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The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side
A powerful story of secrets and sexual exploitation perpetrated under the guise of religion—a cautionary tale of the dark side of Zen in America.
Nearly 50 years ago, a Zen Buddhist monk—fleeing a cloud of suspicion—arrived in Manhattan, penniless and alone. Eido Shimano would quickly build an unrivaled community of Zen students he culled from the heights of New York society to form arguably the most prestigious Japanese Buddhist organization in the country. Authors, entertainers, and scions of vast fortunes, all questing for spiritual enlightenment, flocked to study and live in his spacious compound. But always there were whispers that things were not what they seemed.
With sexual-abuse allegations against Zen leaders in the U.S. now stunningly common, The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side examines a dangerously complicated corner of the tradition—and shows how aspects of Buddhist practice may actually facilitate abuse. Featuring exclusive reporting and interviews, the book is a powerful true story of secrets and sexual exploitation perpetrated under the guise of religion—and a cautionary tale of the dark side of Zen in America.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An essayist, reporter, and critic, Mark Oppenheimer is one of the country’s leading investigators of religion. He writes a religion column for The New York Times and also writes for The New York Times Magazine, Mother Jones, Slate, The Forward , and Tablet , among other publications. Oppenheimer has a doctorate in American religious history and directs the Yale Journalism Initiative. The author of three previous books, he lives with his family in New Haven, Connecticut.
Nearly 50 years ago, a Zen Buddhist monk—fleeing a cloud of suspicion—arrived in Manhattan, penniless and alone. Eido Shimano would quickly build an unrivaled community of Zen students he culled from the heights of New York society to form arguably the most prestigious Japanese Buddhist organization in the country. Authors, entertainers, and scions of vast fortunes, all questing for spiritual enlightenment, flocked to study and live in his spacious compound. But always there were whispers that things were not what they seemed.
With sexual-abuse allegations against Zen leaders in the U.S. now stunningly common, The Zen Predator of the Upper East Side examines a dangerously complicated corner of the tradition—and shows how aspects of Buddhist practice may actually facilitate abuse. Featuring exclusive reporting and interviews, the book is a powerful true story of secrets and sexual exploitation perpetrated under the guise of religion—and a cautionary tale of the dark side of Zen in America.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
An essayist, reporter, and critic, Mark Oppenheimer is one of the country’s leading investigators of religion. He writes a religion column for The New York Times and also writes for The New York Times Magazine, Mother Jones, Slate, The Forward , and Tablet , among other publications. Oppenheimer has a doctorate in American religious history and directs the Yale Journalism Initiative. The author of three previous books, he lives with his family in New Haven, Connecticut.
- GenresNonfictionBuddhism
67 pages, Kindle Edition
First published November 13, 2013
7 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
About the author
Mark Oppenheimer
21 books31 followersMark Oppenheimer is a freelance writer. He is a staff writer for the Christian Century and has written for many publications, including Harper’s, the New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, the Boston Globe, the Yale Review, the Hartford Courant, Playboy, and Slate. He has taught at Wesleyan and Stanford universities.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 2, 2015
Interesting, though frustrating, read.
Frustrating for three reasons: first, it's frustrating - maddening even - to read about the sleazy, manipulative Zen monk, Eido Shimano. This guy is basically your stereotypically awful person who hides behind a shroud of spiritual authority. He harasses and molests the women who come to his Zen center (he had two, one in Manhattan and one in upstate New York). He gaslights people who try to accuse him of wrongdoing. He sounds like an ass. :/
The second frustration is his sangha's inability to call him out on it (this shit went on for YEARS), and their consequent enabling of it. The author, Mark Oppenheimer, theorizes that this is characteristic of American Zen Buddhism - if not American Buddhism in general. Indeed, many of these charismatic Buddhist pilgrims from Japan and Tibet who came to the US in the 1960s and got the whole Buddhist thing going turned out to be really, hmm, how to put it... controversial? Ahem. Controversial because several of them were accused of sexual harassment, one may have been an alcoholic who died of cirrhosis of the liver, and yet they attracted and still attract plenty of defenders. Oppenheimer alleges that this is because the American Buddhist community was so enamored with these mystical men from the East that they were, at best, willfully blind to some of their crazy shit and, at worst, covering it up in order to Protect Buddhism in America (*glorious music, lots of gongs*).
And it's this interpretation - or rather, the way Oppenheimer stretches it to some limits - that became my third frustration with the book. Disclaimer: I'm an American Buddhist, and have practiced Buddhism stuff in daaa West for well nigh 14 years (hollaaaa experience). I can definitely believe that some of these communities willfully covered up or turned a blind eye to Buddhist teachers abusing their positions. It happens in all sorts of religious communities, and, alas, if there's one thing Buddhists can be relied on, it's to be just as awful as anyone else! So much for being the "nice ones"!
But what Oppenheimer then proposes is that American Buddhists are, almost by definition, a bunch of Orientalist "damaged people" who willingly suspend their critical faculties when joining a Buddhist community. Dare I say, the word "cult" comes up, in a sort of equivocatey, wishy-washy "I'm not saying it's aliens, but it's aliens" way. Hmmm. In particular, Oppenheimer kinda goes on and on about how the ladies that had been victimized by Eido Shimano were just - so - damn - victimy! He paints them as such fragile beings, gosh, it almost sounds like he's starting to gaslight them. I had to take issue. Sir, I am an American Buddhist lady and I have indeed been a bit of an Orientalist in my day. But to maintain that every Buddhist is some New Agey "seeker" misfit trying to fill a giant hole in their life is just - oh, come on. What about all those nice American Buddhists that just like to meditate, and think about the philosophy of epistemology, and still have a brain?! What about Harold Ramis, for the love of God? Anyway, I found Oppenheimer's pseudo-Freudian assessment of all our silly New Agey brains reductive and, like much of the rest of the book, a little salacious.
Soooo my whole take on the book was (1) yay for American Buddhist history, cuz I do find that interesting, but (2) arghhhh for the story and the way it was told.
Frustrating for three reasons: first, it's frustrating - maddening even - to read about the sleazy, manipulative Zen monk, Eido Shimano. This guy is basically your stereotypically awful person who hides behind a shroud of spiritual authority. He harasses and molests the women who come to his Zen center (he had two, one in Manhattan and one in upstate New York). He gaslights people who try to accuse him of wrongdoing. He sounds like an ass. :/
The second frustration is his sangha's inability to call him out on it (this shit went on for YEARS), and their consequent enabling of it. The author, Mark Oppenheimer, theorizes that this is characteristic of American Zen Buddhism - if not American Buddhism in general. Indeed, many of these charismatic Buddhist pilgrims from Japan and Tibet who came to the US in the 1960s and got the whole Buddhist thing going turned out to be really, hmm, how to put it... controversial? Ahem. Controversial because several of them were accused of sexual harassment, one may have been an alcoholic who died of cirrhosis of the liver, and yet they attracted and still attract plenty of defenders. Oppenheimer alleges that this is because the American Buddhist community was so enamored with these mystical men from the East that they were, at best, willfully blind to some of their crazy shit and, at worst, covering it up in order to Protect Buddhism in America (*glorious music, lots of gongs*).
And it's this interpretation - or rather, the way Oppenheimer stretches it to some limits - that became my third frustration with the book. Disclaimer: I'm an American Buddhist, and have practiced Buddhism stuff in daaa West for well nigh 14 years (hollaaaa experience). I can definitely believe that some of these communities willfully covered up or turned a blind eye to Buddhist teachers abusing their positions. It happens in all sorts of religious communities, and, alas, if there's one thing Buddhists can be relied on, it's to be just as awful as anyone else! So much for being the "nice ones"!
But what Oppenheimer then proposes is that American Buddhists are, almost by definition, a bunch of Orientalist "damaged people" who willingly suspend their critical faculties when joining a Buddhist community. Dare I say, the word "cult" comes up, in a sort of equivocatey, wishy-washy "I'm not saying it's aliens, but it's aliens" way. Hmmm. In particular, Oppenheimer kinda goes on and on about how the ladies that had been victimized by Eido Shimano were just - so - damn - victimy! He paints them as such fragile beings, gosh, it almost sounds like he's starting to gaslight them. I had to take issue. Sir, I am an American Buddhist lady and I have indeed been a bit of an Orientalist in my day. But to maintain that every Buddhist is some New Agey "seeker" misfit trying to fill a giant hole in their life is just - oh, come on. What about all those nice American Buddhists that just like to meditate, and think about the philosophy of epistemology, and still have a brain?! What about Harold Ramis, for the love of God? Anyway, I found Oppenheimer's pseudo-Freudian assessment of all our silly New Agey brains reductive and, like much of the rest of the book, a little salacious.
Soooo my whole take on the book was (1) yay for American Buddhist history, cuz I do find that interesting, but (2) arghhhh for the story and the way it was told.
February 6, 2015
SAD, TRUE STORY, WELL RESEARCHED & TOLD
This is a cautionary tale for anyone looking for an authentic spiritual teacher and group. I have a cursory knowledge of the people and places involved, having met the main character once, and been to the monastery. My own teacher was a student of the main character for a time, and left him because of his behavior. Zen is supposed to be about awareness and truth, sad that in this case delusions and lies abounded, and that one of the major figures in Zen in the west has turned out to be a sexual predator. Oppenheimer does a good job of revealing the truth. This is an excellent use of the Kindle Single format, a journalism subject that isn't big enough for a full-length book, but demands more than a usual magazine-length treatment.
This is a cautionary tale for anyone looking for an authentic spiritual teacher and group. I have a cursory knowledge of the people and places involved, having met the main character once, and been to the monastery. My own teacher was a student of the main character for a time, and left him because of his behavior. Zen is supposed to be about awareness and truth, sad that in this case delusions and lies abounded, and that one of the major figures in Zen in the west has turned out to be a sexual predator. Oppenheimer does a good job of revealing the truth. This is an excellent use of the Kindle Single format, a journalism subject that isn't big enough for a full-length book, but demands more than a usual magazine-length treatment.
January 6, 2014
Another great read from the Kindle Single series. This details a case of sexual abuse by a leading Zen authority with his students. It explains why, in the context of American Buddhism, this situation was so difficult to address. If you haven't tried the Kindle Single series,I recommend it to you. Most of the offerings are in the 60 to 100 actual page range giving you more detail than the average newspaper or periodical offering but without the filler that is sometimes added to "full length" works to make them just that.
December 8, 2013
Concealing difficult truths to protect someone or something you love can cause far greater casualty, both to the thing you love and the victims who might have been spared.
September 4, 2016
Well done ... as MO points out, there are plenty of other roshis & rimpoches up to similar shenanigans, i.e. sleeping w the adepts.
January 18, 2014
A plodding, repetitive take on what seems like a gripping story. Disappointing.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews