Related Organization" to the Unitarian Universalist Association . Formed in the early 1990s, the UUBF exists to facilitate dialogue among UU Buddhists and other UUs interested in Buddhism and its practices...
, was the first Unitarian Universalist minister to be named a Zen master.
Ford is currently a teacher at Boundless Way Zen, a network of Zen meditation groups mostly in eastern Massachusetts. He joins in this project with David Rynick, a Dharma successor of Zen Master George Bowman
George Bowman
George Bowman, or Bo Mun Soen sa Nim, is a Zen master and licensed psychotherapist living at Furnace Mountain in Clay City, Kentucky . He received Dharma transmission from Seung Sahn Soen Sa Nim in 1992, and is a former teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen...
in the Korean lineage of Zen Master Seung Sahn and Rynick's wife and Ford's Dharma heir, Melissa Myozen Blacker. The Boundless Way appears to be the first Western Zen community to attempt to blend several lineages into a single organization.
Ford is co-editor of The Transient and Permanent in Liberal Religion, and is the author of This Very Moment: A Brief Introduction to Buddhism and Zen for Unitarian Universalists, both published by Skinner House Books
Skinner House Books
Skinner House Books is a book publisher run by the Unitarian Universalist Association , specializing in books for Unitarian Universalists -- meditation manuals, worship and church resources, and books on theology, UU history and social justice concerns...
and a study of Zen teachers and communities in North America, Zen Master Who? A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen, from Wisdom Publications.
Ford sees himself as part of a westernized Zen which is still evolving in important areas. In his dharma talks and teishos he regularly draws attention to the fact that Zen, as it is practiced in the West, often blends classic Zen Buddhism and its practices with a Western rationalist and humanistic understandings. "Liberal Zen", as he chooses to call it in contradistinction to "traditional Zen," may differ considerably from traditional Zen, particularly as practiced in the social and cultural milieu of its Asian sources. The inclusion of women and homosexuals on equal footing with other practitioners, the emphasis on lay practice, and a concern that spiritual insights lead to ethical and social engagement represent a few of the areas in which liberal Zen may be seen to vary from a more traditionalist perspective. Ford regards the tensions between these perspectives as one of the great creative opportunities for practice in the West, while also taking care to warn his students not to mistake their own concerns with social justice or political progressivism with the attitudes of the Buddha.
External links
- Monkey Mind Online - James Ishmael Ford's blog
- Biography at Boundless Way Zen: Spring Hill
- James Ishmael Ford Interview - Sweeping Zen