Zen Center of Los Angeles

Grant(s) Awarded

In 2012, a grant in the amount of $5,000 was awarded  to help support the completion of the digitizing phase of the Maezumi Roshi Tape Archive Project. During his lifetime, Maezumi Roshi gave thousands of Dharma talks (Teisho) and countless teachings. Many talks and ceremonies, both at ZCLA and at affiliated centers, were recorded. At the time of Maezumi Roshi’s passing, ZCLA had over 1300 of his Teisho and teachings on cassette or reel-to-reel tape. As the process of sorting and caring for this invaluable archive proceeded, it became clear that, with the passage of time, the tapes were deteriorating.  Several years ago, research and implementation began on options for converting the tapes to digital audio files. While the project began as an in-house effort at ZCLA, it became apparent that the deteriorating quality of the tapes, some of which went back to the early 1970s, demanded professional handling. After a search, an outside vendor was selected and has completed much of that work. During this time an additional 350 tapes were uncovered, including some Teisho by Yasutani Roshi and Koryu Osaka Roshi, teachers of Maezumi Roshi, from the early 1970’s Project.