Walter Nowick
Encyclopedia
Walter Nowick is an American
former teacher of Rinzai Zen. He is a Juilliard-trained pianist
and a veteran of World War II
. He studied Zen in Japan
for sixteen years while teaching university-level piano and voice there, then returned to the United States to teach music and Zen in Surry, Maine
, where he founded Moonspring Hermitage. He founded the Surry Opera Company in the mid-1980s and retired from formal Zen teaching in 1985.
Nowick's parents were immigrants of Russia
n-Polish
origin. He grew up on Long Island, New York on a potato
farm. He showed an early talent for music and studied piano at Juilliard
with Henriette Michaelson. She summered in Surry, and he first came to Maine as a teenager to study with her.
He left his piano study to serve in the Pacific during World War II, taking part in the final sweep of Okinawa after the island had surrendered. He eventually returned to his piano studies with Miss Michaelson. Having seen a book on Zen on her coffee table, began to sit at the First Zen Institute of New York, where Michaelson was a member. He went to Japan in 1950 to study Zen with Zuigan Goto of Daitoku-ji
. Nowick stayed in Japan some sixteen years until the death of Zuigan Goto in 1965. Janwillem van de Wetering
lived a year in Daitoku-Ji and half a year with Nowick and described these in The Empty Mirror. Soko Morinaga, Walter Nowick's Dharma brother, wrote in Novice to Master about traditional practices at the time Walter first went to Japan.
During Nowick's years in Japan he supported himself teaching piano and voice at the Kyoto Women's University. Nowick became known in the United States Zen community, which was very small at the time, as the first Westerner to have gone to Japan and completed the traditional Zen practice on their terms. However, contrary to some opinions Nowick was not awarded Dharma Transmission, a point emphasized by Soko Morinaga Roshi during a visit to London. Nowick was also never ordained a priest but instead remained a layman. Three students of Zuigan Goto are listed: Oda Sesso, Soko Morinaga and Walter Nowick.
After the death of Zuigan Goto in 1965, Nowick returned to the United States and began teaching Japanese
musicians at his farm in Surry. After a few years, students of Zen began to arrive and many settled nearby. Some built homes on land provided by Walter; sometimes living on his farm. There were both single and married people with children. A student organization was incorporated as Moonspring Hermitage, a non-profit religious group, with a board of officers elected from among the students. The students built a zendo
and meeting hall on a parcel of Nowick's land, with an agreement specifying that the corporation and buildings belonged to the students and that the land would be turned over to them after ten years.
A Rinzai Zen-style practice was established, though Nowick did not practice many of the externals of Japanese Zen. There were no chants, robes, Buddhist names, lectures, precepts, and such. Instead there was just work on his farm and koan study. At its peak in the mid-1970s, the group may have had an overall membership of 40 people. In 1975, Janwillem van de Wetering
documented his experiences in this community in A Glimpse of Nothingness.
In the mid-eighties, concerned with the looming possibility of nuclear holocaust, Nowick founded the Surry Opera Company, an amateur group that intended to strengthen ties with the Soviet Union
at a personal level. This group went to the USSR a number of times and received national attention in its heyday.
In 1985, shortly after the founding of the opera company, some of his students became concerned that he was spending too much time on the project. He offered his resignation as a teacher, which was accepted by the student committee,and devoted himself to music full time. After some legal wrangling, the property reverted as had been agreed before the student committee accepted his resignation, to the corporation, which had been reconstituted as the Morgan Bay Zendo, with Walter reserving some rights of usage. The MBZ has used and maintained the property ever since, with Walter visiting occasionally.
Walter Nowick continues to live in Surry much of the year, spending some of the winter in Japan and Russia. In the summer, he gives piano concerts and Russians come for extended visits.
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
former teacher of Rinzai Zen. He is a Juilliard-trained pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
and a veteran of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. He studied Zen in Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
for sixteen years while teaching university-level piano and voice there, then returned to the United States to teach music and Zen in Surry, Maine
Surry, Maine
Surry is a town in Hancock County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,361 at the 2000 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
, where he founded Moonspring Hermitage. He founded the Surry Opera Company in the mid-1980s and retired from formal Zen teaching in 1985.
Nowick's parents were immigrants of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n-Polish
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
origin. He grew up on Long Island, New York on a potato
Potato
The potato is a starchy, tuberous crop from the perennial Solanum tuberosum of the Solanaceae family . The word potato may refer to the plant itself as well as the edible tuber. In the region of the Andes, there are some other closely related cultivated potato species...
farm. He showed an early talent for music and studied piano at Juilliard
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
with Henriette Michaelson. She summered in Surry, and he first came to Maine as a teenager to study with her.
He left his piano study to serve in the Pacific during World War II, taking part in the final sweep of Okinawa after the island had surrendered. He eventually returned to his piano studies with Miss Michaelson. Having seen a book on Zen on her coffee table, began to sit at the First Zen Institute of New York, where Michaelson was a member. He went to Japan in 1950 to study Zen with Zuigan Goto of Daitoku-ji
Daitoku-ji
is a Buddhist temple, one of fourteen autonomous branches of the Rinzai school of Japanese Zen. It is located in Kita-ku, Kyoto, Japan. The "mountain name" , who is known by the title Daitō Kokushi, or "National Teacher of the Great Lamp," that he was given by Emperor Go-Daigo...
. Nowick stayed in Japan some sixteen years until the death of Zuigan Goto in 1965. Janwillem van de Wetering
Janwillem van de Wetering
Janwillem Lincoln van de Wetering was the author of a number of works in English and Dutch. He was particularly noted for his detective fiction, his most popular creations being Grijpstra and de Gier, a pair of Amsterdam police officers who figure in a lengthy series of novels and short stories...
lived a year in Daitoku-Ji and half a year with Nowick and described these in The Empty Mirror. Soko Morinaga, Walter Nowick's Dharma brother, wrote in Novice to Master about traditional practices at the time Walter first went to Japan.
During Nowick's years in Japan he supported himself teaching piano and voice at the Kyoto Women's University. Nowick became known in the United States Zen community, which was very small at the time, as the first Westerner to have gone to Japan and completed the traditional Zen practice on their terms. However, contrary to some opinions Nowick was not awarded Dharma Transmission, a point emphasized by Soko Morinaga Roshi during a visit to London. Nowick was also never ordained a priest but instead remained a layman. Three students of Zuigan Goto are listed: Oda Sesso, Soko Morinaga and Walter Nowick.
After the death of Zuigan Goto in 1965, Nowick returned to the United States and began teaching Japanese
Japanese people
The are an ethnic group originating in the Japanese archipelago and are the predominant ethnic group of Japan. Worldwide, approximately 130 million people are of Japanese descent; of these, approximately 127 million are residents of Japan. People of Japanese ancestry who live in other countries...
musicians at his farm in Surry. After a few years, students of Zen began to arrive and many settled nearby. Some built homes on land provided by Walter; sometimes living on his farm. There were both single and married people with children. A student organization was incorporated as Moonspring Hermitage, a non-profit religious group, with a board of officers elected from among the students. The students built a zendo
Zendo
or is a Japanese term translating roughly as "meditation hall". In Zen Buddhism, the zen-dō is a spiritual dōjō where zazen is practiced...
and meeting hall on a parcel of Nowick's land, with an agreement specifying that the corporation and buildings belonged to the students and that the land would be turned over to them after ten years.
A Rinzai Zen-style practice was established, though Nowick did not practice many of the externals of Japanese Zen. There were no chants, robes, Buddhist names, lectures, precepts, and such. Instead there was just work on his farm and koan study. At its peak in the mid-1970s, the group may have had an overall membership of 40 people. In 1975, Janwillem van de Wetering
Janwillem van de Wetering
Janwillem Lincoln van de Wetering was the author of a number of works in English and Dutch. He was particularly noted for his detective fiction, his most popular creations being Grijpstra and de Gier, a pair of Amsterdam police officers who figure in a lengthy series of novels and short stories...
documented his experiences in this community in A Glimpse of Nothingness.
In the mid-eighties, concerned with the looming possibility of nuclear holocaust, Nowick founded the Surry Opera Company, an amateur group that intended to strengthen ties with the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
at a personal level. This group went to the USSR a number of times and received national attention in its heyday.
In 1985, shortly after the founding of the opera company, some of his students became concerned that he was spending too much time on the project. He offered his resignation as a teacher, which was accepted by the student committee,and devoted himself to music full time. After some legal wrangling, the property reverted as had been agreed before the student committee accepted his resignation, to the corporation, which had been reconstituted as the Morgan Bay Zendo, with Walter reserving some rights of usage. The MBZ has used and maintained the property ever since, with Walter visiting occasionally.
Walter Nowick continues to live in Surry much of the year, spending some of the winter in Japan and Russia. In the summer, he gives piano concerts and Russians come for extended visits.
See also
- Buddhism in the United StatesBuddhism in the United StatesBuddhism 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 StatesTimeline of Zen Buddhism in the United StatesBelow 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...
