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Dr John Hurrell Crook, Phd, DSC (born 27 November 1930) is a British evolutionary psychologist and student of Chán (Chinese Zen) Buddhism. He is a dharma heir of the late Chan Master Sheng-yenof Dharma Drum Mountain, Taiwan, having received dharma transmission in 1993 in the lineages of Linji and Caodong Chan. He originally encountered Chan/Zen in Hong Kong whilst undergoing National Service in the British Army during the Korean War.

In 1977 Crook led an expedition to Zanskar in the Ladakh Himalayas, a pilot study focussing on polyandrous marriage. For several years, he and colleagues led further expeditions studying the geology, agriculture, social and family life and monastic practices in this remote, high-altitude region. He later returned with James Low, a Tibetologist fluent in the texts and language, to study the lives of Buddhist hermits in the mountains.

Retiring early, he began practicing Zen Buddhism in Intensive retreats taught in New York by Chan Master Sheng Yen who in 1993 transmitted to him the authority to teach Chinese Zen. Forming, with colleagues, the Western Chan Fellowship, Crook has developed a programme of retreats adapted to Western Zen practitioners. He also leads retreats at Dharma Drum Retreat Center New York.

This author page uses material from the Wikipedia article "John Crook", which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0