CHARLOTTE JOKO BECK, one of the most influential Western-born Zen teachers, was born in 1917 and died June 15, 2011. She began her practice of Zen with Hakuyu Taizan Maezumi Roshi, from whom she received Dharma transmission. She was the founder of the Zen Center of San Diego and the Ordinary Mind Zen School. Through her teachings, and her work as the author of two modern Zen classics--Everyday Zen: Love and Work and Nothing Special: Living Zen--Joko Beck became a visible and widely admired force among the first generation of America's convert Buddhists. Her influence continues through her teachings and through those for whom she was a direct teacher.