Audio & Video - Jikoji Zen Center

This week Jikoji offers a special Sunday program featuring the Voices of Women in Zen, who will speak about the Soto Zen ritual and ceremony they have been creating and nurturing with the guidance of Paula Arai, author of Bringing Zen Home: The Healing Heart of Japanese Women's Rituals and Women Living Zen: Japanese Soto Buddhist Nuns. Speakers will include Carolyn Hoshin Jikai Dille, Judy Gyokuho Reyes, Monica Darsana Reede, and Pamela Chōbun Nenzen Brown.

Carolyn Jikai Dille has been a dedicated student of Buddhist practices for 30 years in the Soto Zen and the Early Buddhist Insight traditions. She began teaching in dharma communities in 1998 and has studied with a variety of teachers in the United States and Asia. Carolyn is a poet, writer, and founding editor of Leaping Clear, www.leapingclear.org, a digital magazine of the arts featuring artists with meditative and contemplative practices.

Shoho Michael Newhall began practicing and studying with Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in the early seventies, and was ordained by Kobun in the mid-eighties. In the early nineties he was director at Jikoji Zen Center. Throughout this time he taught visual arts at various schools and universities, including Naropa University, where he also taught meditation and Buddhism. Since that time, Mike has been the Resident Teacher and chief priest at Jikoji

This week's talk is by Robert Yanasak. Robert (Seiko Taikan) is retired as a Mechanical Design Draftsman/Supervisor at Perkin-Elmer, Leica and other Bay Area companies. He writes: “My attraction to Buddhism wasn't to be a Buddhist but rather to follow the Buddha's advice that if I wanted to know what was going on around me I needed to turn my attention inwards and look there. The rest evolved circumstantially. I love my practice more then anything and I know I've never been a very good buddhist based on the standards of what that might look like.”

Dan Zigmond is a Zen priest ordained by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in 1998. He is also a writer, father, and data scientist. He has practiced at San Francisco Zen Center and Jikoji Zen Center, and studied a range of Dharma traditions.

Doug Jacobson began practicing Zen in Minneapolis in 1974 with Dainin Katagiri Roshi, and had Jukai in 1977. He was a householder, father, contractor, and civil engineer in Southern California for 25 years. Doug came to Jikoji in 2008, and received priest ordination in 2010, and transmission in 2015, from Shoho Michael Newhall. He currently serves as one of Jikoji's Guiding Teachers.

Eric Remington was an early student of Kobun, Jikoji's Founder, in the early 1970s. After years spent studying with Kobun and founding a school for children, Eric was ordained and subsequently trained at Tassajara Monastery for a year. He became a biologist and naturalist before living for several years in the desert, and for several years was a Jikoji resident.

Allison was priest-ordained in 2016 in the Suzuki Roshi lineage, by Myoan Grace Schireson, and continues an established meditation practice of many years. She lives in Campbell with her husband Jeff and enjoys playing tennis, baking pies and spending time with her three young adult children when they return home to visit.

Dan Zigmond is a Zen priest ordained by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in 1998. He is also a writer, father, and data scientist. He has practiced at San Francisco Zen Center and Jikoji Zen Center, and studied a range of Dharma traditions.

Ōshin Jennings is the founder and leader of No Barriers Zen, a Zen Buddhist community in Washington, DC. Ōshin is the first known Deaf Buddhist priest, and he has made it his mission to use his experiences as a Deaf and disabled practitioner to help make meditation practice and the Buddhist teachings accessible to all people, especially those with historically limited access. Ōshin is also a psychotherapist and artist, and he really wants you to meet his dog, Scout. https://nobarrierszen.org

Denko-e Sesshin is part of a cycle of four traditional sesshins initiated by Kobun, Jikoji's founder, and is our traditional fall teaching sesshin, with a lighter zazen schedule and an emphasis on dharma study. Denko-e means "Gathering of Light."

Chuck Hutchcraft teaches from the confluence of Buddhist and Western psychologies. He is particularly interested in the impact trauma has on dharma practice. A licensed clinical social worker and psychotherapist, Chuck was trained and certified as a mindfulness teacher by Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach.

Dan Zigmond is a Zen priest ordained by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in 1998. He is also a writer, father, and data scientist. He has practiced at San Francisco Zen Center and Jikoji Zen Center, and studied a range of Dharma traditions.

Paula Jones first became a student of Jikoji founder Kobun Chino when she attended the Santa Cruz Zendo in the mid-seventies. A year or two later she, with her young daughter, moved into the residence with a changing group of caretakers and friends, one of whom she later married. During and after that time she attended sesshins at Hidden Villa with Kobun's students from Los Altos, including Angie Boissevain, who some years later became her teacher. In the years that followed, she finished her MA in Creative Writing and began teaching poetry, literature and writing in colleges and private workshops in Santa Cruz, the Mojave Dessert and San Diego, where she and Balin now live. She received ordination and transmission from Angie and has since taught at several Jikoji sesshins. She is a teacher at Floating Zendo San Diego and is now one of the teachers at Floating Zendo San Jose.

Doug Jacobson began practicing Zen in Minneapolis in 1974 with Dainin Katagiri Roshi, and had Jukai in 1977. He was a householder, father, contractor, and civil engineer in Southern California for 25 years. Doug came to Jikoji in 2008, and received priest ordination in 2010, and transmission in 2015, from Shoho Michael Newhall. He currently serves Jikoji as a teacher and resident. He also assists prisoners with Buddhist practice.

Born in Chicago, Jill Kaplan moved to the Bay Area in 1977 where she raised two boys and taught school for many years. Jill discovered Zen practice in 1993 and returned to graduate school in 1995. Working as a psychologist, she trained in Sandplay, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and in Body Soul Rhythms with Jungian analyst Marion Woodman, and studied Zen with Darlene Cohen. Jill recieved dharma transmission from Misha Shungen Merril in 2013. Her talks are informed by her body-focused meditation practice.

Born in Chicago, Jill Kaplan moved to the Bay Area in 1977 where she raised two boys and taught school for many years. Jill discovered Zen practice in 1993 and returned to graduate school in 1995. Working as a psychologist, she trained in Sandplay, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and in Body Soul Rhythms with Jungian analyst Marion Woodman, and studied Zen with Darlene Cohen. Jill recieved dharma transmission from Misha Shungen Merril in 2013. Her talks are informed by her body-focused meditation practice.

Carolyn Jikai Dille has been a dedicated student of Buddhist practices for 30 years in the Soto Zen and the Early Buddhist Insight traditions. She began teaching in dharma communities in 1998 and has studied with a variety of teachers in the United States and Asia. Carolyn is a poet, writer, and founding editor of Leaping Clear, www.leapingclear.org, a digital magazine of the arts featuring artists with meditative and contemplative practices.

Dan Zigmond is a Zen priest ordained by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in 1998. He is also a writer, father, and data scientist. He has practiced at San Francisco Zen Center and Jikoji Zen Center, and studied a range of Dharma traditions.

Dan Zigmond is a Zen priest ordained by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in 1998. He is also a writer, father, and data scientist. He has practiced at San Francisco Zen Center and Jikoji Zen Center, and studied a range of Dharma traditions.

Paula Jones first became a student of Jikoji founder Kobun Chino when she attended the Santa Cruz Zendo in the mid-seventies. A year or two later she, with her young daughter, moved into the residence with a changing group of caretakers and friends, one of whom she later married. During and after that time she attended sesshins at Hidden Villa with Kobun's students from Los Altos, including Angie Boissevain, who some years later became her teacher. In the years that followed, she finished her MA in Creative Writing and began teaching poetry, literature and writing in colleges and private workshops in Santa Cruz, the Mojave Dessert and San Diego, where she and Balin now live. She received ordination and transmission from Angie and has since taught at several Jikoji sesshins. She is a teacher at Floating Zendo San Diego and is now one of the teachers at Floating Zendo San Jose.

Dan Zigmond is a Zen priest ordained by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in 1998. He is also a writer, father, and data scientist. He has practiced at San Francisco Zen Center and Jikoji Zen Center, and studied a range of Dharma traditions.

Kokyo Henkel leads a new generation of Buddhist scholars and has been practicing and teaching at San Francisco and Santa Cruz Zen Centers since 1990. Kokyo's interests include how the original, classic teachings of Buddha-Dharma from ancient India, China, and Japan are still very much alive and useful in present-day America for bringing peace and harmony to this troubled world.

Carolyn Jikai Dille has been a dedicated student of Buddhist practices for 30 years in the Soto Zen and the Early Buddhist Insight traditions. She began teaching in dharma communities in 1998 and has studied with a variety of teachers in the United States and Asia. Carolyn is a poet, writer, and founding editor of Leaping Clear, www.leapingclear.org, a digital magazine of the arts featuring artists with meditative and contemplative practices.

Paula Jones first became a student of Jikoji founder Kobun Chino when she attended the Santa Cruz Zendo in the mid-seventies. A year or two later she, with her young daughter, moved into the residence with a changing group of caretakers and friends, one of whom she later married. During and after that time she attended sesshins at Hidden Villa with Kobun's students from Los Altos, including Angie Boissevain, who some years later became her teacher. In the years that followed, she finished her MA in Creative Writing and began teaching poetry, literature and writing in colleges and private workshops in Santa Cruz, the Mojave Dessert and San Diego, where she and Balin now live. She received ordination and transmission from Angie and has since taught at several Jikoji sesshins. She is a teacher at Floating Zendo San Diego and is now one of the teachers at Floating Zendo San Jose.

David Shapiro became a student of Chogyam Trungpa, Rinpoche in 1973, and studied with him until his death in 1987. David was the founding director of the Milwaukee Dharma Study Group, now the Shambhala Center, and was a practicing internist for over 3 decades. He is currently involved with the Light of Berotsana Translation Group and continues to practice within the context of Tibetan Buddhism. For the last few years he has been involved in the translation and publication of a number of works involving the many stories of Gesar of Ling, the national epic of Tibet. David's talk will be on The Three Marks of Existence.

Carolyn Jikai Dille has been a dedicated student of Buddhist practices for 30 years in the Soto Zen and the Early Buddhist Insight traditions. She began teaching in dharma communities in 1998 and has studied with a variety of teachers in the United States and Asia. Carolyn is a poet, writer, and founding editor of Leaping Clear, www.leapingclear.org, a digital magazine of the arts featuring artists with meditative and contemplative practices.

Meido Barbara Anderson is the Resident Guiding Teacher at O-An Zendo. She began practicing meditation in 1967 soon after receiving her doctorate in philosophy from Penn State University. She began her formal study and practice of Zen with the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh, receiving the Five Precepts from him in 1994. In 2010 she received the Ten Grave Buddhist Precepts from her guiding teacher Shoho Michael Newhall, abbot of Jikoji and Dharma heir of Kobun Chino Roshi. She was ordained as a Zen priest in 2011, and transmitted to become a Dharma heir in the Phoenix Cloud lineage in 2019 by Shoho Michael Newhall.

Ryotan Cynthia Kear (Horyu Ryotan - Dharma Stream Completely Overflowing) has been practicing Soto Zen Buddhism for over 34 years. She received lay ordination from Zen Center Abbot Paul Haller in 2004, and was priest ordained (2008) and given Dharma Transmission (2010) by Darlene Cohen.

Dan Zigmond is a Zen priest ordained by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in 1998. He is also a writer, father, and data scientist. He has practiced at San Francisco Zen Center and Jikoji Zen Center, and studied a range of Dharma traditions.

Kokyo Henkel leads a new generation of Buddhist scholars and has been practicing and teaching at San Francisco and Santa Cruz Zen Centers since 1990. Kokyo's interests include how the original, classic teachings of Buddha-Dharma from ancient India, China, and Japan are still very much alive and useful in present-day America for bringing peace and harmony to this troubled world.

Dogen Zenji writes, "At the very time of your sitting, you should examine exhaustively whether the total world is vertical or horizontal. At that very time, what is the sitting itself? Is it wheeling about in perfect freedom? Is it like the spontaneous vigor of a leaping fish? Is it thinking? Or not thinking? Is it doing? Is it nondoing?" This sesshin will be a "Genzo-e", a concentrated study retreat on a chapter of Dogen’s Shobogenzo. In this retreat we will investigate together Dogen's understanding of zazen.

Misha Merrill is a Zen teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki, Roshi of the San Francisco Zen Center. She received Dharma Transmission from his disciple, Les Kaye, in 1998, and since 1993 has been the guiding teacher of Zen Heart Sangha on the Peninsula. Misha also teaches young children at the Peninsula School of Menlo Park. She lives in the hills above Stanford with her husband and four-footed friends, and joyfully cultivates a large garden. Jill Kaplan, born in Chicago, moved to the Bay Area in 1977 where she raised two boys and taught school for many years. Jill discovered Zen practice in 1993 and returned to graduate school in 1995. Working as a psychologist, she trained in Sandplay, Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction and in Body Soul Rhythms with Jungian analyst Marion Woodman, and studied Zen with Darlene Cohen. Jill received dharma transmission from Misha Shungen Merril in 2013. Her talks are informed by her body-focused meditation practice.

Carla Brennan, M.Ed., is an Insight Meditation teacher in Santa Cruz, CA. She has trained in the Zen, Insight Meditation and Tibetan Buddhist traditions since 1975. Carla is the Guiding Teacher for Bloom of the Present Insight Meditation and teaches at other centers in the Bay Area. As part of her Dharma teaching, Carla offers programs outdoors and encourages her students to practice in nature. Carla also trains students in the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program with Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach. She is an artist, nature photographer and former psychotherapist.

Dan Zigmond is a Zen priest ordained by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in 1998. He is also a writer, father, and data scientist. He has practiced at San Francisco Zen Center and Jikoji Zen Center, and studied a range of Dharma traditions. He is currently the Director of Data Science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and previously led teams at Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Google, and Microsoft. He is a contributing editor at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, author of the new book Buddha's Office: The Ancient Art of Waking Up While Working Well, and co-author of Buddha’s Diet: the Ancient Art of Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind. He lives with his family in Menlo Park.

After meeting Jikoji founder Kobun Chino Roshi in Austria, Shoho received priest ordination in 2000 from Vanja Palmers and traveled to USA/Tassajara to receive training. Having studied at all three centers of the San Francisco Zen Center, Shoho became a Jikoji resident in 2009. In 2010 she joined her partner Kokyo Henkel to live at the Santa Cruz Zen Center. Since then, she trained in the Tibetan Nyingma tradition, which led to her past and current studies at the Rangjung Yeshe Institute/Nepal as well as her embodied vocation as Hospital Chaplain.

Gerow Reece first sat with Yamada Reirin Roshi and the young monk, Maezumi Sensei, in the old brick Zenshuji in Los Angeles in the early 60s. He then practiced with Robert and Ann Aitken at Kokoan in their home in Honolulu. Later, while studying in Kyoto, Japan, he sat at Antaiji with Uchiyama Roshi and later with Morinaga Roshi at Daishu-in and Kobori Nanrei at Ryoko-in, never settling on a teacher --until the arrival of his son. Gerow serves ceremonial tea and occasionally teaches calligraphy at Jikoji.

Hobu Beata Chapman has practiced Zen with chronic nerve pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for 29 years. She was ordained by Katherine Thanas at Santa Cruz Zen Center and studied with Darlene Cohen until her untimely death, receiving Dharma transmission from Tony Patchell in 2013. Beata continues the Suffering & Delight groups for people with chronic pain that Darlene founded around 25 years ago, and teaches upon request at various center of practice. For more information about Beata's work with chronic pain, you can see sanddgroups.net. Beata works for the San Francisco Department of Public Health in Human Resources.

Kokyo Henkel leads a new generation of Buddhist scholars and has been practicing and teaching at San Francisco and Santa Cruz Zen Centers since 1990. Kokyo's interests include how the original, classic teachings of Buddha-Dharma from ancient India, China, and Japan are still very much alive and useful in present-day America for bringing peace and harmony to this troubled world.

Dan Zigmond is a Zen priest ordained by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in 1998. He is also a writer, father, and data scientist. He has practiced at San Francisco Zen Center and Jikoji Zen Center, and studied a range of Dharma traditions. He is currently the Director of Data Science at the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, and previously led teams at Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, Google, and Microsoft. He is a contributing editor at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, author of the new book Buddha's Office: The Ancient Art of Waking Up While Working Well, and co-author of Buddha’s Diet: the Ancient Art of Losing Weight Without Losing Your Mind. He lives with his family in Menlo Park.

Carolyn Jikai Dille has been a dedicated student of Buddhist practices for 30 years in the Soto Zen and the Early Buddhist Insight traditions. She began teaching in dharma communities in 1998 and has studied with a variety of teachers in the United States and Asia. She holds dharma transmission from Angie Enji Boissevain in the Phoenix Cloud lineage and graduated from Spirit Rock’s CDL program. Carolyn is a poet, writer, and founding editor of Leaping Clear, www.leapingclear.org, a digital magazine of the arts featuring artists with meditative and contemplative practices. On occasion, she offers retreats and workshops that integrate meditation and artistic expression.

Nehan-e is our annual silent meditation retreat held in honor of the Buddha’s entering parinirvana, nirvana beyond death. This year, our week-long sesshin will again be led by Carolyn Dille, a transmitted student of Jikoji's founding director Angie Boissevain, continuing our tradition of a Floating Zendo connection to Jikoji's Nehan-e. Portions of out Monday program will be led by Paula Jones, from Floating Zendo San Diego. Nehan-e this year focused on our bodhisattva vows, with the help of Shantideva’s “Guide to the Bodhisattva’s Way of Life.”

Hobu Beata Chapman has practiced Zen with chronic nerve pain and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) for 29 years. She was ordained by Katherine Thanas at Santa Cruz Zen Center and studied with Darlene Cohen until her untimely death, receiving Dharma transmission from Tony Patchell in 2013. Beata continues the Suffering & Delight groups for people with chronic pain that Darlene founded around 25 years ago, and teaches upon request at various center of practice. For more information about Beata's work with chronic pain, you can see sanddgroups.net. Beata works for the San Francisco Department of Public Health in Human Resources.

Doug Jacobson began practicing Zen in Minneapolis in 1974 with Dainin Katagiri Roshi, and had Jukai in 1977. He was a householder, father, contractor, and civil engineer in Southern California for 25 years. Doug came to Jikoji in 2008, and received priest ordination in 2010, and transmission in 2015, from Shoho Michael Newhall. He currently serves Jikoji as a teacher and resident. He also assists prisoners with Buddhist practice.

Shoho Michael Newhall began practicing and studying with Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in the early seventies, and was ordained by Kobun in the mid-eighties. In the early nineties he was director at Jikoji Zen Center. Throughout this time he taught visual arts at various schools and universities, including Naropa University, where he also taught meditation and Buddhism. Since that time, Mike has been the Resident Teacher and chief priest at Jikoji

Doug Jacobson began practicing Zen in Minneapolis in 1974 with Dainin Katagiri Roshi, and had Jukai in 1977. He was a householder, father, contractor, and civil engineer in Southern California for 25 years. Doug came to Jikoji in 2008, and received priest ordination in 2010, and transmission in 2015, from Shoho Michael Newhall. He currently serves Jikoji as a teacher and resident. He also assists prisoners with Buddhist practice.

Rohatsu is the traditional winter sesshin commemorating Buddha’s enlightenment. For the last decade, Jikoji has held silent Rohatsu sesshins, initially led by Peter Szydlowski, in the Antaji-style, with no talks, no service, and no chanting. This year, due to the pandemic, an all silent sesshin was difficult, with so many of our Sangha isolated and even alone. For this Rohatsu, we took as our study text one of the pinnacles of Mahayana Buddhism, the Avatamsaka Sutra (Flower Ornament Sutra.) The Avatamsaka Sutra illuminates the interpenetrating nature of all phenomena. We explored through chanting and study the myriad ways of skillful practice found in this sutra.

Shoho Michael Newhall began practicing and studying with Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi in the early seventies, and was ordained by Kobun in the mid-eighties. In the early nineties he was director at Jikoji Zen Center. Throughout this time he taught visual arts at various schools and universities, including Naropa University, where he also taught meditation and Buddhism. Since that time, Mike has been the Resident Teacher and chief priest at Jikoji

Jundo Cohen is a Zen teacher and founder of the Treeleaf Zendo, a Sōtō Zen community using visual media to link Zen practitioners around the world. Treeleaf serves those who cannot easily commute to a Zen center due to health concerns; age or disability; living in remote areas; or work, childcare, or family needs; and provides zazen sittings, retreats, discussion, interaction with a teacher, and all other activities of a Zen Buddhist sangha, all fully online without thought of location or distance. Jundo's most recent book is The Zen Master's Dance - A Guide to Understanding Dōgen and Who You Are in the Universe. More.

David Chadwick studied Zen with Suzuki Roshi in 1966 and was ordained by him in 1971, shortly before Suzuki's death. He is the author of Crooked Cucumber: the Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki, and Thank You And OK!: an American Zen Failure in Japan. Chadwick is also the Poobah of cuke.com, an archival site on the life and world of Shunryu Suzuki and those who knew him.

Taiga Ito trained at Daihonzan Sojiji, one of the head monasteries of Soto Shu (Soto Zen in Japan). In 2016, Taiga Ito became Kokusaifukyoshi (international teacher of Soto Shu). He served as the secretary of the Soto Zen Buddhism International Center between 2016 and 2018, where he has taken the role of Assistant Director since 2019.