FLOATING ZENDO SESSHIN
Jikoji is happy to once again be hosting the annual Floating Zendo Sesshin. Sesshin is underway, but you’re not to late to join this late-Summer gathering of our Sister Sangha.
In keeping with Kobun's traditions, teaching duties for sesshin will be shared. Paula Jones and John Lowney, who began sitting with Kobun at the same time as Floating Zendo founder Angie Boissevain, were ordained by Angie in the Kobun–Vanya–Angie lineage. Paula and John will each offer Dokusan during the sesshin. Angie will be present on both Fridays.
On the final Friday, Angie will give a Dharma talk on the precepts. Then, after a social lunch and the formal close of sesshin, Angie will conduct a Jukai ceremony for Sangha member Judy Reyes. All are invited to attend this happy event.
For more information, please see the sesshin flyer, or contact the sesshin shika at shika@floatingzendo.org. And welcome back, Angie and Floating Zendo!
SESSHIN TEACHERS
ANGIE BOISSEVAIN
Enji Angie Boissevain (born June 11, 1936) is a Soto Zen roshi and guiding teacher of Floating Zendo, located in San Jose, CA. A former student of Kobun Chino Otogawa, Boissevain is a Dharma successor of Kobun Chino Otogawa through Vanja Palmers. For 12 years she was the Director of Jikoji Zen Center in Los Gatos, CA, founded by Kobun. At the time of his untimely death in Switzerland in 2002, she and Kobun had been making preparations for her Dharma transmission. Boissevain received transmission in 2003 from one of Kobun Chino’s Dharma heirs, Vanja Palmers.
In addition to teaching at Floating Zendo in San Jose, Angie gives bimonthly talks on Skype to her students at Floating Zendo San Diego. She also offers private interviews and small discussion groups on Skype to her students around the country and in Europe. Boissevain is a member of the American Zen Teachers Association and the Soto Zen Buddhist Association.
PAULA JONES
Paula Jones became a student of Kobun Chino’s the first night she attended Santa Cruz Zendo. That year she, with her very young daughter, joined the residents in practice at the School Street House next to the zendo. During that time, she attended sesshins at Hidden Villa in Los Altos Hills, where she first met Angie Boissevain. She later spent some days working and more days sitting sesshins in the earliest days at Jikoji.
After many moves and many years, having arrived again at Jikoji for Kobun’s funeral, she exchanged bows with Angie. Not too long afterward, she became her student. Since receiving transmission from Angie in 2014, she has shared some of Angie’s teaching duties, including giving talks and leading sesshins at Jikoji. Paula also leads monthly sittings for Floating Zendo San Diego.
JOHN LOWNEY
John began studying with Kobun Chino Otogawa at Haiku Zendo in February 1978, followed by sesshins at Hidden Villa. After the property purchases in 1979, John began sitting with Kobun at Kannon-do and in 1982 at Jikoji. John received priest ordination from Kobun in August 1988, was appointed shuso for the fall ango and underwent shuso hossen following Rohatsu in December 1978. To broaden his experience, John studied with several other teachers, primarily Soto- Rinzai in the 1990s.
Following Kobun’s death, John practiced with Michael Newhall and led several sittings at Jikoji. John became Angie Boissevain’s student in 2014, having known Angie since his first meeting with Kobun. John has been leading sittings monthly at Floating Zendo since April 2018 and is a transmitted teacher in the Kobun/Vanja/Angie lineage.