Our Lineage
Inoue Gien Roshi (1894-1981)
Born in Hiroshima Prefecture in 1894. He enlightened in 1919 at the age of 25 and inherited the Dharma discovered by the Buddha. In 1924, he became abbot of Ryusenji Temple in Hamamatsu. From 1925, he was the Zen teaching master at Kokutaiji Temple, Kahaisai Temple, Nitaiji Temple, and Toyama Nunnery. He also served as president of the Soto Sect Teachers' Association. In 1970, he was invited to the New York Zen Center to teach zazen, and traveled again to the US and France in 1971. In 1984, he appeared on Japanese national television, NHK’s “Shukyo no Jikan” (“Religion Hour”), exposing many viewers to the true Dharma for the first time, and caused a sensation. Many of his teisho (Zen lectures) have been compiled in Japanese.
Gien Roshi was known as a Zen master of the calibre seen only once in 600 years, as he taught with profound clarity. He conveyed the true essence of Zen in colloquial terms, without using difficult Buddhist terminology, and both monks and laypeople from throughout Japan went to learn from him. He died in 1981 at age 88.
Recently published in English:
A Blueprint of Enlightenment: A Contemporary Commentary on Dōgen Zenji’s Gakudō Yōjinshū “Guidelines for Studying the Way”
Inoue Kando Roshi
Kando Roshi was born in Shizuoka Prefecture in 1944, the fifth son of Inoue Gien Roshi. His mother died when he was two, so he found comfort in staying at his father’s feet. This meant that from a young age, he was often in the presence of monks in training. He himself ordained at the age of 10. When he was 14, he began training at Hosshinji under Harada Sogaku Roshi and Harada Sessui Roshi. He enlightened at age 16, and twenty years later, received inka shomei from Gien Roshi, who designated him as his Dharma heir. At age 20, he began training at Daihonzan Sojiji Temple to be shike (one qualified to guide ascetic monks). He completed his training at age 25, and has since been appointed to teach at various Soto Sect training monasteries. He was abbot of Shorinji Temple in Shizuoka Prefecture from 1971 to 2015. He now dedicates his time to conveying the true Dharma far and wide. There are many videos and compilations of his lectures in Japanese. In April 2020, he began online zazen due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2021, he began Dharma talks online at the Olympia Zen Center.
https://www.olympiazencenter.org/events
His talks at Olympia Zen Center (with English interpreting) are on YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=plB4mwwpduc&list=PLXojlHi_r9Z3Kdky6KQsYiA99_KFcY5HH&index=2


News
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(All dates and times are Japan time.)
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[Jan 19] New weekly zazenkai:
Every Wed night! More info here. -
[Jan 19] Upcoming zazenkai with Jisho-san:
Jan 26, 9:00am
Feb 5, 18:00
Feb 23, 9:00am
Mar 19, 18:00 (March 12th cancelled)
Mar 27, 8:00am
Reservations can be made here.
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Nov 10 TIME CHANGE
Dec 22 time changed from 8:00am to 9:00am -
Mar 15 New Blog Post, "What's really happening?"
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Mar 8 New testimonial. What people are saying about zazen with Jisho-san and Madoka.
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Mar 3 New blog post! "Form is emptiness and emptiness is form."
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Feb 9 We changed our name from "Simply Zen Online" to "Zen Online." Also a new URL.
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Feb 7 New Blog Post! "What is Zen?"
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Please reserve early. Reservations close 24 hours prior to the start of zazenkai.
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We started zazenkai twice a month! See the group zazenkai page for the schedule.
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Reservations for online zazenkai and private sessions. Feel free to contact us with questions too.
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Introductory Video
Take a look at this video for a good introduction to Zen and Zen practice.
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Requests
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Please do not use, reproduce, modify, and/or divert any content of this website.
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Please understand that it may take a few days to respond to your inquiries, requests or comments.
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Please be timely in making reservations or cancellations.