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Philip Kapleau (August 20, 1912 – May 6, 2004) was an American teacher of Zen Buddhism in the Sanbo Kyodan tradition, which is rooted in Japanese Sōtō and incorporates Rinzai-school koan-study. He also strongly advocated for Buddhist vegetarianism.
Philip Kapleau (born Aug. 20, 1912, New Haven, Conn., U.S.—died May 6, 2004, Rochester, N.Y.) was an American religious leader, a leading popularizer of Zen Buddhism in the United States and the founder of the Rochester Zen Center, a major venue of Zen meditation and education.
- William Pike
Learn about Philip Kapleau, one of the founding fathers of American Zen, who wrote The Three Pillars of Zen and founded the Rochester Zen Center. Explore his life, teachings and legacy through his books and talks.
Jul 7, 2016 · While widely acknowledged as a genuine Zen master, and the source of a significant and widely accepted stream of Western Zen, Philip Kapleau — founder of Rochester Zen Center and author of several books including the monumentally important The Three Pillars of Zen — in fact lacked formal dharma transmission from his teacher.
Philip Kapleau spent the next thirteen years undergoing rigorous Zen training under three Japanese Zen masters before being ordained by Hakuun Yasutani-roshi in 1965 and given permission by him to teach.
Philip Kapleau (☸August 12, 1912—May 06, 2004) was an important Zen teacher to the West despite his having lacked any Dharma transmission. It should be noted, however, that he had trained with Haku'un Yasutani Roshi for more than a decade and that the roshi had authorized him to teach, albeit in a limited capacity.
Philip Kapleau was one of the founding fathers of American Zen. He made it his life’s work to transplant Zen Buddhism into American soil, bridging the gap between theory and practice and making Zen Buddhism accessible to all.
