24 Facts About Reb Anderson

Tenshin Zenki Reb Anderson was born on 1943 and is an American Zen Buddhist teacher in the Soto Zen tradition of Shunryu Suzuki.

Reb Anderson is a senior dharma teacher at the San Francisco Zen Center and at Green Gulch Farm Zen Center in Marin County, California, where he lives.

Reb Anderson was born as Harold Anderson in Mississippi in 1943 and grew up in Minnesota.

Reb Anderson's father left the family when Anderson was eleven.

In 1983 Reb Anderson received shiho from Zentatsu Richard Baker, becoming Baker's first Dharma heir.

However, when Baker was forced to resign amid complaints about his affairs with female Zen Center members and his purchase of expensive luxury goods, Baker claimed Reb Anderson never completed the entire transmission ceremony.

The board of the San Francisco Zen Center disagreed, understanding Reb Anderson to be Baker's Dharma heir.

Reb Anderson returned to the body over a period of several days to meditate over the corpse.

Reb Anderson eventually reported the body, but not the revolver, taking it into his possession.

In 1987, Reb Anderson was mugged one block away from the San Francisco Zen Center.

Reb Anderson retrieved the unloaded revolver and chased the perpetrator to a nearby tenement, where both were quickly arrested.

In October 1999 Reb Anderson suffered a heart attack while conducting dokusan.

Reb Anderson is married to Rusa Chiu, a Jungian analyst in private practice.

Reb Anderson has two daughters, Deborah Savran and Thea Anderson, as well as four grandchildren.

Reb Anderson Roshi is one of the first people to have worked hard to bring Dogen studies West.

Reb Anderson has stretched much of Zen's traditional approach to psychology by drawing upon other ancient Buddhist sources, including Abhidharma and Yogachara teaching, while at the same time being solidly informed regarding Western approaches to the discipline.

Reb Anderson's practice invites comparison to the legendary Japanese samurai, the warriors who trained in medieval Zen monasteries.

Reb Anderson gave shiho to his student Jiko Linda Cutts in 1996, who went on to serve as co-abbess of the San Francisco Zen Center from 2000 until 2007.

Reb Anderson has served as Central Abbess of San Francisco Center from 2014 to 2019.

Reb Anderson was installed as the abiding abbess of Green Gulch Farm Zen Center and has served from 2014 to the present.

Reb Anderson now conducts japanese tea ceremony classes at Green Gulch.

Also in 2002, Reb Anderson gave shiho to Leslie James, his first dharma entrustment to a lay teacher.

Reb Anderson is a long-time resident of Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, the monastic center of San Francisco Zen Center.

Reb Anderson is currently Head Teacher at Santa Cruz Zen Center.