Ryumonji Zen Monastery

Reverend Shoken Winecoff
Reverend Winecoff is founding teacher and abbot of Ryumonji Zen Monastery. He is a Dharma Heir of the late Dainin Katagiri Roshi, founder of the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center. Shoken practiced with Katagiri Roshi in Minneapolis from 1976 until his death in 1990. Shoken practiced with Katagiri Roshi at Ganshoji, the City Center in Minneapolis, and at Hokyoji Zen Monastery in southeast Minnesota. Shoken also received formal training at Zuioji Zen Monastery and Shogoji Zen Monastery in Japan for three years from 1989 to 1992. Since that time he has worked to establish a Soto Zen monastery in the Midwest.

Reverend Jikan Kondrick
Reverend Kondrick is vice-abbess of Ryumonji Zen Monastery, and resident director of the Decorah Zen Center. She was ordained by Rev. Shoken Winecoff in 1995, and received Dharma transmission from him in 2005. Rev. Kondrick practiced at Hokyoji Zen Monastery and Shogoji Zen Monastery in Japan. She teaches at Ryumonji and is resident director of the Decorah Zen Center.

Honorary Founder:
Dainin Katagiri Roshi 1928-1990

Katagiri Roshi was born in Osaka, Japan in 1928. He was ordained a monk by Daicho Hayashi Roshi, Abbot of Taizo-in.

He later entered Eiheiji Zen Monastery where he practiced for three years. There he studied under Eko Hashimoto Roshi. After Eiheiji he entered Komazawa University in Japan where he did both undergraduate and graduate study in Buddhism.

After his studies he was assigned by the Soto Zen International office to assist in serving the Japanese congregation in Los Angeles. In 1965 he then went to San Francisco to study English and assist Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in establishing the San Francisco Zen Center. In December of 1972 he was invited to come to Minneapolis where he established the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center which he served until his death with cancer on March 1, 1990.

There have been two books published of Katagiri Roshi's lectures: The first is Returning to Silence, _the second is You Have to Say Something. Both books are published by Shambhala Press.

Rev. Shoken Winecoff, Abbot of Ryumonji Zen Monastery, is one of the dharma heirs of Katagiri Roshi. He has continued Katagiri Roshi's vision of establishing a traditional Soto Zen monastery for the training of American priests and to deepen lay practitioners' experience. Katagiri Roshi revered the Ancient Ways and felt modern people could benefit from direct contact with nature and find a practice method in tune with natures's rhrthm. Ryumonji Zen Monastery has been founded on this vision of Katagiri Roshi.