Our Teachers
Rev. Kathryn Shukke Shin Hilbert Roshi, Current Abbot
Rev. Kathryn Shukke Shin Hilbert began meditating as a teenager, implemented insight meditation as a recovery tool for traumatized children and adults in her psychotherapy practice for three decades, and practiced independently for many years before finding a Zen Teacher and finally "getting down to business."
Rev. Shukke is currently training private students for the priesthood, as well as some students who are interested in deepening their current practice. Her teaching style might be characterized as egalitarian, secularly inclusive, and eclectic. She encourages students to take their Zen knowledge “off the cushion” and into their daily lives with wholehearted intention, devotion, and dedication. A Zen Study reading list is available from Rev. Shukke
for the asking. Dana gratefully received via Paypal 575.644.4526 or Apple Pay.
Rev. Shukke performs official Buddhist wedding, commitment and funeral services around the area, and makes hospital visits to patients who request a Priest. She also works with Mesilla Valley Hospice to provide consultation to persons engaging in their final life journey. Feel free to contact via email at jiisha2abbot@gmail.
Rev. Dr. Harvey Daiho Hilbert Roshi, Founding Abbot
Daiho Roshi received Shukke Tokudo in the year 2000 and received Dharma Transmission in 2005. He began studying Zen in 1966 after being shot in the head in combat in Vietnam. He is the founding abbot of The Order of Clear Mind Zen headquartered in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Roshi is an accomplished painter, teacher, and psychotherapist.
Roshi dropped out of high school to join the Army in 1964. He was trained as an infantry soldier and was deployed to Germany for nearly two years before reenlisting and being deployed to Vietnam in 1966. After being critically wounded he was retired from the Army. He obtained a high school equivalency diploma and after some time working odd jobs and a stint at being homeless on his motorcycle, he went on to obtain a bachelor's degree with three majors: creative writing, drama, and English literature. He began work in social welfare, eventually becoming a child protective services supervisor. From there he obtained a master's degree and PhD in Social Work from Case Western University. He opened a private psychotherapy practice and focused on trauma related services. He did this work until becoming ordained in the Soto Zen tradition.
Ken Hogaku Shozen McGuire Roshi
(1936-2012)
Ken Hogaku Shozen McGuire Roshi was the founding abbot of Daibutsuji Zen Temple in Las Cruces (1969) and Cloudcroft (1998), New Mexico. Ken-roshi is Dharma Heir to Rev. Dr. Soyu Matsuoka Roshi, the first Zen Master from Japan to establish a Zen Temple in the United States. Ken-roshi studied with Matsuoka in Long Beach, California from 1963 until he moved to New Mexico in 1968. He traveled to Japan on two occasions with Matsuoka and was presented to the abbot of Sojiji. Ken-roshi took Shukke Tokudo in 1968 and received Inka Shomei in 1977 from Matsuoka.
Ken-roshi was honored with the Transmission of Light Ceremony in the Vietnamese Rinzai Zen tradition by the Most Venerable Thich An Giao. Ken-roshi was elevated to the rank of Great Master which is equivalent to Bishop. He was retired from his long career with Lockheed-Martin and NASA as an aerospace engineer. An accomplished carpenter, he built Zen furnishings for home and temple until his death in June of 2012.
Rev. Dr. Zengaku Soyu Matsuoka Roshi
(1912-1997)
Rev. Dr. Soyu Matsuoka Roshi was a priest in a family of priests going back six centuries. He came to the United States in 1939 as an emissary of Sojiji Training Monastery first to Los Angeles, then to San Francisco. Matsuoka soon left San Francisco to go to New York where he worked with D T Suzuki at Columbia University. He then went to Chicago and established the Zen Buddhist Temple of Chicago in 1949.
Matsuoka taught everywhere he could: high schools, karate dojos, living rooms. He was relentless in his effort to bring the living Dharma to the United States. He wrote letters to newspapers, was a strong supporter of non-violence and desegregation, and wrote letters in support of Rev. Martin Luther King’s civil disobedience.
He had three disciples who went on to establish their own lineages: Kongo Langois in Chicago, Il. Taiun Elliston in Atlanta, Ga. and Hogaku McGuire in Long Beach, California. Kongo is considered the first American to be ordained as a Zen priest in 1967. Sometime after Matsuoka returned to California to establish his Zen Temple in Long Beach, he broke with Soto Shu in Japan.
There are many rumors floating around the Internet and, unfortunately in print, regarding Matsuoka’s later years . After reviewing extant materials and personal interviews of those who actually knew and studied with Matsuoka, I believe much of the talk surrounding this true pioneer is in an effort to diminish his mission to create a truly American form of Zen in service to supporting the institutionalized version being transmitted from Japan.
Matsuoka taught Zazen. He taught basic forms. He chanted only the most essential sutras. He streamlined the training and progression of students so that they would have an opportunity to practice in roles and take on responsibilities they would not have been entitled to in an institutionalized context. His was a homegrown Zen, a practical Zen. He used Japanese terms sparingly and tried to make his Zen accessible to Americans.
Those who actually take the time to make a study of Matsuoka’s written record in two collections of his writings (The Kyosaku and Moku-rai) will soon discover the truth about this pioneer. He was a genuine Master and a fine teacher who held his students in higher esteem than they, themselves apparently did.