Starting in August, AZC will have the good fortune of having Shodo Spring in residence with us. She has agreed to be with us as our temporary priest into the early months of 2011.

For the past six years, Shodo has been in residence with Shohaku Okumura in Bloomington, Indiana. Shohaku Okumura is a preeminent Zen teacher who, in addition to being an inveterate Zen teacher, has translated numerous Dogen manuscripts into English.

Before her study in Bloomington, Shodo spent nearly three years in residence at San Francisco Zen Center. She began her Zen studies in 1983 with Dainin Katagiri in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Shodo is a trained psychotherapist and an author. Her avocations include gardening, permaculture, and community engagement. She is the mother of two, and grandmother of four. She is familiar with Alaska, having lived in Kotzebue for almost a year in the early 90’s. She participated in our Anchorage sangha at that time, attending sesshins and Sunday morning zazen at that time.