From the Mothers & Babies Perinatal Network: Mothers & Babies Perinatal Network is excited to announce that they will be holding their 7th Annual and 1st ever Virtual Fashion Gala on Thursday. The City of Foster City, CA makes every effort to produce and publish the most current and accurate information possible. No warranties, expressed or implied, are provided for the data herein, its use, or its interpretation. Mel Weitsman Death – Mel Weitsman Obituary Cause Of Death: On the 8th of January 2021, Dead-Death learned about the unexpected death of Mel Weitsman a.k.a Hakuryu Sojun.The news about this death has brought deep unhappiness to the hearts of Mel‘s friends, family and every concerned persons, and words cannot express how devastated they are at this difficult time of mourning their beloved. A Soto Zen practice place led by Hozan Alan Senauke and founded by Shunryu Suzuki and Sojun Mel Weitsman contact webmaster. Proudly powered by WordPress.
The great Zen Master Sojun Mel Weitsman Roshi passed away January 7 after a relatively brief bout with cancer.
Sojun Roshi was a great teacher for me (Abbot Gaelyn), and of the leadership of Houston Zen Center ever since we opened the Houston Zen Center. His wisdom about practicing in urban America was very deep, flexible and wise.
We are chanting for Sojun Roshi for 49 days, in the traditional Soto Zen manner. You are invited to attend, via Zoom, every Wednesday at 7:10, while we chant and send encouragement to Sojun. Each week we request the guidance of a different powerful Buddha or Bodhisattva.
I would like to share with you the last post on Caring Bridge by Liz Horowitz Weitsman, Sojun Roshi’s wife.
“Thank you from the bottom of my heart for the support many of you have given Mel and me, especially during the last month of Mel’s life, including visits so I could go out for a couple hours and not leave Mel alone; food for us when caring for Mel took up most of my time; and the time and energy a few of you, especially Andrea Thach, spent talking with me and sharing your warm hearted wisdom. And for the last two weeks of Mel’s life, we had the wonderful support and assistance of Mel’s cousins, Dave and Linda Young, who traveled from Oregon to assist me in caring for Mel. My gratitude to them is immeasurable.
“And thank you to all of you who wrote cards and emails expressing your support for me and your love and gratitude to Mel. After Mel stopped reading them himself, I read them all aloud to him. I cannot express how meaningful those words were for me, and I know they were for Mel too. Thank you!
“Alan [Senauke, new abbot of Berkeley Zen Center] asked me to post the following note, which I originally wrote to friends outside the Zen community:
“I am sad to report that Mel died, peacefully at home, at about 5:30 pm, January 7. He had a good quality of life well beyond his expected lifespan after being diagnosed with bile duct cancer in September 2019. Matter of fact, after he got a stent placed to open up his blocked bile duct, he felt just fine for about a year, and for a long time his terminal diagnosis seemed quite unreal. Only in the past few months did he start having symptoms. Up until then he had continued with all his usual activities, without even suffering the dreaded chemo side effects. (After managing Mel’s treatment for a year, his oncologist said Mel’s underlying health was like a healthy 70 year old, not a 91 year old with terminal cancer.)
“Mel had a good life. After a stint in the Marines, he studied at the San Francisco Art Institute under the abstract expressionist Clyfford Still. Just when Mel’s work was beginning to gain recognition, he quit painting in order to devote himself to studying Zen Buddhism with Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in San Francisco. Mel was also an accomplished recorder player, and taught recorder and played with various amateur chamber groups.
How Old Is Sojun Mel Weitsman
“But Mel’s true life’s work was founding (with Suzuki Roshi’s guidance) the Berkeley Zen Center in 1967 and nurturing it to become the thriving practice center and community it now is. For the past few weeks I’ve been reading to Mel the cards, letters, and emails his students and disciples have sent him, and we have both been overwhelmed by the outpouring of love and gratitude Mel has received. Here are passages from two cards that express why a couple of people are so grateful to him: ‘You taught me to treasure the day-to-day, the ordinary. I learned that when I slow down and focus on the moment in front of me, I realize what a miracle this moment is…. You taught me to see the beauty of the weeds in my garden... the beauty of imperfections.’ ‘My father died recently, and I can’t imagine going through the tumult and heartbreak of that without the ground of [Zen] practice beneath my feet. You helped nourish that ground and prepare me to stand on it, so thank you, deep thank you.’
“I’ve had struggles and arguments with Zen practice myself, and decades ago I dropped out of formal practice for the most part. But I have always appreciated Zen practice, and Mel’s down to earth, unpretentious way of communicating its essence to people who come seeking a more satisfactory way to live their lives. I will miss him very much.”
Mel Weitsman Berkeley Zen Center
Liz