Hi there,

even though I like the atmosphere here I am still searching for a real life sangha in my area. I recently discovered that there is a "dharma sangha" group that has weekly practice and was very happy about that. I read that they are affiliated with Richard Baker Roshi (dharma heir to shunryu suzuki, former Abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center), and that gets me into a little trouble. I don`t know how many of you heard about the "scandal" he was involved in. It is a part of his wikipedia entry and there is a book called The Shoes Outside the Door that describe the process of his "detachement" from SF Zen Center and the circumstances surrounding this.

Of course I do not know Richard Baker and of course people can change. It might also be true that everything didn`t happen as described by his former students but nevertheless I feel a little uncomfortable about this. I wouldn`t bother ususally but it would be much easier for me to practice in a group in my area. None of this is meant to put this wonderful sangha at treeleaf down but the web and modern communication are kind of a barrier for me. I will visit one of their regular sittings but I think it would be very rude to ask about all this straight away.

Whats your opinion about this? Any advice?

gassho,
Alex