15 Facts About Dainin Katagiri

Jikai Dainin Katagiri, was a Soto 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.

Dainin Katagiri is the founder of Hokyoji Zen Practice Community in Eitzen, Minnesota.

Dainin Katagiri was important in helping bring Zen Buddhism from Japan to the United States during its formative years.

Dainin Katagiri is the credited author of several books compiled from his talks.

Dainin Katagiri was born in Osaka, Japan on January 19,1928.

Dainin Katagiri 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.

In 1963 Dainin 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, which had shared the same building as Sokoji until 1969; Dainin Katagiri was of great help to Shunryu Suzuki, especially from 1969 onward.

Dainin Katagiri understood that the majority of teachers at this time were either in New York or California, with much of the country in-between in need of teachers.

In 1984, in the wake of the Zentatsu Richard Baker controversy resulting in Baker's resignation as abbot of San Francisco Zen Center, Dainin Katagiri came at the request of SFZC and served as abbot there on an interim basis until 1985.

Dainin Katagiri remained there for the remainder of his life, succumbing finally to cancer on March 1,1990; he left behind thirteen Dharma heirs.

Dainin Katagiri was married to Tomoe Dainin Katagiri in 1960, and they had two sons together.

Dainin Katagiri 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.

Dainin Katagiri really listened and tried to give the best answer he knew how to give.

Dainin Katagiri encouraged each of us to stand up in our own space, following our own wisdom rather than depending on him for answers or affirmation.