Spitting Out the Bones: A Zen Master’s 45 Year Journey

Merzel (Big Mind Big Heart), a controversial figure in the Buddhist community due to his involvement in the dissolution of the Hosshinji Zen temple in Bar Harbor, Maine, offers candid reflections upon his journey as a Zen practitioner, warts and all, acknowledging mistakes made and lessons learned. He is up-front about his abuse of power and disrespect for teacher-student boundaries, unearthing complex and important issues regarding submission to teachers or blind acceptance of their teachings, including his own: “If you screw up in the relative world, the absolute won’t save you,” he writes. By acknowledging the reasons for his fall (including admitting his mistakes concerning inappropriate student-teacher relations), he challenges both teachers and students to seriously think about the flaws in their relationship dynamics. The second half is a crash course in Buddhist practice and Merzel’s Big Mind Process, in which, through Jungian and Buddhist approaches, students explore various voices (such as the Protector or the Controller) and own, embody, and empower themselves. The story of Merzel’s journey and his reflections on his practice are the strongest sections of the book. Whether Merzel is truly repentant or has truly learned is left to the reader to guess; either way, his story is a cautionary tale of spiritual extremes and presents fascinating ethical questions about the teacher-student relationships, upon which all practitioners should ruminate. (Nov.)