TAIGEN DAN LEIGHTON will give a dharma talk on the connections between Huayan (Avatamsaka) School and Soto Zen, including Huayan Four Dharmadhatus as background for Soto Five Ranks. Focus will be on temporality, Huayan Ten Times and Dogen’s Being Time.

Taigen Dan Leighton is the Guiding Teacher Emeritus at Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago.
He is a Soto Zen priest and Dharma successor in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi.
Taigen first studied Buddhist art and culture in Japan in 1970, and began formal everyday zazen and Soto practice in 1975 at the New York Zen Center with Kando Nakajima Roshi. This led to his returning to graduate in East Asian Studies, and to study Japanese language at Columbia College. Through the 70s Taigen was an award-winning documentary film editor in New York and San Francisco, including work for NBC News and Bill Moyers Journal. While editing TV news, it was necessary for Taigen to learn about the one who is not busy.

Taigen left his filmmaking career in 1979 to work full time for the San Francisco Zen Center at the Tassajara Bakery and later Greens Restaurant. He was ordained in 1986 by Tenshin Reb Anderson Roshi, receiving the Dharma name Taigen Shizan (Ultimate Source Polishing Mountains). Taigen practiced and resided for years at San Francisco Zen Center, Tassajara monastery, and Green Gulch Farm Zen Center. Taigen was an elected member of the Board of San Francisco Zen Center, which he Chaired for three years. He also practiced for two years in Kyoto, Japan, 1990-92, translating Dogen with Rev. Shohaku Okumura, and practicing with several Japanese Soto Zen teachers, including one monastic practice period.

Teacher Donation welcome!