In Memoriam: John Daido Loori, Roshi

The life journey of John Daido Loori, Roshi, ended at 9:30 a.m. this morning.

If you would like to read Zen Master Bernie Glassman's eulogy, please click here.

In 1971, Roshi attended a workshop conducted by the famous photographer, Minor White, and later received his first meditation instruction from White. He then began formal Zen training, first under Soen Nakagawa and then under Taizan Maezumi, Roshi, the founder of the Zen Center of Los Angeles. He received dharma trasmission from Maezumi Roshi in 1986 and was recognized as a dharma holder in the Soto lineage in 1994. In 1997, he received dharma transmission in the Harada-Yasutani and Inzan lineages of Rinzai Zen.

Roshi established Zen Mountain Monastery and the Mountain and Rivers Order. His dharma heirs are Bonnie Myotai Treace (1996), Geoffrey Shugen Arnold (1997) and Konrad Ryushin Marchaj (2009).

Here are words to remember Daido Roshi by:

I often say there cannot be real loving unless there is no attachment, no separation. It’s in intimacy that love occurs. It’s in intimacy that we function in this universe in a way that is in complete accord. No barriers, no boundaries. No edges. That’s why buddhahood cannot be grasped. That’s why it cannot be realized.