A respected figure in North American Zen Buddhism, Rev. Peter Schneider, known by his Dharma name Yozen Taishin, died on 4 January at approximately 8 p.m., according to fellow practitioners at his community in California. He was 87 years old.

Community members noted that Schneider had been hospitalized recently following a fall in which he broke his femur. His recovery was complicated by a bacterial infection, and although he was declared free of the infection and taken off antibiotics, Schneider remained in a fragile state. According to a sangha member’s statement, a nurse had checked on him only an hour before his unexpected passing. The precise cause of death has not yet been released.

Schneider is survived by his wife and co-abbot Myokaku Jane Schneider, and by a large extended sangha that spans the US West Coast and beyond. Plans for memorial services and other commemorative events have not yet been publicly announced.

“May we celebrate his life and remember his teaching,” Chris B (Myokan Daisho) said in an informal memorial note circulated online. (Cuke.com) The reference underscores how Schneider’s teachings and leadership have affected a broad community of Zen adherents in California and beyond. The Beginner’s Mind Zen Center continues to function under the co-leadership of Jane Schneider, who also holds priest ordination, underscoring the couple’s shared commitment to Zen practice and education.

Peter Schneider was born on 24 December 1937, and began practicing Zen Buddhism under Shunryu Suzuki-roshi in the early 1960s. Over the next decade, Schneider deepened his commitment to Zen training at the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC) and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, the first Zen training monastery to be established outside of Asia. He became the second director of Tassajara and later served as SFZC president. In 1970, Suzuki Roshi ordained Schneider as a priest in the Soto Zen lineage, and he would go on to receive a Dharma transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman Roshi of Berkeley Zen Center in 2002.

In 1973, Schneider and his spouse accepted scholarships to study Buddhism in Japan. The couple spent more than two decades, from 1973 to 1995, immersing themselves in Japanese practice communities and further refining their understanding of Soto Zen. After returning to the United States, the Schneiders established the Beginner’s Mind Zen Center—originally known as the Northridge Zen Center—in 2003. It continues to serve as a spiritual community for dedicated Zen practitioners. Jane Schneider studied under Myoan Grace Schireson Roshi in preparation for her own Dharma transmission, highlighting both partners’ longstanding devotion to spreading Zen teachings in the West.

Many colleagues and students lauded Peter Schneider’s calm leadership style, as well as his readiness to adapt traditional Zen practices to the realities of contemporary life. Observers noted that his death left a responsibility on younger practitioners to maintain and expand the Soto Zen tradition that he helped cultivate. The Beginner’s Mind Zen Center will likely continue to anchor his legacy, offering zazen (Zen meditation) instruction, Dharma talks, and guidance for long-term students and newcomers.

Among Schneider’s notable achievements was his dedication to transcribing Suzuki-roshi’s talks for publication, an endeavor that has contributed to the broader dissemination of Zen principles in America. Senior figures in the community credit Schneider with guiding newcomers through the foundational aspects of zazen, as well as fostering a nurturing environment consistent with the spirit of Suzuki Roshi’s teachings.

Zen Buddhism gained significant traction in the US in the mid-20th century, partly through teachers such as Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, who arrived from Japan and founded the SFZC in 1962. Suzuki Roshi’s establishment of Tassajara in 1967 marked a new chapter in American Zen, offering Western practitioners a structured training environment. Over the decades, the lineage has evolved through leaders such as Schneider and Weitsman, influencing diverse Zen communities across North America.

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Peter and Jane Schneider (San Francisco Zen Center)
Jane and Peter Schneider (Cuke.com)
Myokaku Jane Schneider (Soto Zen Buddhist Association)

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