John Daido Loori (June 14, 1931 – October 9, 2009) was a Zen

Buddhist Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religion or philosophical tradition based on teachings attributed to the Buddha. It originated in northern India as a -movement in the 5th century BCE, and ...

rōshi who served as the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery and was the founder of the

Mountains and Rivers Order The Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen Buddhism (MRO) is an organization of associated temples, practice centers and sitting groups in the United States and abroad. The main house is the Zen Mountain Monastery located at the foot of Mount Tremper ...

and

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especially ...

of Dharma Communications. Daido Loori received shiho (

dharma transmission In Chan and Zen Buddhism, dharma transmission is a custom in which a person is established as a "successor in an unbroken lineage of teachers and disciples, a spiritual 'bloodline' (''kechimyaku'') theoretically traced back to the Buddha himse ...

) from Taizan Maezumi in 1986 and also received a Dendo Kyoshi certificate formally from the

Soto school Soto may refer to: Geography * Soto (Aller), parish in Asturias, Spain * Soto (Las Regueras), parish in Asturias, Spain * Soto, Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles * Soto, Russia, a rural locality (a ''selo'') in Megino-Kangalassky District of the Sak ...

of Japan in 1994. In 1997, he received dharma transmission in the

Harada-Yasutani is a lay Zen sect derived from both the Soto (Caodong) and the Rinzai ( Linji) traditions. It was renamed Sanbo-Zen International in 2014. The term ''Sanbo Kyodan'' has often been used to refer to the Harada-Yasutani zen lineage. However, a n ...

and Inzan lineages of Rinzai Zen as well.Seager; p. 257-258 In 1996 he gave dharma transmission to his student

Bonnie Myotai Treace Bonnie Myotai Treace is a Zen teacher and priest, the founder of Hermitage Heart, and formerly the abbot of the Zen Center of New York City (ZCNYC). She teaches currently in Black Mountain and Asheville, North Carolina. Myotai Sensei is the first ...

, in 1997 to

Geoffrey Shugen Arnold Geoffrey Shugen Arnold is Rōshi of the Mountains and Rivers Order (MRO) founded by John Daido Loori, from whom Shugen received shiho, or dharma transmission, in July 1997.Seager, 257 As a lineage holder in the Sōtō tradition, Shugen currently ...

, and in 2009 to Konrad Ryushin Marchaj. In addition to his role as a Zen Buddhist priest, Loori was an exhibited photographer and author of more than twenty books and was an avid naturalist. In October 2009, he stepped down as abbot citing health issues. Days later, Zen Mountain Monastery announced that his death was imminent.Press Release, October 2009
On October 9, 2009, at 7:30 a.m. he died of

lung cancer Lung cancer, also known as lung carcinoma (since about 98–99% of all lung cancers are carcinomas), is a malignant lung tumor characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. Lung carcinomas derive from transformed, mali ...

Mount Tremper, New York Mount Tremper is a hamlet in the Town of Shandaken in Ulster County, New York, United States. Mount Tremper is situated to the east of New York State Route 28 and to the north of New York State Route 212, within the Catskill Park. The community ...

Biography

John Daido Loori was born in

Jersey City, New Jersey Jersey City is the second-most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey, after Newark.Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...

.Magida; p. 203 As a child Loori loved photographing things, once using his family's bathroom as a makeshift dark room. He served in the U.S. Navy from 1947 to 1952. Later, after studying at Rutgers, he worked as a

chemist A chemist (from Greek ''chēm(ía)'' alchemy; replacing ''chymist'' from Medieval Latin ''alchemist'') is a scientist trained in the study of chemistry. Chemists study the composition of matter and its properties. Chemists carefully describe th ...

in the

food industry The food industry is a complex, global network of diverse businesses that supplies most of the food consumed by the world's population. The food industry today has become highly diversified, with manufacturing ranging from small, traditional, ...

Prebish; pp. 98-99 and led the

American Civil Liberties Union The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) is a nonprofit organization founded in 1920 "to defend and preserve the individual rights and liberties guaranteed to every person in this country by the Constitution and laws of the United States". T ...

in Orange and Sullivan Counties in New York. As an adult he distanced himself from Catholicism and explored a variety of other religions. Then, in 1971, he attended a workshop given by the photographer Minor White. Loori came to study photography under White until his death and also learned meditation from him. In 1972 Daido Loori began his formal Zen practice, studying in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

under Soen Nakagawa and then in

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

under Taizan Maezumi, Roshi. In 1980 Loori purchased in

which today serves as the site for Zen Mountain Monastery. In 1983 he was made a Zen priest by Maezumi and in 1986 was given shiho (or,

) by him. In 1997, he received dharma transmission in the

and Inzan lineages of Rinzai Zen as well. According to author Richard Hughes, this made Loori "one of three Western dharma-holders in both the Soto and Rinzai schools." Loori was a professional nature photographer, having once exhibited his work at the

American Museum of Natural History The American Museum of Natural History (abbreviated as AMNH) is a natural history museum on the Upper West Side of Manhattan in New York City. In Theodore Roosevelt Park, across the street from Central Park, the museum complex comprises 26 int ...

Manhattan, New York Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...

. He has also held various other shows and workshops on photography, including positions at

Naropa University Naropa University is a private university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1974 by Tibetan Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa, it is named for the 11th-century Indian Buddhist sage Naropa, an abbot of Nalanda. The university describes itself a ...

starting in 1974 and the Synechia Arts Center located in Middletown, New York; his works have been published by

Aperture In optics, an aperture is a hole or an opening through which light travels. More specifically, the aperture and focal length of an optical system determine the cone angle of a bundle of rays that come to a focus in the image plane. An ...

and Time-Life. His book, ''Hearing with the Eye: Photographs from Point Lobos'', features Loori's abstract nature photography interwoven with commentary on ''Teachings of the Insentient'' by Eihei Dogen. Loori founded Dharma Communications as a way to communicate the dharma of the Mountains and Rivers Order. Dharma Communications publishes a Buddhist quarterly titled the

Mountain Record ''Mountain Record: The Zen Practitioners' Journal'' a quarterly journal is a record of the sayings and doings of the Mountains and Rivers Order, its main house Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, New York, and its affiliated temples and sitt ...

, various

audio-visual Audiovisual (AV) is electronic media possessing both a sound and a visual component, such as slide-tape presentations, films, television programs, corporate conferencing, church services, and live theater productions. Audiovisual service pro ...

materials, and has also published several books by Daido Loori. According to Charles S. Prebish, Dharma Communications is "one of the most efficient and successful publishers of Buddhist materials on the continent, and a place where practitioners can learn how to cultivate both mindfulness and compassion in front of a computer."

Books

*''The Way of Mountains and Rivers'' *''The Zen Art Box'' with Stephen Addiss *''Hearing with the Eye: Teachings of the Insentient'' *''The Zen of Creativity : Cultivating Your Artistic Life'' *''The Eight Gates of Zen : A Program of Zen Training'' *''Sitting with Koans : Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Koan Study'' with Tom Kirshner. *'' The True Dharma Eye : Zen Master Dogen's Three Hundred Koans'' with Kazuaki Tanahashi (Translator). *''The Heart of Being: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen Buddhism'' *''The Art of Just Sitting, Second Edition : Essential Writings on the Zen Practice of Shikantaza'' *''Celebrating Everyday Life: Zen Home Liturgy'' *''Making Love with Light'', a book of nature photography. *''Riding the Ox Home : Stages on the Path of Enlightenment'' *''The Still Point: A Beginner's Guide to Zen Meditation'' *''Cave Of Tigers : Modern Zen Encounters'' *''Invoking Reality: Moral and Ethical Teachings of Zen'' *''Path of Enlightenment: Stages in a Spiritual Journey'' *''Two Arrows Meeting in Mid-Air: The Zen Koan'' *''Mountain Record of Zen Talks'' *''Teachings of the Insentient: Zen and the Environment''

Translated editions

*''Das Zen der Kreativitat'' (German ed.) – 2006 Theseus Verlag, Berlin 3-89620-287-1 *''Célébrer la Vie au Quotidien'' (French ed.): 2003 BDLYS Ed. 2-914395-20-5 *''La Recontre de la Réalité'' (French ed.) by BDLYS Ed. 2-914395-21-3 *''El Punto de Quietud'' (Spanish ed.): 2001 Mandala Ed. 84-95052-69-5 *''Hat ein Hund Buddha-Natur?'' (German ed.): 1996 Taschenbuch Verlag GmbH 9-783596-130191

Filmography

*''The Still Point: Introduction to Zen Meditation'' *''Entering the Mountain Gate: Essentials of Zen'' *''Oryoki: Formal Monastery Meal'' *''The Heart of Being: Zen Buddhist Precepts'' *''Mountain Light Video Library: A Collection of 27 Dharma Discourses'' *''One Bright Pearl: Dharma Combat'' *''Enlarging the Universe: Creative Expression'' *''Fire Keeper: Student Mind'' *''The Art of Seeing'' *''The Great Earth's Edict: Zen and Environmentalism''

Recent photography exhibitions

*"The Tao of Water", Jan. 18 - Mar. 22, 2008 Gallery at 910, Denver, CO *"Jinzu", April 19 - June 6, 2007 Gallery at 910, Denver, CO *"Jinzu", Sept. 8 - Dec. 31, 2006 Buffalo Big Print, Buffalo, New York

Gallery

Image: Daido1.jpg Image: Daido_picOct_08.jpg Image: DaidoFPphd2.jpg Image:Daido Roshi giving a mondo.jpeg Image:Daido Roshi in the Buddha Hall.jpeg Image:Daido Roshi in the cemetery.jpeg

Notes

References

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External links

Mountains and Rivers Order of Zen BuddhismAuthor Spotlight
on Loori at

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, publisher of some of his books *
Daido Roshi interview on PBSZen's Radical Conservative: John Daido Loori
{{DEFAULTSORT:Loori, John Daido 1930 births 2009 deaths American scholars of Buddhism Rinzai Buddhists Soto Zen Buddhists White Plum Asanga Zen Buddhism writers American Zen Buddhists American Buddhist monks American former Christians Former Roman Catholics Deaths from lung cancer in New York (state) 20th-century Buddhist monks