Shohaku Okumura

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Shohaku Okumura Roshi (June 22, 1948 - present) was born in Osaka, Japan. Okumura is married to Yuko Okumura and has two children, Masaki and Yoko. In 1970 he was ordained as a Soto Zen priest by Kosho Uchiyama. He schooled at Komazawa University and did his Zen training at Antai-ji temple located in Hyogo prefecture in Kyoto, where he received Shiho from Uchiyama in 1975. He went on to train at Zuioji temple in Ehime Prefecture.

In 1976 Shohaku Okumura came to the United States to help build Pioneer Valley Zendo in Massachusetts. Okumura stayed here until 1981 when he returned to his homeland of Japan. At the behest of Uchiyama, Okumura began translating Buddhist scriptures from Japanese to English with the assistance of another Uchiyama student, Daitsu Tom Wright.

Okumura founded the Kyoto Soto Zen Center (now Soto Zen Buddhism International Center, located in San Francisco) and was head abbot there until 1992, when he left again for the United States to take over as abbot of the Minnesota Zen Center shortly after the death of Dainin Katagiri. He served there until 1996, when he left for Bloomington, IN to start yet another Zen practice community, the Sanshin Zen Community (or, Sanshinji). He currently lives in Bloomington and practices there.