The Minnesota Zen Meditation Center (Kounzan Ganshoji, "Cultivating Clouds Mountain, Living in Vow Temple") is an urban, non-residential,

Sōtō Sōtō Zen or is the largest of the three traditional sects of Zen in Japanese Buddhism (the others being Rinzai school, Rinzai and Ōbaku). It is the Japanese line of the Chinese Caodong school, Cáodòng school, which was founded during the ...

Zen Zen (; from Chinese: ''Chán''; in Korean: ''Sŏn'', and Vietnamese: ''Thiền'') is a Mahayana Buddhist tradition that developed in China during the Tang dynasty by blending Indian Mahayana Buddhism, particularly Yogacara and Madhyamaka phil ...

practice community in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Since 2019, MZMC has been led by two co-guiding

Dharma Dharma (; , ) is a key concept in various Indian religions. The term ''dharma'' does not have a single, clear Untranslatability, translation and conveys a multifaceted idea. Etymologically, it comes from the Sanskrit ''dhr-'', meaning ''to hold ...

teachers, Tim Burkett and Ted O'Toole.

History

Minnesota Zen Meditation Center (MZMC) was founded in 1972 by Dainin Katagiri Roshi (1928-1990), who was invited to come to Minnesota by a small but growing group of practitioners, many of whom had ties to 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 Center. ...

where Katagiri had served as a priest since 1965. Upon first arriving in Minnesota, Katagiri held

zazen ''Zazen'' is a meditative discipline that is typically the primary practice of the Zen Buddhist tradition. The generalized Japanese term for meditation is 瞑想 (''meisō''); however, ''zazen'' has been used informally to include all forms ...

and services on the second floor of a 4-plex apartment building in South East Minneapolis, establishing himself as the first Zen teacher to settle in the Midwest. The burgeoning group officially incorporated as the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in December 1973, and by May 1975 had raised enough funds (aided partially by royalties from Robert Pirsig's book, ''

Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance ''Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance: An Inquiry into Values'' is a book by Robert M. Pirsig first published in 1974. It is a work of fictionalized autobiography and the first of Pirsig's texts in which he discusses his concept of Quali ...

)'' to purchase the white stucco house at 3343 East Bde Maka Ska Parkway, where MZMC still resides today. The official opening ceremony was held on February 1, 1976. Since its purchase, the MZMC building has undergone several renovations. Most recently, the 2019 "Open Hearts - Open Spaces" fundraising campaign raised enough capital to fund the construction of a new zendo, a temple gate, an expanded library, as well as the addition of handicap accessible bathrooms, the repair of aging stucco, and the replacement of several windows.

Programming

The Minnesota Zen Meditation Center offers Zen meditation (zazen), lectures, work practice, contemporary retreats and traditional ''

sesshin A ''sesshin'' (接心, or also 摂心/攝心 literally "touching the heart-mind") is a period of intensive meditation (zazen) retreat in a Japanese Zen monastery, or in a Zen monastery or Zen center that belongs to one of the Japanese Zen trad ...

'', as well as classes and workshops on Buddhist studies.

Guiding Teachers

Since 1972, Minnesota Zen Meditation Center has had five guiding teachers: *

Dainin Katagiri 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 in 1990. He is also the founder of Hokyoji Zen Practice Commu ...

(1972 - 1990) * Shohaku Okumura (1993 - 1996) *Karen Sunna (1996 - 2002) *Tim Burkett (2002 - 2019) *Ted O'Toole (''Guiding Teacher'' 2019–Present) *Ben Connelly (''Assistant Guiding Teacher'')

History

Programming

Guiding Teachers

References

See also