好人庵禅堂 

Kojin an Zendo began in 1982 when Yoshie Akiba, Kazuo Kajimura, and Hiroyuki Hori, the co-founders of Yoshi’s restaurant and jazz club, created a four-mat Zendo and a small Japanese tea room in the attic of their home on Claremont Avenue, Oakland. The Zendo held up to ten people, and was gradually filled by friends and neighbors who wanted to join the founders for meditation and tea.

On March 13, 1983, Kojin an opened in a ceremony conducted by Rev. Gengo Akiba, then a guest teacher at San Francisco Zen Center, and Rev. Ekai Korematsu then residing in Berkeley. Rev. Akiba named it Kojin-an 好人庵. Kojin means “good people” and an means “gathering place,” so Kojin-an is “where good people meet.” Rev. Korematsu led meditation there twice a week until he returned to Japan in 1986. The following year, Rev. Akiba became the resident priest and established daily meditation.

In August 1990, Kojin-an moved to its present location in the Rockridge district of Oakland, California. The property included a residence where the living room became the new meditation hall.

In 1991, Kojin-an was formally incorporated as a 501(c)3 non-profit Church under the official organization name, “Oakland Zen Center”; around the same time Rev. Akiba began raising funds to construct an eighteen-mat Zendo on the property in the traditional Japanese Soto Zen monk’s training hall style.

On February 8, 1994, the administrative headquarters of Soto Zen in Japan (Soto-shu Shumucho) formally recognized Kojin-an as an official Soto-shu temple in North America. The Rev. Akiba’s teacher, the Rev. Chido Shoitsu, and then-abbot of Eihei-ji, the late Rev. Ekiho Miyazaki, were asked to be the official founders.

The Rev. Akiba was installed as abbot in June 1994.

From 1997 to 2010, he also served as Sokan (“Bishop”), of Soto-shu in North America, and as abbot of Zenshu-ji Temple in Los Angeles.

法式 Services, Ceremonies

茶道                   Tea Ceremony

OMOTESENKE WAY of TEA

Tea and Zen are of the same taste.

The way of Tea provides a bridge between an internal practice, like Zazen, and our external relationships with people and objects. Tea focuses the mind in the present moment, in “ichi go ichi e” a unique meeting once in a lifetime. Tea class provides a bridge between the material and spiritual world, between the abstract and the pragmatic, between people and wider nature. It is a venue to appreciate beautiful works of art and share warm social interactions.

書道CALLIGRAPHY

THE BRUSH & THE BREATH

The Kojin An Sangha holds practice and lessons in traditional Japanese brush calligraphy most Saturdays. Usually taught by the accomplished Yoko Muroga sensei who has been practicing daily for many years. Both kanji and hiragana are practiced in a quiet and relaxed setting. A basic literacy in Japanese may be helpful, though not necessary.

Occasionally workshops are also held in Sumi-e painting, and in Shakyo sutra copying.

坐禅           Zazenkai

FUNDAMENTAL PRACTICE

Shikantaza or “just sitting” emphasizes returning to proper posture, breath, and awareness moment by moment.

Our Zazenkai, or 'sitting group' meets every Sunday morning. We sit Zazen, with the option of one or two 40 minute periods of sitting, followed by a brief formal Sutra Recitation service, soji zendo cleaning, and ending with informal tea and conversation.

For several decades the Sunday morning Zazenkai has been the warm heart of the practice at Kojin An.

A little family temple

Oakland Zen Center - Kojin An Zendo is a small Soto Zen Buddhist temple built in the tradition of the neighborhood temples in Japan. We have a lovely space to practice Zazen. Every Sunday morning, neighbors and friends join us for sitting and a short Sutra service followed by talk and tea... We also practice brush calligraphy, Tea Ceremony, and other traditional "Zen arts" from time to time.

Our Teachers and Sangha

A pair of California pioneers, Gengo and Yoshi Akiba lead the Kojin An Sangha with a global innovative vision. For decades they have created various settings for 'good people' to meet and come together.  Thanks to the Akibas, Kojin An has a warm extended community and the atmosphere is rigorous and deep yet open and friendly. 

Rev. Gengo Akiba is an Eiheiji-trained Soto Zen priest who has participated in and supported Zen practice across the US, Japan, and Europe. He currently holds the position of Sokan, or 'Archbishop' the head representative of Japanese Soto Zen in North America. 

Ms. Yoshi Akiba is a spiritual-interpretive dancer, a multidisciplinary artist, a licensed teacher in the Omotesenke Way of Tea, the eponymous founder of Yoshi's jazz club, and co-founder of the educational nonprofit 51Oakland.

We are an open and affirming community, we value inclusivity and diversity and do not discriminate on any basis. 

We welcome explorers, beginners, and long-time practitioners.

Our teaching style is organic and inter-relational, rather than linear or regimented, this may best suit people who practice without a need for frequent formal instruction. This free-form style is possible because we are a small family temple rather than a training monastery or a large 'Zen Center'.

Our small size and family-run nature allow us to be creative and flexible. However, we may not have the resources to accommodate the needs of every individual. The traditional Japanese design of the buildings means that much of the site is not readily accessible to wheelchairs, and access may be difficult for those with impaired mobility. It is possible to sit in a chair during zazen and other events, but shoes must be removed before entering. Natural-wood-based incense is used according to the Soto Zen practice, however the Zendo is naturally well ventilated.

Not all residents on the property are involved in temple activities, and their privacy at home is respected. Because we are not a 'public place' we ask that new visitors contact us prior to their first visit.