John Garrie

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John Garrie, later known as John Garrie Roshi, was a British actor who later became a respected teacher of Zen Buddhism. He died in Taunton, Somerset on 22 September 1998 at the age of 75.

1 Acting career
2 Meditation teacher
3 Published works
4 External links

[edit] Acting career

As an actor, John Garrie played[1] minor roles in a number of British television shows during the 1960s and 1970s, including The Avengers, Z-Cars and UFO. In the episode of Danger Man entitled Koroshi, he played the role of an "Old Japanese Man" which foreshadows his later career as a teacher of Zen.

[edit] Meditation teacher

John Garrie Roshi's teaching drew on several traditions including Zen, Theravadan, Tibetan Buddhism as well as Taoism and martial arts. He described the mindfulness practice he taught as "Sati", which draws heavily from concepts within Theravadan Buddhist Satipatthana training. He founded the Sati Society which was generally based in the West Country.

John Garrie wrote:

The Way of Mindfulness is the ‘sole way’ to the realization of Anatta. The word in Pali is ‘Sati’, usually carrying the meaning of awareness or skilful attentiveness. In Sanskrit the word is ‘Smrti’, which carries the meaning of memory, in the sense of the recollection of past events. All that is implied in both these meanings comes together in the act of Sati-patthana. Sati – the skilful, mindful awareness of all conditions contributing to present phenomena arising – Patthana – setting up or putting into operation this awareness. Recollection of the past observation of the present with pin-point concentration based in calmness, are therefore required in the practice of Mindfulness.

The development of Mindfulness depends on the realization that mindfulness is vitally needed, that mindfulness is not present to the extent needed, and that the state of mindfulness can be cultivated.

Of these three factors, the first is the most important. This is the need – the awareness that something is lacking in one’s characteristics. It is the increasingly disturbing realization that long-accepted views do not nowadays seem quite so indestructible. It is felt in the more frequent moments of completely honest self-criticism and the frightening absence of self-justification which, in the past, has been so very near-to-hand. The ground under one’s feet is no longer quite so solid and material possessions lose much of their warm promise of security in years to come. Personal effects suddenly become obviously associated with previous personal causes. Sowing and reaping is known as a fact of life, and is no longer just a matter of seeds and flowers.

We must also clarify the meaning of meditation. It is a much misused and misunderstood word, particularly when linked with the technique of Satipatthana.

It is fashionable in the west to speak of ‘practice’, by which is usually meant taking a certain period of time each day to follow a set pattern of thought for the purpose of producing calm. It is often then considered reasonable to ignore all the precepts of wholesome philosophical beliefs in the living of everyday life, and the idea that the vigilant meditative state can be maintained throughout the twenty-four hours of our day, is regarded as being impractical.

As a demonstration of suffering and ignorance this has no equal.

Meditation is in operation at all times and concentration makes it effective. If concentration is weak then meditation is also weak, If the mind has been taught skill, then mindfulness will be in operation at all times during the day and night whether waking or sleeping. The contemplative state in which events are reviewed or examined at a set time, also needs the penetrating power of mindfulness to make it effective. Otherwise it will merely be daydream.

It is therefore not possible to separate meditation from mindfulness.

– John Garrie Roshi, The Way is without Flaw

John Garrie Roshi also wrote a blessing entitled "Peace to all Beings" [2], which was used to introduce and to end meditations. It is still widely used by former and present students of Sati.

[edit] Published works

Many of the talks he gave during Satipatthana 'Workshops' were taped and these recordings are available. A collection of his writings was published in 1998 under the title The Way is Without Flaw, which is soon to be published in PDF format.