If the history of MBZC seems to center on Joshu Sasaki Roshi, the teaching done at MBZC centers around him even more. In a very traditional manner, Joshu serves as roshi, or "venerable spiritual teacher." His "function is to guide and inspire his students along the path to self-realization" (Kapleau 1965, 342). Joshu Roshi is a roshi in the traditional sense of one who had mastered the Dharma so that it is a part of him, so that he is able to lead others to master the Dharma in the same way. He is a man of confirmed character and maturity, having studied and served for many years in Japan before coming to serve as roshi in the United States. (Kapleau 1965, 342). There was a suggestion made that, because of Joshu's background in which his training began in the early part of this century, he maintains traditional standards with a rigor no longer practiced in Japan, and so seems old-fashioned to the younger members of the school that sent him out. (Gentry 1/19/96)

Joshu Roshi is the religious authority of the MBZC community. He acts as tutor, teacher and charismatic leader for the monks and nun, as well as for the rest of the community. As the only member of the community to have clarified the Dharma, only he has the power to ordain. There are other monks and nuns in the wider Rinzai-ji who are able to teach to a certain level, and at least one, Genro, who can do koan practice and so is an acting roshi, but anyone in all of the Rinzai-ji who wishes to be ordained must go through Joshu Roshi (Kido 1994). This is authority is part of the reason Roshi travels so much, in order to go to other parts of the wider community and give them the opportunity for koan practice without having to travel to MBZC, since koan practice is so important for gaining enlightenment in Rinzai Zen. Because all others are dependent on Joshu Roshi for teaching, the Dharma line from which he comes is protected from rapid or impulsive change.

The monks and laity who attend sesshins are instructed individually by the Roshi during sanzen, or private interviews. The Roshi gives instruction which revolves around koans, short sayings designed to aid in meditation, usually focused on enlightenment experiences of persons in the past, or dialogues among them (Ives 1992, 19). This instruction is given in English, for although the Roshi is not extremely fluent in the language, he knows enough for sanzen. The koans, or sayings, the Roshi uses cannot be understood rationally, but require the student to move beyond rational thought. The Roshi determines whether or not an individual has comprehended a koan correctly. The student may demonstrates understanding of a koan by an action. The meaning must be taken in personally by the student before the work with the koan is complete. This can take a great deal of time, for if the student has failed to grasp the koan, he or she will be sent back to meditate further on the same puzzle.

During sessions, Roshi generally gives a daily teisho, or commentary on classic Zen texts. These hour-long teaching times are also taped, so that they may be played during Zen weekends when the Roshi is not in residence. When Roshi gives teisho, he speaks in Japanese, which Jim Muhs called his "heart language," and his words are translated into English (1994). The Roshi has developed a fairly standard set of talks that he uses for teisho, although back in the early days he had to often speak against LSD, for many early students came seeking another kind of high (Capaldi 1982). In more recent times, he has spoken of his desire to die but, according to Larry Gallagher, the Roshi says when I see how all of you refuse to accept the teachings, I realize I can't. Sometimes I think you purposely keep from learning out of spite, just to force me to live longer. And for that I thank you (1994, 258).

Beyond the words of the Roshi, which are the primary teaching tools at MBZC, there are also the Buddhist texts which he uses in teaching the monks and laity. These include the Mumonkan, a collection of Chinese koans, and the Diamond Sutra, a classical Buddhist scripture, both of which may be used during teisho. Koshin, one of the monks at MBZC, compares the Roshi's teisho to the preaching of American Christian ministers of times past: the Roshi reads the text, then uses it as a stepping stone for what he really wants to teach (Koshin 1994).

According to the monks currently in residence, at MBZC the most important texts for reading, teisho, or other study are the Mumonkan, Rinzai-roku, the Diamond Sutra, the Platform Sutra of the Sixth Patriarch, the Blue Cliff Records, the Vimalykirti Sutra, the Lotus Sutra, the Heart Sutra, Hikigan-roku, and the Buddhist Bible, a collection of sacred texts gathered and edited by an American scholar early in this century, and misnamed, because the "Bible" is in no way a canonical collection (Genshu and Koshin 1994; Goddard 1932). The Mumonkan, the Rinzai-roku, the Blue Cliff Records, and the Hikigan-roku are all collections of koans used by the Roshi. The monks and laity chant the Heart Sutra at the end of each period of zazen.

According to Kido, seven different texts are included in the daily chanting: "In the morning we chant, in order, the twenty-fifth chapter of the Lotus Sutra, the Heart Sutra, the Dharani of Removing Disaster, the Dharani of the Great Compassionate One, the Dai Segaki, which is another dharani, the Final Instruction of the National Teacher Kozen Daito, and the Four Great Vows of the Bodhisattva" (Kido 1994b). The dharanis, which are of Chinese origin, are not sutras. According to interviews with Koshin, Genshu, and Kido, the monks and laity are not expected to understand the words they chant. According to Kido, translations are not used for chanting: "All chanting is done in Sino-Japanese, [transliterated into Roman alphabet characters], and translations are neither offered to the students nor encouraged" (Kido 1994b). This again points to the non-rational nature of Zen, particularly during zazen: the emphasis is not on rational understanding, but on doing and intuition.

There is however, a small library at MBZC, containing books donated by various people. Here, the monks may read translations of the traditional Buddhist texts mentioned above, for instance, as Genshu noted, there is an English translation of the Heart Sutra available (Genshu 1994). Kido mentioned that other of the texts in the library can be read by the monks for spiritual growth (Kido 1994b). These texts are available to the monks on their own time and, according to Genshu, such reading is encouraged by the Roshi, because the texts are very important for understanding the basic tenets of Buddhism (Genshu 1994).

The library contains not only donated Buddhist texts; it has books categorized under all if the following headings of Western Philosophy, Western Psychology, Japanese Culture, Teachers Outside any Religion, Christian Scriptures, Judaism, Islam, Surveys of World Religions, Buddhist Poetry, Buddhist Texts in Translation, Theravada Buddhism, Tibetan Buddhism, and Chinese Non-Buddhist Taoism.

Besides his ability to transmit the dharma, another important tool for the Roshi as teacher is his personal charisma. Some monks chose their life at MBZC because of the Roshi's personal qualities. Kido left college, only two classes away from graduation, to study with the Roshi. "But he is eighty-seven years old, and so even just have a few months of studying with him would have been worth it" (Kido 1994a).

The monks are not restricted to any written canon but, with the help of Joshu Roshi, they seek their own path to enlightenment, if that is what they hope to find. In some cases, the monks are only hoping to find meaning in their lives, and plan to leave the monastery eventually. There is no time line imposed on their development. Zen requires a combination of study, meditation and experience. "In training, reading helps clarify the experiences better, but it is not required. We learn by personal experience through meditation, chanting, and time with the Roshi" (Kido 1994b). It is not the texts, but personal growth and understanding which are at the heart of the MBZC experience.