Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji

Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji, which translates from Japanese as "Listening to the Dharma Zen Temple on Great Plum Mountain," is a Rinzai-style Zen Buddhist temple located on North Beacon Hill in Seattle, Washington.

History and Lineage

The temple was founded in 1983 by Zen Master Genki Takabayashi Rōshi. Takabayashi had trained for nearly twenty years at Daitoku-ji, one of the parent Rinzai school temples in Japan, and also directed a Rinzai temple in Kamakura. He had been invited to Seattle in 1978 by the Seattle Zen Center to serve as a resident teacher. In 1997, Takabayashi retired and moved to Montana, where he passed away in 2013 at the age of 81.

Genjo Marinello Oshō succeeded Genki Rōshi in 1999 as the second abbot of Chobo-ji. Marinello began his Zen training in 1975 and was ordained as a novice monk in 1980. He trained in Japan at Ryutaku-ji and later continued his training with Eido Shimano Rōshi, abbot of Dai Bosatsu Monastery. Marinello received dharma transmission from Eido Shimano Rōshi in 2008, with Takabayashi also present. Marinello is also a licensed psychotherapist and has served as adjunct faculty at Antioch University Seattle.

Practice and Activities

Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji offers various activities for practitioners, including daily Zazen (seated meditation), weekly introductions to Zen, bimonthly Sunday Dharma Talks, and quarterly week-long sesshins, as well as monthly half-day sesshins. The temple also engages in Prison Dharma Work.

Notable Figures and Works

Key figures associated with the temple include founders and abbots Genki Takabayashi and Genjo Marinello. Marinello's Dharma Talks have been published in various journals, and his commentary on Zen Koan Practice has been translated into multiple languages. The temple is part of the Rinzai school of Zen Buddhism.