IMPORTANT NOTICE FROM PHOENIX CLOUD ELDERS
This notice is to inform the wider community of our understanding of breaches of ethical conduct at Sokukoji Temple.
With deep concern and a commitment to transparency, we acknowledge that Sokuzan Bob Brown, a Zen teacher affiliated with the Phoenix Cloud community, has engaged in relationships with students and sangha members that have caused harm. His conduct violates the ethical standards of the Dharma, the lineage of Kobun Chino Otogawa, and the vows we share to practice with integrity, humility, and care.
While we recognize Sokuzan’s past contributions to the Dharma, we do not condone his harmful conduct. As transmitted teachers and elders in the Kobun’s Phoenix Cloud lineage, we are ending our formal relationship with Sokuzan. Our decision follows a meeting with Sokuzan in which we offered a space for his honest reflection and responsibility. Restoration of mutual respect and supportive relationships between us, as Phoenix Cloud elders, and Sokuzan, will depend upon Sokuzan's acceptance of responsibility for the harm born of his unskillful behavior, his genuine remorse, and his participation in a supervised process of healing and restitution.
We remain committed to the well-being of all those affected, including Sokuzan, and we honor the courage of the many who have come forward. We are listening. Speaking out—especially in spiritual communities—takes strength. Harm in the teacher-student relationship undermines the trust that is essential to the path of awakening and affects the entire sangha.
Zen practice calls us to face suffering directly. This is not a time for spiritual bypassing or silence. Ethical conduct is inseparable from wisdom and compassion. As a community, we renew our commitment to ethical accountability and the safety of all sangha members.
May this moment serve as a turning point for deeper reflection, responsibility, and healing. With this notice, we renew our vows to meet suffering with clarity, to speak openly when harm occurs, and to walk the path of the Bodhisattva with greater discernment and care.
Respectfully,
Phoenix Cloud Teachers and Elders
Chōbun Nenzen Pamela Brown
Oshin Kato Jennings
Board of Directors, Jikoji Zen Center
Hakuryu Ian Forsberg, Hokoji Temple
Eiko Joshin Carolyn Atkinson
Shoun Dean Williams, Crooked River Zen
Hokyo Chuck Hutchcraft
Meido Barbara Anderson