Zen Group of Western Australia Zen Group of Western Australia The Zen Group of Western Australia (ZGWA) is an organization of lay zen practitioners located in Perth, Western Australia. The ZGWA is formally affiliated with the Diamond Sangha tradition of Zen Buddhism, which was founded in Hawaii in 1959 by Robert Aitken Roshi. In keeping with Diamond Sangha tradition, the ZGWA uses rituals from both the Soto and Rinzai schools. Mediation practices of Shikantaza from the Sōtō school and koan training from the Rinzai school are typical forms of practise employed by students in the group, under the guidance of the groups roshi. ZGWA's senior
Abbot (Buddhism) Abbess also has spiritual responsibility for the monastics under their care, and is required to interact with the abbots or abbesses of other monasteries. Asian countries where Buddhism is still widely practiced have words in their own languages for the abbot of a Buddhist monastery or large temple: in Chinese Chan Buddhist monasteries, one word for abbot is "Fangzhang" meaning "ten feet square", a reference to the size of Vimalakirti's stone room. Another Chinese word for abbot is "Zhuchi"(住持), meaning dweller and upholder. In Zen Buddhism, the most commonly used Japanese words for the abbot of a large Zen temple