By Shinge Sherry Chayat Roshi
I can’t describe my recent visit to Japan without using a cliché: it was the trip of a lifetime. The last time I was there, in 2017, was certainly a peak experience—Chigan Roshi and his wife, Shuko Rubin; Myogen Conor Keenan and his wife, Kai Sasahara, and Myoku Miyo Hirano and I were guests of Noritake Shunan Roshi, abbot of Reiun-in, who made it possible for us to attend the 250th commemoration of Hakuin Ekaku Zenji at RyutakuJi in Mishima and additional ceremonies at MyoshinJi. It was a rich and fulfilling time, an unsurpassable time—surely my last in Japan, I thought.
Then the invitation came: on May 26, 2024, Yamakawa Sogen Roshi, abbot of ShogenJi and KokokuJi, would be installed as Kancho (supreme abbot) of MyoshinJi, one of the Rinzai School headquarters. The Kyoto temple complex includes 46 sub-temples, including Reiun-in, spread across a vast area connected by stone pathways. I immediately accepted. Chigan Roshi could not attend, but special funding arrangements were made through the generosity of several donors so that I could represent the Zen Studies Society. Read More