Chigan-kutsu Kyo-On Dokuro Jaeckel Roshi
Chigan Roshi is the abbot of the Zen Studies Society. He received Dharma Transmission from Shinge Roshi on Nov. 25, 2017, at Dai Bosatsu Zendo Kongo-ji. Three years later, on Nov. 29, 2020, in a shitsugo (room name) ceremony, Shinge Roshi gave him the name Chigan-kutsu (Wisdom Mirror-Cave) and the title Roshi. He was installed as abbot of the Zen Studies Society on November 24, 2023. A native of Austria, Chigan Roshi began his formal Zen training there in 1982 under Genro Seiun Osho, a student of Joshu Roshi’s. Entrusted with founding a sitting group in 1984, Chigan Roshi continued his studies with Joshu Roshi and was ordained a monk at Mt. Baldy Zen Center in 1989. In 2004, he received Temple Dharma Transmission from Joshu Roshi in the Rinzai-ji lineage. Chigan Roshi formally became Shinge Roshi’s disciple when his previous teacher, Kyozan Joshu Sasaki Roshi, retired from teaching. Chigan Roshi also serves as the abbot of Charles River Zen in Boston, and was abbot of the Cambridge Buddhist Association (CBA) from 2004 to 2011. Additionally, he has served on the ZSS Board of Directors for six years.
Shinge Roko Sherry Chayat Roshi
Shinge Roshi is the Abbess Emerita at the Zen Studies Society. She served as abbot from January 1, 2011 to September 30, 2023. She began formal Zen practice in 1967 at the Zen Studies Society’s first location on the Upper West Side of New York City. She was co-director and resident at Dai Bosatsu Zendo from 1974 to 1976 during its pioneer years. In 1998, she received Dharma Transmission from the founding abbot, Eido Shimano Roshi, and in 2008 was authorized as a roshi, or Zen Master, and given the name Shinge, meaning “heart-mind flowering.” She has also served as the spiritual director and abbot of the Zen Center of Syracuse Hoen-ji since 1996. In addition to her work as a Zen teacher, Shinge Roshi is an award-winning writer. She compiled and edited Eloquent Silence: Nyogen Senzaki’s Gateless Gate and Other Previously Unpublished Teachings and Letters; Endless Vow: The Zen Path of Soen Nakagawa, with Eido Shimano Roshi and Kazuaki Tanahashi. HEr articles have appeared in Buddhadharma, Tricycle, Tikkun, ARTNews, Sculpture Magazine and American Ceramics, among others.
Hokuto Daniel Diffin Osho
Hokuto Daniel Diffin OshoHokuto Daniel Diffin Osho is a senior teacher at the Zen Studies Society. He has been associated with ZSS since 1978 and has been a student of Shinge Roshi since 2010. He was named a Dharma teacher of ZSS in 2015, and received inka shomei, Dharma transmission, in 2022. A medical doctor specializing in vascular and interventional radiology, Hokuto Osho brings to his Zen teaching a background in Christian contemplative thought. He is an authorized teacher in mindfulness-based stress reduction, a program developed by Jon Kabat-Zinn. Hokuto Osho is currently the president of the ZSS board of directors.