Dainin Katagiri

Jikai Dainin Katagiri
School	Sōtō
Other name(s)	Hojo-san Katagiri
Personal
Nationality	Japan
Born	January 19, 1928(1928-01-19) Osaka, Japan
Died	March 1, 1990(1990-03-01) (aged 62)
Senior posting
Based in	Minnesota Zen Meditation Center
Title	Roshi
Religious career
Teacher	Daicho Hayashi Eko Hashimoto
Students	Steve Hagen Rosan Yoshida

Jikai Dainin Katagiri (片桐 大忍, January 19, 1928—March 1, 1990), aka Hojo-san Katagiri, was a Soto Zen roshi and the founding abbot of Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis, Minnesota, where he served from 1972 until his death from cancer in 1990. Before becoming first abbot of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, Katagiri had worked at the Zenshuji Soto Zen Mission in Los Angeles and had also been of great service to Shunryu Suzuki at the San Francisco Zen Center, particularly from 1969 until Suzuki's death in 1971. Katagiri was important in helping bring Zen Buddhism from Japan to the United States during its formative years—especially to the American Midwest. He is also the credited author of several books compiled from his talks, the two most prominent being Returning to Silence: Zen Practice in Daily Life (1988) and You Have to Say Something: Manifesting Zen Insight (1998).

Biography

Calligraphy by Katagiri meaning "Deep Appreciation."

Dainin Katagiri was born in Osaka, Japan on January 19, 1928 [1]. He was ordained a monk by Daicho Hayashi at Taizo-in, and went on to study under Eko Hashimoto at Eiheiji for three years. After Eiheiji Katagiri enrolled at Komazawa University—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 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 to assist Shunryu Suzuki and later helped out the San Francisco Zen Center (SFZC),^[1] which had shared the same building as Sokoji until 1969; Katagiri was of great help to Shunryu Suzuki, especially from 1969 onward.^[2] 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.^[2]

In 1972 Katagiri relocated to Minneapolis, near Lake Calhoun.^[3] There he became abbot of a small group without a leader, which became known as the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center (Ganshoji).^[4] There he also founded Hokyoji Zen Practice Community (Catching the Moon Zen Mountain Center), a country retreat temple in southeast Minnesota.^[5] 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, with much of the country in-between left in need of teachers.[2] 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.^[6] 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 cancer on March 1, 1990 [3]; he left behind twelve Dharma heirs.^[7]

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."^[8]

Personal life

Katagiri was married to Tomoe Katagiri, and the couple had two sons together (Yasuhiko and Eijo). They married in 1960.[4]

Dharma heirs

• Steve Hagen
• Nonin Chowaney
• Yvonne Rand
• Karen Sunna
• Dōkai Georgesen
• Norm Daitetsu Randolph
• Rev. Shoken Winecoff
• Rev. Teijo Munnich
• Dosho Mike Port
• Joen Snyder O'Neal
• Rosan Yoshida
• Emyo Dielman

See also

• Buddhism in the United States
• Jisho Cary Warner
• Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States

Bibliography

• Katagiri, Dainin; Martin, Andrea (2007). Each Moment is the Universe: Zen and the Way of Being Time. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 159030408X. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/77573856&referer=brief_results. 
• Katagiri, Dainin (1999). Katagiri Roshi : Buddhist lay ordination lectures: a transcription of the lectures given January 6 to February 4, 1982 at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, Minneapolis, Minnesota. Katagiri Roshi Book Project. OCLC 56682716. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/56682716&referer=brief_results. 
• Katagiri, Dainin; Hagen, Steve (1998). You Have to Say Something: Manifesting Zen Insight. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 1570622388. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/38249757&referer=brief_results. 
• Katagiri, Dainin; Conniff, Yūkō; Hathaway, Willa (1988). Returning to Silence: Zen Practice In daily Life. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0877734313. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/16982186&referer=brief_results. 

Notes

1. ^ Gach, 217
2. ^ ^{a b} Luminous Passage; 14
3. ^ Greiner, 23
4. ^ Paprock, 36
5. ^ Snelling, 238
6. ^ Leighton, 28
7. ^ Ford, 127; 133
8. ^ "Zuiko Redding Interview". Sweeping Zen. June 17, 2009. http://www.sweepingzen.com/Zuiko_Redding_Interview.html. Retrieved 2009-06-25. 

References

• Ford, James Ishmael (2006). Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861715098. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70174891&referer=one_hit. 
• Gach, Gary (1998). What Book!?: Buddha Poems from Beat to Hiphop. Parallax Press. ISBN 0938077929. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/38324499&referer=one_hit. 
• Goldberg, Natalie (2005). The Great Failure: My Unexpected Path to Truth. HarperCollins Publishers. ISBN 0060816120. http://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=worldcat_org_all&q=0060816120. 
• Greiner, Tony (2001). The Minnesota Book of Days: An Almanac of State History. Minnesota Historical Society Press. ISBN 0873514165. http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=0873514165&=Search&qt=owc_search. 
• Leighton, Taigen Daniel; Shohaku Okumura; Dogen. Dogen's Pure Standards for the Zen Community: A Translation of the Eihei Shingi. ISBN 0791427099. http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=0791427099&=Search&qt=owc_search. 
• Paprock, John-Brian; Paproack, Teresa Peneguy (2004). Sacred Sites of Minnesota. Big Earth Publishing. ISBN 1931599262. http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=1931599262&=Search&qt=owc_search. 
• Prebish, Charles S (1999). Luminous Passage: The Practice and Study of Buddhism in America. University of California Press. ISBN 0520216970. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/39299808&referer=brief_results. 
• Snelling, John (1991). The Buddhist Handbook: A Complete Guide to Buddhist Schools, Teaching, Practice and History. Inner Traditions. ISBN 0892813199. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/23649530&tab=editions. 

Further reading

• Fields, Rick (1986). How the Swans Came to the Lake. Shambhala Publications distributed by Random House. ISBN 0394744195. http://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=worldcat_org_all&q=0394744195. 
• Storlie, Erik Fraser (1996). Nothing on my mind: Berkeley, LSD, two Zen masters, and a life on the Dharma trail. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 1570621837. http://www.worldcat.org/search?qt=worldcat_org_all&q=1570621837. 
• Chadwick, David (1994). Thank you and ok! : An American Zen Failure in Japan. Shambhala Publications. ISBN 0140194576. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/29638449&referer=brief_results. 

Persondata
Name	Katagiri, Dainin
Alternative names
Short description
Date of birth	January 19, 1928
Place of birth	Osaka, Japan
Date of death	March 1, 1990
Place of death