Sanshin Zen Community is an international Buddhist sangha founded in 1996 by Shohaku Okumura, a Soto Zen priest and leading authority on the teachings of the thirteenth-century Japanese Zen master, Eihei Dogen Zenji. Based at Sanshin-ji, in Bloomington, Indiana, Sanshin exists to provide intensive practice of zazen in the style of Kosho Uchiyama-roshi, informed by thorough study of Dogen's teachings and communal work. Sanshin offers opportunities for daily practice, weekly Dharma talks, monthly retreats, and a three-month ango (intensive practice period). Activities are open to all Buddhist practitioners, as well as anyone with a sincere interest in the practice of Zen. |
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Shohaku Okumura, founder and guiding teacher of the Sanshin Zen Community, was born in Osaka, Japan, in 1948. In 1970, he was ordained by the late Kosho Uchiyama-roshi, one of the foremost Zen masters of the twentieth-century. Okumura-roshi received Dharma transmission from his teacher in 1975 and, shortly after, became one of the founding members of Pioneer Valley Zendo in Massachusetts. He returned to Japan in 1981 and began translating the works of Dogen, Uchiyama and other Soto masters from Japanese into English. In 1993, he moved back to the United States with his wife, Yuko, and their two children. He has previously served as teacher at the Kyoto Zen Center in Japan and at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis. In addition to serving as teacher of Sanshin Zen Community, he is currently Director of the Soto Zen International Center in San Francisco. Today, he is recognized for his unique perspective on the life and teachings of Dogen Zenji derived from his experience as both practitioner and translator, and as a teacher in both Japanese and Western practice communities. He gives frequent lectures on the Shobogenzo and other foundational texts. His translations have been published in several books, including Dogen's Extensive Record (Wisdom Publications, 2004) and The Wholehearted Way (Tuttle Publishing, 1997), and his lectures have appeared in Buddhadharma: The Practitioner's Quarterly, Dharma Eye, and Buddhism Now. He continues to lead sesshins (intensive meditation retreats) and genzo-e (Shobogenzo study) retreats at Sanshin-ji and at various other centers in the US and abroad.
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