Jikai , was a Sōtō Zen priest and teacher, and the founding abbot of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he served from 1972 until his death from

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

in 1990. He is also the founder of Hokyoji Zen Practice Community in Eitzen, Minnesota. Before becoming first abbot of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, Katagiri had worked at the Zenshuji Soto Zen Mission in

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

and had also been of great service to Shunryu Suzuki at the

San Francisco Zen Center San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC), is a network of affiliated Sōtō Zen practice and retreat centers in the San Francisco Bay area, comprising City Center or Beginner's Mind Temple, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Cente ...

, particularly from 1969 until Suzuki's death in 1971. Katagiri was important in helping bring

Zen Buddhism Zen ( zh, t=禪, p=Chán; ja, text= 禅, translit=zen; ko, text=선, translit=Seon; vi, text=Thiền) is a school of Mahayana Buddhism that originated in China during the Tang dynasty, known as the Chan School (''Chánzong'' 禪宗), an ...

from Japan to the United States during its formative years. He is also the credited author of several books compiled from his talks.

Biography

Zen studies

Dainin Katagiri was born in Osaka, Japan on January 19, 1928. He was ordained a monk by and named a Dharma heir of Daicho Hayashi at Taizo-in in Fukui, and went on to study under Eko Hashimoto at Eiheiji for three years. After Eiheiji Katagiri enrolled at

Komazawa University , abbreviated as 駒大 ''Komadai'', is one of the oldest universities in Japan. Its history starts in 1592, when a seminary was established to be a center of learning for the young monks of the Sōtō sect, one of the two main Zen Buddhist tr ...

—the renowned Sōtō institution in Tokyo, Japan—majoring in Buddhist studies. In 1963 Katagiri was sent by the Soto Headquarters Office in Japan to

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

to serve as a priest at the Zenshuji Soto Zen Mission. In 1965 he was sent to the Sokoji Soto Zen Mission in

San Francisco, California San Francisco (; Spanish for " Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the fourth most populous in California and 17t ...

to assist Shunryu Suzuki and later helped out the

(SFZC), which had shared the same building as Sokoji until 1969; Katagiri was of great help to Shunryu Suzuki, especially from 1969 onward. During his years in San Francisco, Katagiri sometimes toyed with the idea of opening up his own Zen community nearby. So, not long before Suzuki's death, he did open a zendo in his home in Monterey, California.

United States

In 1972 Katagiri relocated to

Minneapolis Minneapolis () is the largest city in Minnesota, United States, and the county seat of Hennepin County. The city is abundant in water, with thirteen lakes, wetlands, the Mississippi River, creeks and waterfalls. Minneapolis has its origin ...

, MN. There he became abbot of a small group without a leader, which became known as the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center (''Ganshoji''). There he also founded Hokyoji Zen Practice Community (Catching the Moon Zen Mountain Center), a country retreat temple in southeast Minnesota. A factor in deciding to go to Minnesota had been the fact that few, if any, Buddhist teachers were located there. Katagiri understood that the majority of teachers at this time were either in New York or

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, with much of the country in-between in need of teachers. During the 1970s and 1980s Katagiri sent over many of his Western students to train at Zuio-ji in Japan, where Narasaki Ikko roshi was abbot. In 1984, in the wake of the Zentatsu Richard Baker controversy resulting in Baker's resignation as abbot of San Francisco Zen Center, Katagiri came at the request of SFZC and served as abbot there on an interim basis until 1985 (returning to Minnesota afterward). He remained there for the remainder of his life, succumbing finally to

on March 1, 1990; he left behind thirteen Dharma heirs.

Personal life

Katagiri was married to Tomoe Katagiri in 1960, and they had two sons together (Yasuhiko and Ejyo).

Acclaim

Soto priest and former student of Katagiri-Roshi, Zuiko Redding, has stated, "My basic memory of Katagiri is of how he paid total attention to what was in front of him. He took care of each thing as if it were the most important thing in the world, whether it was throwing away some trash or talking to another person. He really listened and tried to give the best answer he knew how to give. He also encouraged each of us to stand up in our own space, following our own wisdom rather than depending on him for answers or affirmation. I would sometimes tell him exactly what I thought about some idea he had, only to turn and see him smiling broadly at me, glad that I wasn’t buying into his agenda."

Dharma Heirs

*Dōkai Georgesen *Dosho Port * Steve Hagen *Teijo Munnich *Joen Snyder O'Neal *

Nonin Chowaney Rev. Nonin Chowaney (OPW) (died July 29, 2022) was an American Soto Zen priest and brush calligrapher. A Dharma heir of the late Dainin Katagiri- roshi, Chowaney received Dharma transmission in 1989 and was the founder of an organization of Soto ...

* Ven. Don Ramadon, Roshi * Yvonne Rand *Norm Daitetsu Randolph *Karen Sunna *Shoken Winecoff *Rosan Yoshida *Emyo Nakayama

Bibliography

* * * * *

References

External links

Dainin Katagiri Audio Archive at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center
*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Katagiri, Dainin 1928 births 1990 deaths Komazawa University alumni San Francisco Zen Center Soto Zen Buddhists Zen Buddhism writers Zen Buddhist abbots People from Osaka Japanese Zen Buddhists American Zen Buddhists American Buddhist monks Japanese emigrants to the United States 20th-century Buddhist monks