Allen, in his inscription at the bottom of his photograph, writes:
“Richard Baker Roshi, whose teacher was Suzuki Roshi, soon after he stepped down as Abbot of San Francisco Zen Center to found Santa Fé, N.M. & Crestone Colorado Zen Meditation Centers, and give transmission to Philip Whalen, Sensei. Here visiting apartment on East 12th Street after return from East Europe where he’d taught Zen sitting groups, we caught up on our samsaric adventures. Baker Roshi had hosted 1965 U.C. Berkeley Poets’ convocation, we’d remained friends, especially thru his kindness to poet Whalen whom he’d invited to S.F. Zen. Center. N.Y. Fall 1984.”
Baker Roshi, was/is one of the most notable figures in the transmission of Zen (Sōtō Zen) lineage, a key instigator in the transmission of the dharma in the West. Dharma Successor of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi.
He is currently the spiritual head of Dharma Sangha, with locations in Crestone, Colorado, and the Black Forest of Germany.
Here’s, May 2022, the 86-year-old Baker Roshi talking, interviewed by Wanda Badwal