In the Spirit: the Life and Work of Lex Hixon

Tibetan and Zen Buddhism 

Hixon was involved in two distinct branches of Mahayana Buddhism: Zen and Tibetan Buddhism. In 1976, the Hixons began studying Tibetan Buddhism with Domo Geshe Rinpoche Ngwang Jigme, the second reincarnation of Domo Geshe Rinpoche, at Gangjong Namgyal, his retreat center in the Catskill Mountains. 

Page from inside His Holiness Domo Geshe Rinopoche by Ursula Bernis, 2002. The Hixons studied with Domo Geshe Rinopoche and can be seen in the photograph with the Dalai Lama. Sheila is third from left, and Lex is last on the right. Lex Hixon papers, Rg 345, Box 10, Folder 12. Divinity Library Special Collections
 

Lex Hixon and Domo Geshe Rinpoche walking. Courtesy Sheila Hixon

Lex Hixon and Domo Geshe Rinpoche. Courtesy of Sheila Hixon. 

Drawing of Lex Hixon, done by Allan Ginsberg at a Gelek Rinpoche retreat in 1993. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 27, Folder 11. Divinity Library Special Collections

Hixon connected with several other important Tibetan Buddhists during this period, including Robert Thurman, founder of the Tibet House, Philip Glass, Allen Ginsberg, and others connected with Naropa University, where Hixon served on the board of directors. The Hixons studied with the Tibetan Buddhist Lama Gelek Rimpoche. 

Two course descriptions proposed by Hixon for a 1975 summer course at Naropa University. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 12, Folder 2-3. Divinity Library Special Collections

In 1978, Hixon interviewed Bernard Glassman Roshi on In the Spirit. Glassman was a leader in the Zen Community of Los Angeles. In the introduction to Conversations in the Spirit, Glassman remembered meeting Hixon:

“I traveled from California to New York to visit the parents of some of our students at the Zen Center of Los Angeles…We had heard that some of these parents were worried about their children. They thought Zen Buddhism was a cult, but they weren’t able to talk about it in their families because there was a breakdown in communication, so I wanted to meet with them to explain what their children were learning with us…

Lex Hixon was one of the people I called when I got to New York. He had a lot of listeners, so I thought [In the Spirit] would be a good way for me reach out to people. When I called Lex, he said he had heard of me too, and he invited me to come and be his guest on the program. It aired on Sunday morning, so he asked me if I would like to come to his house on Saturday afternoon…The rest of his family was away, so he said he would make supper for us. What he made for our supper were peanut-butter-and-jelly sandwiches.”

This meeting would lead to a decades-long friendship including many hours of co-learning. In the months after Glassman’s appearance on In the Spirit, he decided to return to New York, the city of his birth. In 1980, Glassman founded the Zen Community of New York, where Hixon served on the board of directors. Hixon taught Glassman about Tibetan Buddhism and Glassman taught Hixon about Zen. They met daily to study koans, paradoxical stories used in Zen lineages to provoke questions, and test each other’s understanding of Dharma, cosmic lay underlying the social order.

Glassman wrote, “He had been coming to see me every day, early in the morning, for a long time. We did other special trainings over the years, but Koan study was the main element of our work together.” This study became the basis of Hixon’s last book, Living Buddha Zen. 

Photograph of Lex Hixon and Robert Kennedy at the Zen Community of New York, circa 1990s. Courtesy of Sheila Hixon

List of special events at the Zen Community of New York, where Hixon served on the board, and includes a listing for "Contemplative Study Workshop" led by Hixon, circa 1970s-1980s. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 40, Folder 3. Divinity Library Special Collections

Advertisement for Zen seminar and workshop with Tetsungen Bernard Glassman Sensei at Wave Hill, in the Bronx, 1979. Lex Hixon papers, RG 345, Box 40, Folder 3. Divinity Library Special Collections