- Taigen Dan Leighton
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Taigen Dan Leighton Religion Sōtō Dharma name(s) Taigen Shizan Personal Nationality American Senior posting Based in Ancient Dragon Zen Gate
Loyola University, Chicago
Institute of Buddhist StudiesPredecessor Tenshin Reb Anderson Religious career Teacher Kando Nakajima
Tenshin Reb Anderson
Zenkei Blanche HartmanWebsite http://www.ancientdragon.org/ Taigen Dan Leighton (b. 1950, grew up in Pittsburgh, PA) is a Soto Zen priest and teacher, academic,[1] and author.[2] He is an authorized lineage holder and Zen teacher in the tradition of Shunryu Suzuki, and is the founder and Guiding Teacher of Ancient Dragon Zen Gate[1] in Chicago, Illinois.[3]
Leighton began his Zen practice in 1975 at the New York Zen Center, training under Kando Nakajima roshi. He studied at Columbia University, where he obtained a bachelors degree in East Asian studies. Leighton worked as a television and film editor in New York, and then San Francisco.
In 1978, he moved to California and eventually became a resident at San Francisco Zen Center, where he worked at Tassajara Bakery and other of Zen Center's businesses. In subsequent years, Leighton practiced in residence at all of the San Francisco Zen Center facilities, including Green Gulch Farm Zen Center and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. In 1986, Leighton was ordained as a priest by Tenshin Reb Anderson (in the latter's first ordination ceremony.)
Leighton lived in Japan from 1990-1992, translating Dogen texts with Shohaku Okumura and training under various masters. In 1994, Leighton founded the Mountain Source Sangha in Bolinas, San Rafael, and San Francisco, California (of which Ancient Dragon Zen Gate is a sister temple).[2]
In 2000, Leighton received shiho, or Dharma transmission, from Tenshin Anderson.
He taught for four years at Loyola University, Chicago and currently offers online classes for the Institute of Buddhist Studies[3], part of the Berkeley Graduate Theological Union, from which Leighton has a Ph.D. degree.
Contents
Professorships
Over the years, Leighton has taught at various universities around the world. The following is a complete list:
- Kansai University
- Otani University
- California Institute of Integral Studies
- University of San Francisco
- Saint Mary's College of California
- Institute of Buddhist Studies
- Loyola University, Chicago
- Meadville Lombard Theological Seminary
Gallery
Bibliography
- Leighton, Taigen Dan (2007). Visions of Awakening Space and Time: Dogen and the Lotus Sutra. Oxford University Press. ISBN 019532093X. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/71350616&referer=brief_results.
- Leighton, Taigen Dan; Hirshfield, Jane (Foreword) (2007). Songs for the True Dharma Eye: Verse Comments on Dogen's Shobogenzo. Browser Books Publishing. ISBN 019532093X.
- Payne, Richard Karl; Leighton, Taigen Dan (2006). Discourse and Ideology in Medieval Japanese Buddhism (Routledge Critical Studies in Buddhism). Routledge. ISBN 978977221271. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/70962090&referer=brief_results.
- Leighton, Taigen Dan; Okumura, Shohaku; Dogen (2004). Dogen's Extensive Record: A Translation of the Eihei Koroku. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861713052. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/55286286&referer=brief_results.
- Kim, Hee-Jin; Leighton, Taigen Dan (Foreword) (2004). Eihei Dogen: Mystical Realist, Third edition. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861713761. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/53138715&referer=brief_results.
- Loori, John Daido; Leighton, Taigen Dan (Foreword) (2004). The Art of Just Sitting, Second Edition: Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Shikantaza. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 086171394X. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/54392536&referer=brief_results.
- Leighton, Taigen Dan (2003). Faces of Compassion: Classic Bodhisattva Archetypes and Their Modern Expression. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861713338. http://www.worldcat.org/search?q=0861713338&=Search&qt=results_page.
- Warner, Jisho Cary; Shohaku Okumura; Taigen Dan Leighton; John McRae (2001). Nothing Is Hidden : Essays on Zen Master Dogen's Instructions for the Cook. Weatherhill. ISBN 0834804786. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/45488199&referer=brief_results.
- Leighton, Taigen Dan; Hongzhi Zhengjue (2000). Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 0804832404. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/22660406&referer=brief_results.
- Leighton, Taigen Dan (1998). Bodhisattva Archetypes: Classic Buddhist Guides to Awakening and Their Modern Expression. Penguin Arkana. ISBN 0140195564. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/37211178&referer=brief_results.
- Uchiyama, Kosho; Leighton, Taigen Dan; Okumura, Shohaku; Dogen (1997). The Wholehearted Way: A Translation of Eihei Dogen's Bendowa. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 080483105X. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/38190728&referer=brief_results.
- Leighton, Taigen Dan; Okumura, Shohaku; Dogen (1996). Dogen's Pure Standards for the Zen Community a Translation of the Eihei Shingi. State University of New York Press. ISBN 0585046239. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/42854986&referer=brief_results.
- Leighton, Taigen Dan; Hongzhi Zhengjue (1991). Cultivating the Empty Field: The Silent Illumination of Zen Master Hongzhi. North Point Press. ISBN 0865474745. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/22660406&referer=brief_results.
See also
- Buddhism in the United States
- Timeline of Zen Buddhism in the United States
Notes
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.
- Leighton, Taigen Dan; Okumura, Shohaku; Dogen (2004). Dogen's Extensive Record: A Translation of the Eihei Koroku. Wisdom Publications. ISBN 0861713052. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/55286286&referer=brief_results.
- Uchiyama, Kosho; Leighton, Taigen Dan; Okumura, Shohaku; Dogen (1997). The Wholehearted Way: A Translation of Eihei Dogen's Bendowa. Tuttle Publishing. ISBN 080483105X. http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/38190728&referer=brief_results.
- "Taigen Dan Leighton Interview". Sweeping Zen. http://sweepingzen.com/2009/12/24/taigen-dan-leighton-interview/.
Buddhism Categories:- Buddhist translators
- San Francisco Zen Center
- Soto Zen Buddhists
- Zen Buddhist monks and priests
- American Zen Buddhists
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