In this episode, Rev. Chimyo Atkinson discusses the life and legacy of Keizan Jokin Zenji, considered the “Mother of Zen.” Keizan (1264-1325) is credited with making Soto Zen more accessible to lay practitioners and supporting & ordaining women. Keizan was the founding abbot of the Sōjiji Zen monastery. Since the late nineteenth century, he has officially been designated, along with Eihei Dōgen (1200–1253), as one of the two founding ancestors of the Japanese Sōtō Zen school. Keizan is the author of the Denkōroku (The Record of the Transmission of the Light) and the “Zazen Yojinki.”
Rev. Chimyo Simone Atkinson, Osho was ordained as a priest in the Soto Zen Buddhist tradition in 2007. She received her monastic training at Great Tree Zen Women’s Temple in North Carolina where she served as Head of Practice until 2020. Her training also included Sotoshu International training periods in Japan (2010 and 2011), at the Aichi Senmon Nisodo in Nagoya (2012), and Ryumonji Monastery in Iowa (2014). Chimyo received Dharma Transmission from Rev. Teijo Munnich in 2015 and completed Zuise in 2016. She served on the board of directors of the SZBA from 2017-2020 and of the ASZB from 2019 to the present.
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