The MBZC community exists at several levels. There is the resident monastic community, and the lay community, which has varying levels of commitment, including those who come as occasional visitors, and those who rent the facilities for retreats and other events. MBZC also relates to the wider Rinzai-ji, as well as to the rest of the residents of Mount Baldy and, to a lesser degree, other residents of the Los Angeles area. The size of the community and the regularity of relationship depends a great deal on what part of the yearly schedule is in effect at any given time.

During seikan, casual visitors are welcome on special Visitor's Days, as well as most other Saturdays for zazen. Indeed, these times are advertised in the weekly religion listings of the Inland Valley Daily Bulletin. On other days of the week, with prior arrangements, MBZC can be visited during the afternoon work period. While there is no charge for these times, MBZC gladly receives any donations made by these casual visitors.

More serious laypersons can be found in residence almost any time of year, but particularly during seichu, and especially during sesshins. The total number of persons who participate in one or more of these periods during a year probably numbers about 200. These people pay $325 to attend a dai-sesshin, or $300, if they are members of MBZC. A full seichu, including three dai-sesshins, costs $1500, or $1300 for members. These prices include room, board, and instruction for the period of residence. For serious students who cannot afford the cost, there is a possibility of work-scholarships. They can also schedule special individual training at other times of year. Both the laity and the monks come to MBZC from all over the U.S. MBZC is said to be one of only two monasteries in the United States headed by a true Rinzai Zen master.

Among the lay people who are in some way related to MBZC, we were able to talk to a lay monk and his daughter, a college student in Claremont, a lay nun, a graduate student in Religion who is a regular participant and supporter of MBZC, and several other Claremont Colleges students who participate on a regular basis. The lay people who participate represent a wide variety of backgrounds, from those who grew up in a religious family to the lay nun who said that if she had not taken up Zen, she would not have practiced any religion whatsoever. Leonard Cohen, a well-known musician and composer, is another regular participant and supporter, although we did not speak with him. Others involved in MBZC practice a wide to variety of vocations from engineering to medicine, education to business, and a variety of the arts. The lay people who were ordained either asked the Roshi for ordination, or he recommended it for them, but they did not feel they had to pass any test or meet any special requirement to be ordained (Edgren 1994; Muhs 1994).

Those laypeople who are members of MBZC are committed enough to give the Center financial support, whether or not they are actively involved in such practices as sesshins. It is from among these people that Roshi selects members of the Board of Directors of MBZC, which is a non-profit corporation. This board also includes the shika, or monk-administrator as a member, and makes most major decisions related to finances and business matters, always in consultation with the Roshi.

At the heart of the immediate MBZC community are monks and nun. This is a group of friendly, welcoming people who do not mind at all sharing their pilgrimages to MBZC. Fun, intelligent, and down-to-earth, they seem like "just regular guys," as they often joke, once you look past the robes and shaved heads. Of the five monks and one nun in residence when the interviews were done, four are American, and the other two are in-training, having come from the related center in Vienna. One of the monks we met, Genshu, has since moved to a center in New Mexico.

The participants at MBZC on all levels are primarily of European descent. There may be several reasons for this, including the Roshi's insistence on Zen done in a very particular way and the increasing interest in rigorous Zen in the West. Asians who come to the United States are more likely to want to be westernized, so that if they continue to practice Buddhism, it is likely to be in the social context of a Buddhist "Church." A few younger Asians, especially those who have grown up in the U.S. and are now looking for their spiritual roots can be found visiting MBZC, but the Center is really aimed at introducing those with a background in Western religion and philosophy to Zen.

There are two kinds of hierarchy that exist at MBZC, both with the Roshi at the top. One is the hierarchy of spiritual attainment; the other, the administrative hierarchy for dealing with day-to-day matters. The first is one where a person continues towards the top through all of his or her life; the other changes every six months, at the direction of the Roshi.

At the top of the Zen spiritual hierarchy is the Roshi, a role filled by Joshu Sasaki at MBZC, as one who has clarified the Dharma and can give koan practice to aid others toward enlightenment. Below the Roshi is the Acting Roshi, a role currently filled by Genro Herbert Koudela of Vienna, Austria. He has a certain level of independence from the Roshi, and is able to have his own monks, nuns and laity, and to perform certain ceremonies. However, he has not yet received the Dharma transmission necessary for the status of Roshi, and so still sends anyone who wishes to be ordained to MBZC for training.

The next part of the spiritual hierarchy is the Oshos, or priests. This does not refer to a single level, but is a term applying to a variety of sublevels. In fact, there are nine levels of Osho, ranging from the monks up to those just below the rank of Roshi. Higher level Oshos can do such things as perform weddings and funerals, as well as lead zazen. The monks who are currently at MBZC permanently are all low-level Oshos, still living under the guidance of the Roshi.

In the spiritual hierarchy, those who are monks or nuns and who have advanced up the ladder of Osho levels are referred to as Shuzos, while newly ordained monks, who are still in their training period, are referred to as Shami. Those who are in training are in a sort of spiritual "boot camp," according to Kido, where they are to live as celibates (1994a). Once a monk has completed training, he is allowed to marry. It is less clear if the same is true of nuns, for the only ones we met are single; traditionally, in Japan, a nun would never marry.

Below the full-time monks and nuns are the lay monks and nuns who, in general, are ordained without the intense training required of the first group. These people can lead groups in zazen on their own, wherever they live. We were not able to get a complete list, but anecdotal evidence suggests they are scattered all over the United States, at least, wherever their secular jobs may have led them.

At the bottom of the spiritual hierarchy are the laity, who are considered as much students of the Roshi as the various ordained person are, but who have not made as great a commitment of time and energy to Zen, although they may be serious practitioners.

The administrative hierarchy parallels the spiritual in some ways, but not completely. The abbot of MBZC, who is the highest administrative officer, is the Roshi. At other centers in the Rinzai-ji, those who head the administration are known as vice-abbots, for they still ultimately answer to the Roshi, who is recognized as head abbot. There is could also be a vice-abbot at MBZC to administer in the absence of the abbot. Such a position is appointive and permanent, but currently there is no one filling this role at MBZC.

The next roles are filled by the monks and nuns, who are appointed to a role by the Roshi for six months at a time. These roles thus rotate regularly among the permanent residents. The highest of these roles is the Shika, or administrator, who maintains the books, sits on the Board of Directors, mediates in disputes between the monks and the Roshi, and manages the day-to-day affairs of MBZC, making decisions on small financial matters.

The densu is the shika's assistant, and this role is filled only when there are enough monks and nuns in residence.

The jikijitsu and shoji have already been already discussed in relation to their work during zazen. The jikijitsu works hard to create an atmosphere conducive to meditation, and often "sits there and looks angry," to encourage practitioners to take zazen seriously (Koshin 1994). The shoji not only cares for students during zazen, but at any other time, as well as being in charge of the work assignments.

The tenzo, or cook, has also been mentioned already, but he or she is in charge of all food preparation, both for the monks and other students who are on the grounds, as well as any groups that may be using the MBZC facilities. MBZC also bakes bread which it sells in the local area as one small source of income, and that work is done or overseen by the tenzo.

When there are enough monks and nuns, another role that is filled is the enzo, or gardener, who supervises the gardens and grounds, although all the monks and nuns work at maintaining them. During the months of bad weather this person will often work in other tasks. There is also a job call inji, which refers to the Roshi's attendant or assistant, a role not currently assigned to a monk, but primarily fulfilled by the Roshi's wife.

Because of the rigor of the training at MBZC, and the very minimal advertising done, the permanent resident population is small. This is probably the way the Roshi prefers it. As Kigen says, "In the past twenty years, there has been a huge interest in Zen, mostly in a trendy, popular way. I think the Roshi is happy and satisfied to finally have the hubbub of the hippies die down, and to have all four of us, the permanent monks, as serious and down-to-earth students" (1994). Their stories are instructive in how persons in the West find their way into Rinzai Zen.

We were able to conduct hour-long interviews with four of the monks in residence, along with the nun who was preparing for ordination in the fall of 1994. A fifth monk, Genshu, was gone to Albuquerque, to the center that he initially came from, at the time of the intensive interviews, although he did participate in a more informal interview later.

At the time of the interviews, Koshin was serving as shika. Koshin was born in the Bible belt as Chris Cain, and was raised as a Presbyterian in North Carolina, where his maternal grandfather was a minister and former missionary to Asia. Unfortunately, Koshin's grandfather died before Koshin could discuss Zen with him. Koshin grew up in an open-minded environment and, interested in the connection of East and West had read on the connections of Christianity with Buddhism, in general, and Zen, in particular. When Koshin ended up in Claremont doing substitute teaching, he began to attend John Hick's Tuesday night open forums on religion, which were held for the community. On hearing that a Zen Master from Japan was coming to town, Koshin made a point to attend the talk. In that talk, the speaker put down most American Zen, but commended the roshi "up the hill from here" (1994).

Thus Koshin first came to MBZC. After a few shorter visits, he spent a week at MBZC, but left before a sesshin, partly due to his pain and frustration with the zazen and instruction, and partly because the sesshin was full, so he would not be able to do sanzen with the Roshi. However, Koshin vowed to come back, and after six months of sitting with one of the Roshi's students in North Carolina, he returned to MBZC for a winter sesshin, which he found very difficult. However, returning to North Carolina, he knew he wanted more, and decided to spend a year at MBZC. Before that year was over, Koshin knew he wanted to be ordained. So, in 1991, when the Roshi finally permitted it, Koshin was ordained, but not without a great deal of protest, particularly from his mother. Now, when he goes home to visit, he makes it a point to sit down and discuss Zen with his family and with the minister at his former church (1994).

Kigen, who served as jikijitsu in the fall of 1994, is a native of New Jersey who was raised Catholic as Bill Ekeson, and still identifies with that tradition in some sense, even as he moved toward Zen. His introduction to Zen came at the age of 16, during a time in which he was searching for a way to stay within Christian and have his needs met. Kigen read a book by Alan Watts and found that it put his thoughts into words. He went on to attend college and became a landscape architect. When he took a job in Boston after graduating, he found his first Zen teacher, a woman with whom he began sitting up to five times a week, in addition to weekly weekend retreats (1994).

Several years later, after taking a new job in Los Angeles, Kigen began to sit at the Los Angeles Zen Center. It was there that he met Joshu Roshi and became acquainted with MBZC. Deciding to devote his life to Zen for a while, he moved to MBZC in late 1989, and became a monk. His family, who are farmers, do not understand what he is doing, and he was only able to get his mother to MBZC by meeting her in San Francisco, taking a road trip, and ending up at MBZC. Nevertheless, he is on friendly terms with them (1994).

Kido, who was tenzo at the time he was interviewed, grew up in a Lutheran family in San Diego as Eric Berhow; his only real church experience came when he was very young. He became interested in Zen while he was a teenager, after observing a mid-air collision that killed 130 people; immediately before the crash he had a sort of psychic experience where he seemed to be watching the people inside the larger of the two planes. That experience ended his desire for both a career in flying and in the military. Instead, Kido became aware of the impermanence and futility of everything. He spent the following years studying yoga, and practicing out-of-body experiences. While attending the University of California at Santa Cruz, Kido took a survey class on Buddhism. He felt a particular affinity with Zen practice because "I tend to emphasize the more masculine side, the stronger, more masculine side of my personality. And Zen tends to be masculine and strong, clear and strong, not a lot of embellishment" (1994a).

Kido sat with a group in Santa Cruz led by a student of the Roshi and, after two years, realized meditation was more important and interesting to him than school, so with only two classes left before graduation, he dropped out of college and came to MBZC. At the time, it greatly upset his parents, but now that he can articulate it better, they are reconciled to his decision. At the time of the interview, Kido had been at MBZC for seven and a half years, and was, on paper, the vice abbot of a new center for which MBZC owns land. He has no plans other than to continue at MBZC for the present (1994).

Shingen, a newly ordained monk in training, is a native of Germany, who was sent to MBZC from the center in Vienna. He will return to Vienna to serve with Genro after his training is complete, a period of approximately three years. Shingen was raised and educated as a Lutheran, the German state church. He first heard of Zen in a philosophy class, and felt it was something he could relate to. The first direct contact he had with Zen was during a huge festival in a church in Berlin, where there was interreligious discussion going on. Shingen heard Genro give a talk on Zen, and was very impressed by his wisdom and teachings (1994).

Eventually Shingen felt he had to choose between a career as a musician, the field he had been moving towards, or becoming a student of Zen. He decided to find the Zen master he had heard from Vienna, but was put off at first by the teacher. So Shingen sat with groups in Germany recommended by Genro, until he was doing zazen on a daily basis. Only then was he accepted by Genro as a student and allowed to become a monk. He came to MBZC in January of 1994, and was ordained in the summer. He was serving as densu, and had charge of the Sutra Hall and the Dining Hall.

After training, as Genro's monk, Shingen will return to Vienna (1994).

Ingrid was the only woman living at MBZC at the time of the interviews, as well as being the first woman permanent resident in about five years. From Austria, she still struggles with English, but, at the time, was preparing for her ordination as a nun, and so did not yet have her Japanese name. Older than any of the monks, at 52, she will join them in shaving her head at ordination, although this is not required of her, as a woman. Ingrid was raised by a Catholic mother who allowed her to choose her own religion. While Ingrid was married, she and her husband practiced Theravada Buddhism, since there were no Zen groups in Austria. As practicing Buddhists, they were sometimes mistreated, but they continued until her husband died. After his death, Ingrid ceased practicing Buddhism for five years, in order to mourn. One day, while discussing Buddhism with a friend, Ingrid recalled how wonderful it was, and returned to it, but this time to Zen, which she felt at home in and wanted to study (1994).

Desiring more intense study than was available in Vienna, Ingrid came to MBZC to study with Roshi. She arrived in November, during rohatsu, the most intense sesshin of the year; it was cold and she spoke no English. Following that very difficult period, Ingrid began to learn English from the monks and others at MBZC. Ingrid works at sewing the robes and cushions MBZC custom makes and sells, and supervises the garden. Ingrid's mother still lives in Vienna, and is not very supportive of Ingrid's move, because she is so far away, and because she does not believe Ingrid has considered her decision to become a nun carefully enough. Ingrid has a daughter and granddaughter in Chicago; they do not object to her being a nun, if that makes her happy (1994).

Apart from the Roshi, whom we never met, and whose history has already been given, these are the permanent residents of MBZC. For various reasons they found what they had available to them spiritually in other settings unsatisfactory and, seeking a more rigorous experience, made their way to MBZC. Even Ingrid is acknowledged to be as tough as the monks, and able to take the pace, although she also has a soft side and seems to mother them some, too, inviting them to her cabin for refreshments.