The teacher

Because the Zen tradition emphasizes direct communication over scriptural study, the role of the Zen teacher is crucial. Generally speaking, a Zen teacher is a person ordained in any tradition of Zen to teach the dharma, guide students of meditation and perform rituals. In some cases, especially in modern western Zen movements, a person not ordained may be able to fulfill some or all of these roles.

A central part of all Zen sects is the notion of "Dharma transmission," the claim of a line of authority that goes back to the Buddha. Originally this derived from the description of Zen attributed to Bodhidharma:

A special transmission outside the scriptures;

No dependence upon words and letters;

Direct pointing to the soul of man:

Seeing into one's own nature and attainment of Buddhahood

Since at least the Middle Ages, Dharma Transmission has become a normative aspect of all Zen sects. Every Zen teacher stands within one lineage or another. Some sects, including all Japanese lines, possess formal lineage charts that are drawn up for the ceremonial practice of transmission, which document the lineage back to Shakyamuni Buddha.

Honorific titles associated with teachers typically include, in Chinese: Fashi or Chanshi ; in Korean, Sunim or Seon Sa ; in Japanese: Osho (priest) Roshi (old master) or Sensei (teacher); and in Vietnamese, Thay (teacher; pronounced tie ). Note that many of these titles are common among Buddhist priests of all schools present in the specific cultural context. Some titles, such as the Japanese sensei, are also used beyond the Buddhist schools.

The term Zen master is often used to refer to important teachers, especially ancient and medieval ones. However, there is no specific criterion by which one can be called a Zen master. The term is less common in reference to modern teachers, because they are generally reluctant to proclaim themselves "masters." At the same time these teachers willingly acknowledge their lineage connections, naming who authorized them as teachers.

This is important as there are a number of people in the west, some leading relatively large centers, who claim to be Zen teachers but who will not say where they trained or who authorized them to teach. This is a radical departure from normative Zen where "lineage" is considered crucial. As such it is reasonable to assume such people are not what they claim to be. People seeking a teacher should be aware that there are a surprisingly large number of such self-declared masters.

Some schools, such as the Kwan Um School of Zen, publish lists of their teachers. The American Zen Teachers Association also provides a list of its members at the Association's website. While not a complete record of legitimately authorized Zen teachers in North America , it is an enormous help to those attempting to find people who at least have formal authorization in some traditional lineage.

Of course even formal authorization should not be considered "enough." The moral lapses of any number of contemporary Zen teachers should be a warning in this regard. As the relationship between a teacher and a student requires complete intimacy and a profound trust on the part of the student, any one seriously considering studying with a Zen teacher should read widely about the prospective teacher, ask people who've studied Zen for some years, do web searches, and perhaps most importantly look closely at the teacher's students. Much can be discovered in such simple acts.

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The teacher

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