woensdag 25 maart lezing in zendo Gent door Thomas Yūhō Kirchner, zenmonnik en vertaler

Thomas Yūhō Kirchner
Dharma talk in English in zendo Gent
7.30pm

The evening starts at 7:30 p.m. with a short period of zazen.
Thomas then speaks for 45 minutes, followed by a short break and a question-and-answer session.
The evening ends around 9:30 p.m.
Free donation.

Thomas Kirchner’ is an American Zen Buddhist priest and translator known for his English-language translations of classical Japanese Zen texts, which have made important koan collections and teachings accessible to Western audiences.
Thomas Kirchner was born in 1949 in Baltimore (US).
During high school, he became interested in Zen Buddhism through books he read on the subject. In his first year of college in the United States, he was deeply moved by a lecture given by Rinzai Zen master Shibayama Zenkei.
Kirchner first traveled to Japan in 1969 to study at Waseda University in Tokyo and remained there to pursue Zen practice and Buddhist studies. He trained as a lay monk under Yamada Mumon Roshi at Shofuku-ji temple and received ordination in 1974, later practicing under Minato Sodo Roshi at Kencho-ji in Kamakura and Kennin-ji in Kyoto. [1] [2] After completing graduate studies in Buddhism at Otani University, he held positions at the Nanzan Institute for Religion and Culture in Nagoya and the International Research Institute for Zen Buddhism at Hanazono University in Kyoto, where he contributed to research and translation efforts. He currently resides at Tenryu-ji temple in Arashiyama, Kyoto.

Kirchner’s notable translations include ”Entangling Vines” (Shumon Kattoshu), a major koan collection used in Rinzai Zen training; ”The Record of Linji”, a foundational text in the Linji (Rinzai) lineage; and ”Dialogues in a Dream”, the teachings of medieval Zen master Muso Soseki.
These works, published by Wisdom Publications and the University of Hawaii Press, reflect his deep engagement with Rinzai Zen traditions and his role in bridging Japanese Zen scholarship with English-speaking practitioners and scholars.