Professor Emerita
Contact: daijaku@shin-ibs.edu
After completing formal training as a Soto Zen priest, Daijaku obtained a Master’s degree in psychology, licensure as a psychotherapist, and trained as a chaplain at UCSF Medical Center. She completed her PhD in 2004. Her study focused on the Buddhist teachings of dependent co-arising, emptiness and no-self as they relate to the experience of trust, faith and transformation in the practice of Soto Zen Buddhism. Daijaku joined the Core Faculty at IBS in 2010, established the Buddhist chaplaincy program, and served as Hanyu Professor of Buddhist Chaplaincy from 2015 through 2022. Along with her teaching at IBS, Daijaku is also guiding teacher, with Rev. Shinshu Roberts, of Ocean Gate Zen Center in Capitola California and has been appointed kokusaifukyoshi, International Teacher, by the Japanese Soto Shu (Soto Zen School) in Tokyo. She is active in the development of Soto Zen in North America through her involvement in Soto Zen organizations.
Degrees and Certifications:
Ph.D., California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA
M.A., California Institute of Integral Studies, San Francisco, CA
B.A. (cum laude), Occidental College, Los Angeles, CA
Kokusaifukyoshi (international Teacher) Soto Shu, Tokyo Japan
California Marriage and Family Therapist
Research and Teaching Interests:
Buddhist teachings as a well-articulated foundation for pastoral care, chaplaincy and ministry
Buddhist ministry meeting contemporary challenges: racism, sexism, addressing climate change etc.
Effective interfaith & intra-Buddhist dialogue
Development of Soto Zen teachings and practice in particular:
Education as a central element if leadership training
Traditional priest training in an American context
Temple based practices in and for lay communities
Expanding our understanding on the teachings of Eihei Dogen and Keizan Jokin
Inclusivity of marginalized people in religious teaching and leadership
Recent Publications:
“Listening: A Practice of Generosity and Healing.” In Dharma World. Oct – Dec. 2016 Vol. 43 Risho Kosei-Kai International Tokyo, Japan
Trust Realization and the Self on Soto Zen Practice, Institute of Buddhist Studies/BDK America, 2015.
“The Path by Moonlight: Dogen’s Guidelines for Following the Way.” In Seeds of Virtue, Seeds of Change: A Collection of Zen Teachings, Temple Ground Press, 2014.
“Ziyong’s Ship of Compassion.” In The Hidden Lamp: Stories from Twenty-fince Centuries of Awakened Women, Wisdom Publications, 2013.
“Cultivating and Appropriate Response: Educational Foundations for Buddhist Chaplains and Pastooal Care Providers.” In The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work. Wisdom Publications, 2012.
Courses Taught:
Buddhist Pastoral Care
Zen Buddhism
Buddhism and Psychology