Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji, Rinzai Zen temple in North Beacon Hill, Seattle, United States.
Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji is a Rinzai Zen temple on North Beacon Hill in Seattle, Washington. Its Japanese name means "Listening to the Dharma Zen Temple on Great Plum Mountain." The temple serves as a center for zazen and Rinzai practice under abbot Genjo Marinello Oshō.
Genki Takabayashi, a Rinzai monk who became a monk at age 11 and trained nearly twenty years at Daitoku-ji, was invited by the Seattle Zen Center in fall 1978 and founded Cho Bo Zen Ji in 1983. He retired in 1997 and died in Montana in 2013. Genjo Marinello succeeded him as abbot in 1999 and received dharma transmission on May 21, 2008.
The temple's name, Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji, translates as "Listening to the Dharma Zen Temple on Great Plum Mountain." Visitors can join weekly introductions to Zen, daily zazen, bimonthly Sunday Dharma Talks, and quarterly week-long sesshins. Genjo Marinello Oshō, abbot since 1999, is also a licensed psychotherapist and has published commentaries on Zen koan practice.
Weekly introductions to Zen are offered alongside daily zazen, bimonthly Sunday Dharma talks, monthly half-day sesshins and quarterly week-long sesshins. Check the current schedule before travelling to North Beacon Hill, and dress modestly for the meditation hall.
Genjo Marinello Oshō, abbot since 1999, has volunteered as a Buddhist pastor for the Washington State Department of Corrections, and the temple's Prison Dharma Work carries that ministry to inmates. Marinello is also a licensed psychotherapist and a member of the American Zen Teachers Association.
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