| Joko Beck | |
| Birth Date: | 27 March 1917 |
| Birth Place: | United States |
| Religion: | Zen Buddhism |
| School: | Ordinary Mind School |
| Zen Teacher | |
| Predecessor: | Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi |
Charlotte Joko Beck (March 27, 1917 – June 15, 2011[1]) was an American Zen teacher and the author of the books Everyday Zen: Love and Work and Nothing Special: Living Zen.[2]
Born in New Jersey, Beck studied music at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music and worked for some time as a pianist and piano teacher. She married and raised a family of four children, then separated from her husband and worked as a teacher, secretary, and assistant in a university department. She began Zen practice in her 40s with Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi in Los Angeles,[3] and later with Hakuun Yasutani and Soen Nakagawa.[3] Beck received Dharma transmission from Taizan Maezumi Roshi in 1978,[3] but broke with Maezumi over his actions and opened Zen Center San Diego in 1983,[3] serving as its head teacher until July 2006.[4]
Beck was responsible for a number of important innovations in Zen teaching. Because she was adept at teaching students to work with their psychological states, she attracted a number of students who were interested in the relationship between Zen and modern psychology. Several of her Dharma heirs are practicing psychologists/psychiatrists.[5] In 1995 Joko, along with three of her Dharma heirs, founded the Ordinary Mind Zen School.
Shortly after Beck’s departure in 2006, she revoked Dharma transmission from two senior students: Ezra Bayda and Elizabeth Hamilton. Beck also stated that Zen Center San Diego should not claim to represent her or her teaching.[6] [5] [7] In 2006 Joko moved to Prescott, Arizona, where she continued to teach until she retired as a teacher in late 2010. In the spring of 2010, Joko announced Gary Nafstad as her last Dharma successor.[5]
Beck died on June 15, 2011, at age 94.[1]
Joko Beck appointed nine teachers:[8]
From two other teachers she later sought to revoke her appointment:[9]