Mary Farkas was the director of the First Zen Institute of America

First Zen Institute of America

The First Zen Institute of America is a Rinzai institution for laypeople established by Sokei-an in New York, New York in 1930 as the Buddhist Society of America . The emphasis on lay practice has its roots in the history of the organization...

 (FZIA), running the center's administrative functions for many years following the death of her teacher (Sokei-an

Sokei-an

Sokei-an Shigetsu Sasaki , born Yeita Sasaki, was a Japanese Rinzai roshi who founded the Buddhist Society of America in New York City in 1930. Influential in the growth of Zen Buddhism in the United States, Sokei-an was one of the first Japanese masters to live and teach in America...

) in 1945. Though she was not a teacher of Zen Buddhism in any traditional sense of the word, she did help to carry on the lineage of Sokei-an and also was editor of the FZIA's journal, Zen Notes, starting with Volume 1 in 1954. Additionally, she also edited books about Sokei-an, i.e. "The Zen Eye" and "Zen Pivots." Through her transcriptions of his talks, the institute was able to continue on the lineage without having a formal teacher (Sokei-an left no Dharma heir).

See also

• Buddhism in the United States
  Buddhism in the United States
  Buddhism is one of the largest religions in the United States behind Christianity, Judaism and Nonreligious, and approximate with Islam and Hinduism. American Buddhists include many Asian Americans, as well as a large number of converts of other ethnicities, and now their children and even...
  
  
• List of Rinzai Buddhists
• Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States
  Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States
  Below is a timeline of important events regarding Zen Buddhism in the United States. Dates with "?" are approximate.-Early history:* 1893: Soyen Shaku comes to the United States to lecture at the World Parliament of Religions held in Chicago...