Dairyu Michael Wenger

Michael arrived at Zen Center shortly after Shunryu Suzuki died but he has come to know Suzuki well. He has edited many Suzuki lectures and for years was head of the Zen Center's Study Center and archives. For years Michael was the person at Zen Center whom I related to in working on the Shunryu Suzuki lectures and archives. Ten years ago Michael oversaw the project to make archival reel-to-reel copies and archival cassette copies of the Suzuki lecture tapes with Mark Watts as engineer and Bill Redican as project manager. The next phase of that project was for Bill to create the verbatim transcripts of those tapes. Michael was on the committee of the Shunryu Suzuki Legacy Project in 2008 in which the archive was further organized, digitalized, and made more available to students and the public. See more below.

Michael said to me once that, in Suzuki Roshi's efforts to plant Zen in America, he seemed to Michael at times like someone shooting arrows into the distance, confident that some would hit the mark. - DC

Cuke Podcast with Michael and Barbara Wenger 🔊


Group Photo
Steve Stucky, Mel Weitsman, Hoitsu Suzuki, Michael Wenger, Chitose Suzuki, David Chadwick, in back Bernd Bender and Clare Hollander
Michael Wenger

The Dragon Leaps on February 29th, 2012


Dragon Leap Hermitage


10-18-14 - Yesterday linked to Dairyu Michael Wenger's site, Dragons Leap. Today featuring his book

49 Fingers, a collection of 49 American Koans, written in traditional case, commentary, verse format alongside 22 of his original brush works.

It is currently available at the San Francisco Zen Center's online bookstore. You can purchase it at their website by clicking here.

And posted in bibliography.


10-17-14 - Dragons Leap - Check out Michael Wenger's site for his teaching, art, news, suggestions, and his San Francisco Avenues group.

Posted in Links and this page

 

 

 


2-27-12 - This Wednesday, February 29th Dairyu Michael Wenger will give a lecture at San Francisco Zen Center as part of the Leap Day celebration, at 7:30PM in the Buddha Hall. Please join the Great Dragon mid-leap as he branches out from San Francisco Zen Center to begin Dragons Leap Zendo, located at 2100 20th Avenue & Quintara.

On Sunday March 4th there will be a meeting to discuss future plans for Dragons Leap Zendo from 3-5 pm at CIIS, room 425, 1453 Mission st in San Francisco to bring everyone up to speed with what is going on.

Starting today, Dairyu's artwork will be on display at San Francisco Zen Center for the next two weeks, in the dining hall.

There will be a celebratory dinner at San Francisco Zen Center on Friday, March 9th.


2-18-12 - We've done it! We've found a home for Dragons Leap Meditation Center. 20th Avenue and Quintara. We will be moved in by March 1st and we expect to begin operating later in March or early April. It is just as we had envisioned it. A place for meditation, painting, and Dharma classes. Stay tuned for more information as it occurs. We will be starting a wishlist for what we need to operate. First things first: Zafus. If you or anyone you know has extras, please contact us.

After nearly 40 years, the dragon is moving We could use help preparing for the move Sunday afternoon, February 19th and 26th, from 1-5 PM at 370 Page street we will ready the launch site

Please call if you can help. Get number or email from cuke.com

This has been a long time coming, and I appreciate all of your help and support. We are just beginning, so let's keep going!

Michael Wenger


On Wednesday a group visited the SF home Michael and Barbara Wenger have found for a home and zendo. Hoitsu (son of Shunryu) and Chitose Suzuki and a few SFZC and BZC luminaries. Thanks to Clare Hollander for the lift.

Here are some photos of calligraphy created on the visit.

Clare Hollander took  there. Click thumbnails to enlarge

Hoitsu Suzuki above was first

Michael Wenger, Mel Weitsman, and Steve Stucky's contributions drying

The Wenger's altar

Mel Weitsman brushes as Steve Stucky watches

See DC's attempt at calligraphy


8-29-11 - Michael Wenger making a dragon's leap out of the City Center. Location sought for his new residence and practice place. See SFZC article on this.


Sweeping Zen Interview

Wenger's Facebook Page

SFZC page for Michael

Michael Wenger on Wikipedia

on Zen Forum International


Wenger art

The Inklings of Michael Wenger

Wenger art on cuke with a brief tribute to Michael by DC


Books by Michael Wenger

Wenger, Michael. Thirty-three Fingers: a Collection of Modern American Koans. Clear Glass, 1994. [Small, fun, refreshing--by a priest in Suzuki's lineage, dean of the studies center at SFZC.] ---- excerpt from this book on cuke.com - excerpt on SFZC web site.


branching.gif (64341 bytes)Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness by Shunryu Suzuki
Mel Weitsman & Michael Wenger (Editors)
$22.50 Paperback - 197 pages (November 1999)University of California Press 
ISBN: 0520219821

Click thumbnail of cover to enlarge.

cuke page for Branching Streams with more links


Wenger, Michael & Erlich, Gretel (Editors) Wind Bell: Teachings from the San Francisco Zen Center - 1968-2001 (web link) North Atlantic Books, 2001. [That was an informative link on it, but here's the Amazon.com link. A great collection of various articles, including Suzuki lectures, from old Wind Bells.


Michael has edited many issues of the Wind Bell and has many contributions to the Wind Bell through the years.

rabbitwb.jpg (76210 bytes)Wind Bell (publication of the San Francisco Zen Center), 1961-. [Bi-annual  publication of the SFZC. To subscribe or for back issues, write Zen Center, 300 Page St., San Francisco CA 94102--$3 per issue; $6 a year domestic; $10 a year foreign]

 


1999 letter of support from Michael Wenger for DC's Cucumber Project

1998 fundraising letter from Suzuki archiving sent by DC includes Wenger

A question from Wenger about the position of tenken

A notice for Michael's Zen film festival

another note about Michael's Zen film festival


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