Blog Archive

At this year’s winter sesshin, Chozen-ji Abbot Sayama Daian Roshi’s teisho was on the lineage of Chozen-ji as chanted in the Teidai Denpo Busso No Myogo.

Chozen-ji continues to expand its offerings in Zen & Boxing. In collaboration with world champion Michele Aboro and led by chief instructor Carl He, we are now offering boxing four days a week. In July, we offered the first ever boxing sesshin and an introduction to Zen & Boxing at the Gopa Boxing Gym in Oakland, California.

Our recent Rohatsu sesshin was well attended with 23 participants. We were led by jiki Jackson Sayama, and the group included five first time participants.

On October 13, professional pianist and Chozen-ji student Katy Luo played all 53 of composer Joseph Haydn's complete and known sonatas for piano. Click to read more and watch videos of the event.

The second half of 2024 was busy with events at and outside of the Dojo. Read on to learn more about our annual Zen Art Show, Chozen-ji board member Bill Kaneko being honored by the Pacific Buddhist Academy, our annual Zen & Sake fundraising dinner, and seven different outreach events hosted with groups from the community at Chozen-ji.

During Summer Sesshin, Sayama Roshi gave teisho on Zen Master Hakuin, the 19th Japanese Patriarch who is in Chozen-ji’s lineage.

Hakuin (1685-1768) is known as the Patriarch who Revived Zen in a degenerate age when Zen was in danger of becoming a cultural pastime and losing its spiritual vitality. 

Our recent dai-sesshin was well attended with 15 participants. We were led by returning jiki Andrew Ching and the group included four first time participants who all showed up strong.

The third cohort of Zen & Politics: The Way of Public Leadership; Chozen-ji in Indian and Bhutan, and at May We Gather 2024 and Wisdom 2.0; and a new book from Chozen-ji priest Cristina Moon.

Katy Luo is a pianist and lecturer in music at the University of Hawaii West Oahu who frequently performs with the Hawaii Symphony Orchestra. In October, Katy is planning a one-day training event and "un-performance" at Chozen-ji of all 62 of composer Joseph Haydn's piano sonatas.

At the end of his life, Omori Rotaishi’s quest was to create a thought movement to spread the spirit of Universal Brotherhood. He wanted to make intangible peace temples. Perhaps his example will inspire you to make yourself into a temple of peace.

Seventeen people participated in the Winter Sesshin in December, including five students doing sesshin for the first time and Ada Chan, Christine Cordero, and Raul Betancourt who flew in from Oakland, California

Seven time world champion boxer and kickboxer Michele Aboro traveled with her family from Shanghai, China to join Chozen-ji students for three weeks of Zen training.

Yumiko Sayama and Cristina Moon traveled to Madison, Wisconsin to conduct a seminar in Chado (The Way of Tea) with students at Daikozen-ji.

Chozen-ji's Annual Zen Art Show and Sale was held November 3-5 this year, and featured art works by a new generation of artists training at Chozen-ji.

The world premiere of A Musical Journey for Concert Band: Songs from the Eddie Kamae Songbook, and Holomua Collective and Oahu Economic Development Board at Chozen-ji.

At the Dojo, we are enjoying a revival of the arts. The Chado (Way of Tea) and Kado (Way of Flower) have regular students. New students are training in Shodo (Way of Brush) and Todo (Way of Clay).

For three days in July, Daiko Matsuyama Osho, the deputy head priest of Taizo-in at Daihonzan Myoshin-ji, a Rinzai Zen headquarters temple in Kyoto, visited Chozen-ji with his family. While here, Matsuyama Osho joined us for zazen and okyo, sharing some of the commonalities and differences between how we train in Hawaii versus in Japan.

On July 1, Chozen-ji held a small groundbreaking ceremony at the property across the street. The ceremony capped off two years of fundraising and planning to build housing for longterm Dojo residents and teachers.

In December of last year, 13th generation master ceramicist Takashi Nakazato came to visit Chozen-ji for six weeks. Nakazato Sensei is world renowned as one of the last potters making traditional Karatsu-yaki, a distinct style of ceramics established in the 15th century in southern Japan.