The other day, I was looking through old emails and stumbled upon one of the earliest messages about what is now Soto Zen North America. It's a message I wrote--I was reaching out to members of the first exploratory committee, tasked with examining the Shumucho regulations with an eye toward adapting them to our North American context. I laid out the basic idea (not too different, at its core, from what we're working on today) and then wrote, "I have no doubt that I’m overlooking significant hurdles (and perhaps also possibilities). I have no idea what to do with this. It makes a beautiful kind of sense to me, as an ASZB member, that we, after all these years of working with the Sokanbu and Sotoshu, would take up the mantle of traditional practice standards in the West and make it our own."

In some ways, I feel like not much has changed: I know there are still significant questions that have yet to be explored; and, honestly, I still have days when I'm really not sure what to do with it all. 

But most importantly, almost nine years later, this project still makes a beautiful kind of sense to me. In fact, it makes more sense to me every day.

As a member of the board, I am in the privileged position of watching the organization take shape, which is exactly what is happening right now. Very soon, Soto Zen North America will have its first Denominational Council in place, and soon after that, we will have a Guiding Kyoshi. From there, a lot of very creative conversations--and a lot of creative work--will begin in earnest. 

2024 has been the year for the board to find its feet; 2025 will be the year for the Denominational Council to find its direction, and for us as an organization to start to find our voice. 

The meeting at Zenshuji in October was an important check-in with all of you--you let us know where there's excitement, where there are questions, and where there's a sense of possibility. I hope that conversation will never stop. As always, please feel free to reach out anytime with questions, concerns, and ideas to [email protected]. We want to hear from you. 

My thanks to you all--for your patience and support right now, and for the work each of you will eventually do to build this organization and keep it strong. There's a lot to do.

Attendees at Sotoshu's annual conference in Los Angeles heard from Soto Zen NA directors about the status of the organization and the initiatives now in progress.  Following a review of accomplishments to date, the presentation acknowledged that important questions are still to be decided, such as how the organization will be funded, how members will formally and informally support each other and work together, how temples and dharma centers become members (as well as individuals), and of course how best to invite and integrate those not now affiliated with Sotoshu. 

"We’re making steady progress," Vice President Hoko Karnegis noted, "but it’s important to be thoughtful and thorough in order to create a stable and sustainable organization.  This is where you come in."  She reminded attendees that there were three ways to be involved now.  

• Membership: If you’re a recognized kokusaifukyoshi or kyoshi and you’ve not yet applied, please see our application.  If you’ve already applied, thank you—now, please encourage your peers and deshi to join.
• Supervising kyoshi: If you’re a senior kyoshi within Soto Zen NA and you’re interested in taking on this role, please see our application.  If you know someone who would be great, please encourage that person to apply.
• Stay informed: Read the newsletters and website for current information, and bring your questions and reflections to the board.  In future, you’ll be invited to vote on board elections and denominational council elections.  Please stay up to date so that you’re ready to vote or to serve.
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  A video of the update presentation is posted on our homepage.  See the organization chart here.

Conference attendees suggested that Soto Zen N. A. create a listserv such that members could easily stay in touch and share resources and information.  That was quickly done following the meeting, and a dozen and a half members signed up immediately.  All Soto Zen N. A. members should have received by email the invitation to join; if you didn't receive or have lost the information, please contact us for help in signing up.

Seven applications have been received thus far from ASZB members willing to take on the responsibility of serving as supervising kyoshi within Soto Zen N. A.  Establishing a group of supervising kyoshi is a necessary step in forming the Denominational Council, which will work in parallel with the Board of Directors.  While the Board will continue to focus on administration, the Council will take on the work of the practice side of the organization, from priest development to the support of temples/centers and lay practitioners.

Supervising Kyoshi, as distinct from the ranks of Kyoshi and Senior Kyoshi, is clearly defined as a role.  This is evident in both the five-year term and the requirement that any Supervising Kyoshi be willing to serve on the Denominational Council.  Someone accepting that role represents a specific balance: on one hand, the energy and availability to collaborate with others to create a large-scale vision and plan for Soto Zen, and on the other hand, the deep experience and maturity in the practice and tradition required to move that vision forward. 

The application process remains open, so if you are a member of the ASZB and you can see yourself in this role, please consider applying.  If you have questions you'd like to discuss beforehand, please feel free to reach out to Koun Franz. ​

You've received the link to this newsletter because you've become a member of Soto Zen North America.  Thank you and welcome!  All current kokusaifukyoshi and kyoshi have been invited to apply for membership in Soto Zen N. A. and actively participate in its mission.  If you have friends or dharma heirs who are kokusaifukyoshi or kyoshi and have not yet applied, please share this newsletter with them or point them toward our membership page for application forms and additional information.

I took a walk this afternoon and noticed, for the first time this year, colours just starting to turn.  I hope the summer has been a good one for each of you, and for your communities.  There's always so much for us to do.

The Board of Directors of Soto Zen North America has been hard at work the last few months; with every box we check, we uncover another thing to be done, but things are coming together.  I remain deeply excited about what we're doing and where we're headed as an organization.

I want to call your attention to two things happening in the near future.  The first is that we are now accepting applications for Supervising Kyoshi, a senior service position.  Finding those people who are ready and able to serve in that capacity will allow us to, among other things, establish the first Denominational Council—a major milestone, and a fundamental piece of our organizational puzzle.

The other thing is the upcoming ASZB meeting at Zenshuji, October 23 and 24.  We're still working out the timing, but at some point in the schedule, the board members present want to be available for a Q&A session.  Please come—knowing your questions is critical to how we lay out the steps ahead.

And of course, please feel free to reach out anytime with questions, concerns, or hopes.  Thank you for being a part of this work. ​

The next step in the development of Soto Zen North America is the establishment of the Denominational Council, which will work in parallel with the Board of Directors.  While the Board will continue to focus on administration, the Council will take on the work of the practice side of the organization, from priest development to the support of temples/centers and lay practitioners.  Especially in these early days, the work of the Council will be a rich opportunity for deep thinking and creativity around the future of our tradition on this continent.  What, collectively, can we offer?  And what does each of us need from the organization to make that vision a reality?

The first step in forming the Denominational Council is to solicit applications for the next rank in Soto Zen North America: Supervising Kyoshi.  Here's the official description:

1. A priest who has the rank of Senior Kyoshi may apply to be appointed to the rank of Supervising Kyoshi.  They must have served the Soto Zen N. A. as a Senior Kyoshi for a minimum of five years and regularly attended Soto Zen N. A. meetings and workshops.  Appointment to Supervising Kyoshi will be determined by the Dharma and Kyoshi Rank Committee who will consider: accomplishments, training, positions of leadership at a temple, service in Soto Zen N. A., education, and other relevant experiences and activities. 
2. By applying for Supervising Kyoshi, applicants are attesting to a willingness to serve a department/committee role, potentially including a seat on the Denominational Council, and a willingness to serve in a stewardship role within Soto Zen N. A. toward cultivation of Novices, Kyoshi and Senior Kyoshi.
3. Supervising Kyoshi will be named and available for mentorship and guidance and/or serve as a conduit to that.
4. The term of a Supervising Kyoshi shall be five years and can be renewed every 5 years with an application for renewal and review of roles and activities served.

The important thing to understand about Supervising Kyoshi--distinct from the ranks of Kyoshi and Senior Kyoshi--is that it is clearly defined as a role.  This is evident in both the five-year term and the requirement that any Supervising Kyoshi be willing to serve on the Denominational Council.  Someone accepting that role represents a specific balance: on one hand, the energy and availability to collaborate with others to create a large-scale vision and plan for Soto Zen, and on the other hand, the deep experience and maturity in the practice and tradition required to move that vision forward. 

If you can see yourself in this role, please consider applying.  If you have questions you'd like to discuss beforehand, please feel free to reach out to Soto Zen N. A.'s president, Koun Franz. 

​Soto Zen North America has been taking shape for a long time. Work on regulations started first through an ad hoc committee, then as part of the Roadmap Committee, then under the umbrella of the ASZB board. In those ten years, the Soto Zen N.A. project—through discussions with all of you and, to a more limited extent, with Shumucho representatives in Japan—has expanded and deepened to include work on organizational structures and bylaws. This spring, after more than a decade of these efforts, the first Soto Zen N.A. board of directors met to take up this work and bring it forward.

In the short term, the new board (Hoko Karnegis, Kenzan Seidenberg, Gyokei Yokoyama, Kotoku Crivello, and myself) is working to finalize the specifics of the kyoshi ranking system. Soto Zen North America's organizational chart specifies that beyond Kyoshi and Senior Kyoshi (all current members are recognized as senior kyoshi), there are Supervising Kyoshi and Elder Kyoshi, who will take on roles in leadership and instruction. In the coming weeks, we will be in contact about these roles, which, once in place, will lay the groundwork for the establishment of a Denominational Council. With a Denominational Council in place, we will at last be positioned to appoint a Guiding Kyoshi, who will guide and oversee both administrative and religious functioning of the organization. When that happens, Soto Zen N.A. will be up and running. 

Those of you who have played a role in organization-building in the past can appreciate the scope of this project. My experience of board meetings so far is that every question brings our attention to five more questions, all of which, in the moment, feel urgent and compelling. We have a lot to do. 

The central aspiration of the Soto Zen North America—to establish a Soto Zen denomination in North America that both upholds the tradition as we have received it and also recognizes the specific opportunities and challenges of this North American context—is a big one. Over the last ten years, and also now as a board member, I have had moments of feeling a bit overwhelmed by it. But what I find, over and over again, is that the questions we face are exciting ones. Beyond every apparent obstacle is the creative possibility of building something that serves practitioners and the dharma in profound ways. 

As we move forward, we will be reaching out with updates and also asking for your thoughts, for your questions, and most of all, for your help. Along the way, feel free to contact me anytime.

If Soto Zen North America has come to feel a bit abstract over the years, I understand. It's been on the horizon for a long time. But it's here now. We're all here. I look forward to working with you all in this new way, in this new space, building this thing together.

Soto Zen N. A. has appointed its first board and determined officers.  Since the organization is just getting underway and terms have not yet been established, the following will serve for a year and then a further discussion will take place.

• Koun Franz (President)
• Kotoku Crivello (Treasurer)
• Kenzam Seidenberg (Secretary)
• Hoko Karnegis (Communications)
• Gyokei Yokoyama

With the board in place and meeting monthly, Soto Zen N. A. can now go forward with its work to clarify the roles of supervising kyoshi and elder kyoshi, develop applications for these senior ranks, and choose a denominational council and guiding kyoshi.  READ MORE about Soto Zen N. A.'s leadership structure.

Things will begin to move more rapidly now that directors are in place and planning work is beginning in earnest.  As questions arise and answers become clear, the FAQ will continue to expand as a first-stop resource for members and potential members.  Soto Zen N. A.'s website and newsletter will be its primary communication tools for now, but questions that they don't answer can be directed to our email.

You've received this newsletter because you've become a member of Soto Zen N. A.  Thank you and welcome!  All current kokusaifukyoshi and kyoshi have been invited to apply for membership in Soto Zen N. A. and actively participate in its mission.  If you have friends or dharma heirs who are kokusaifukyoshi or kyoshi and have not yet applied, please share this newsletter with them or point them toward our membership page for application forms and additional information.