Shunryu Suzuki Roshi

Shunryu Suzuki Roshi; (May 18, 1904 – December 4, 1971) was a Soto Zen monk and teacher, one of the first to teach western students. He founded Tassajara Zen Mountain Center the first Buddhist monastery outside Asia; and the San Francisco Zen Center which, along with its affiliate temples, comprises one of the most influential Zen organizations in the United States. Trungpa Rinpoche met Roshi in 1970, and the two men formed a strong bond. They had a common purpose: to bring authentic buddhadharma to the West. Sadly, their friendship was brief. Roshi died a little more than a year after they meet. Nonetheless, Roshi had a profound impact of Rinpoche that manifested in the forms of practice he introduced and his way of working with western students. While Rinpoche was alive, a photograph of Roshi always was present on the shrines of all of his meditation centers.