Rev. Shoken Winecoff
Photo: John Taiyu Robertson
Shoken Winecoff Roshi is the founding teacher and Abbot of Ryumonji Zen Monastery. His path to founding the monastery spans more than four decades of practice, formal training, and deep personal commitment to establishing authentic Soto Zen monastic life in America.
He began practicing with Dainin Katagiri Roshi at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in Minneapolis in 1976, and continued as a close student until Katagiri Roshi's death in 1990 — a period of fourteen years that formed the core of his training. He received dharma transmission from Katagiri Roshi in 1989, a formal recognition of his readiness to carry and transmit the teaching. He is thus a direct dharma heir in the lineage Katagiri Roshi brought from Japan to America.
Following transmission, Shoken Winecoff Roshi undertook three years of rigorous formal training in Japan, from 1989 to 1992, practicing at Zuioji Zen Monastery and Shogoji Zen Monastery under Ikko Narasaki Roshi and Tsugen Narasaki Roshi. Zuioji, located in Japan’s Yamagata Prefecture, is one of the two principal Soto training monasteries in Japan — a Senmon Sodo — where monks undergo intensive and traditional monastic formation. This period of training deepened his grounding in classical Soto form and practice, and provided the foundation upon which Ryumonji was built.
Since returning from Japan, he has devoted himself fully to realizing Katagiri Roshi's vision of a traditional Soto Zen monastery in the Midwest. He has also carried the teaching beyond the monastery walls through his writing. His first book, Zen Seeds for Fallow Ground, draws on teachings he received from Katagiri Roshi and presents them in accessible language for ordinary people, from text originally appearing as articles in the Decorah, Iowa newspaper. His second book, Passing Through The Dragon Gate, published in 2020, is a collection of articles from Ryumonji's biannual newsletters exploring Zen and everyday life. Both books reflect his commitment to making the dharma available to anyone willing to receive it.
Shoken Winecoff Roshi has continued to teach and transmit the dharma in his own right, and has several dharma heirs who have themselves received dharma transmission, which are listed below.
Shoken Winecoff Roshi has continued to carry the living flame of Zen forward, not only through his own teaching and practice, but through the formal transmission of the dharma to students who have matured into teachers in their own right. These dharma heirs — each having received the full weight of this ancient lineage — now lead their own sanghas and communities, spreading the teachings across the Midwest and beyond. From the heartland of America to its coasts, this flowering of the lineage reflects both the depth of Shoken Roshi's guidance and the vitality of Zen practice taking root in new soil across the country.
Rev. Tesshin Lehmberg
Lake Superior Zendo
2222 Longyear Ave.
Marquette, MI 49855
Rev. Lehmberg was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on December 7, 2002 and received Dharma transmission from him on August 23, 2007. He is the founder of the Lake Superior Zendo in Marquette.
Rev. Ryoten Lehmann
Photo: Kalen McAllister
Rev. Ryoten Lehmann
W 6272 720th Ave.
Beldenville, WI 54003
Rev. Lehmann was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on September 16, 2000 and received Dharma transmission from him on January 10, 2008. She served Ryumonji for 6 years as Ino. Ryoten currently practices at her home temple, Boundless Sky, in Beldenville, WI.
Rev. Jodo Clusin
prariemountain.org
themeditationplace.org
Rev. Clusin was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on August 20, 1994 and received Dharma transmission on June 4, 2010. He leads Prairie Mountain Zen Center in Longmont, CO.
Rev. Eido Espe
5009 Grand Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50312
dsmzencenter.org
Rev. Espe was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on June 20, 2009 and received Dharma transmission on June 6, 2010. Rev. Espe serves as emeritus teacher of the Des Moines Zen Center in Des Moines, IA. He also serves as Vice-Abbot of Ryumonji Zen Monastery.
Rev. Kalen McAllister
904 Tavalon
St. Louis, MO 63119
kalen@charter.net
Rev. McAllister was ordained by Rev. Winecoff in November 2007 and received Dharma transmission in March 2012. Rev. McAllister serves as head teacher of Shinzo Zen Meditation Center in St. Louis, MO and spiritual adviser to Inside Dharma (a prison outreach organization that she co-founded). She served as the first non-Christian prison chaplain in Missouri from 2009 to 2015.
Rev Myoshi Thomson
myoshi@zenchicago.org
zenchicago.org
Rev. Thomson was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on September 5, 2010 and received Dharma transmission from him on March 23, 2013. He is founder and spiritual leader of the Chicago Zen Meditation Community.
Rev. Jinen Conway
marshamarshaconway@gmail.com
Rev. Conway was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on September 5, 2010 and received Dharma transmission from him on April 26, 2013. She leads Jun Ryu Pure-Hearted Dragons, at Hollin Hall Senior Center in Arlington, VA.
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Rev. Taizen (Dale) Verkuilen
Midwest Soto Zen Community
5111 St. Cyr Road
Middleton, WI 53562
midwestsotozen.org
midwestsotozen@gmail.com
Rev. Taizen Verkuilen was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on February 19, 2000 and received Dharma transmission on October 1, 2013. Taizen is co-founder and leader emeritus of the Midwest Soto Zen Community (aka Stray Dog Sangha) in Middleton, WI.
Rev. Taiju Wilimek
Sokuji Zendo
zenupnorth.org
geriwilimek@gmail.com
Rev. Wilimek was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on September 5, 2010 and received Dharma transmission from him on June 13, 2015. She leads Sokuji Zendo in Bemidji, MN.
Rev. Jakudo Peterson
1014 Pinehill Drive
Albert Lea, MN 56007
debjohnpete@yahoo.com
Rev. Peterson was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on September 18, 2011 and received Dharma transmission from him on April 30, 2016. He leads the Albert Lea Meditation Group in Albert Lea, MN.
Rev. Myoko Demuth
Decorah Zen Center
116 Washington St.
Decorah, IA 52101
decorahzencenter@gmail.com
Rev. Demuth was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on March 17, 2013 and received Dharma transmission from him on May 27, 2016. She is the Co-Director of the Decorah Zen Center, Decorah, IA.
Rev. Genpo O’Neil
Founder and leader of
Compassionate Ocean Zen Center
oceanzen.org
652 17th Avenue NE
Minneapolis, MN 55413
Rev. Genpo O’Neal was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on May 20, 2018 and received Dharma transmission from him on Feb 12, 2022.
Rev. Daiki Barlow
Founder and leader of
Midtown Atlanta Zendo
ATLzen.org
Midtown Atlanta Zendo
238 15th Street North East
Atlanta, GA 30309
Rev. Daiki Barlow was ordained by Rev. Daishin McCabe at Zen Fields in Ames, Iowa on August 17, 2017 and received Dharma transmission on March 14, 2023. Daiki is founder and leader of Midtown Atlanta Zendo.
Rev. Shinsen Troy Couillard
couillardtroy@gmail.com
Rev. Shinsen Troy Couillard was ordained by Taizan Verkuillen and Shoken Winecoff in 2014. He completed Shusso in July of 2016. He received Dharma Transmission from Shoken in 2024.
Rev. Jikan Kondrick
Deceased (February 15, 2011)
Rev. Jikan Kondrick was ordained on October 14, 1995. She received Dharma transmission on December 14, 2005 from Rev. Winecoff. She served as Vice-Abbess of Ryumonji Zen Monastery from its founding in 2000 until her retirement in 2010.
Rev. Shoshin Kelly
Deceased (February 4, 2012)
Reverend Kelly was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on September 22, 2001 and received Dharma transmission from him on September 17, 2006. The Sokuji Zen Group that he founded in Bemidji, MN meets Fridays at 6:30 p.m. at the United Methodist Church in Bemidji.
Rev. Dainei Appelbaum
Deceased (July 24, 2022)
Rev. Appelbaum was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on May 20, 2012 and received Dharma transmission from him on June 26, 2015. She was the guiding teacher of the Iowa City Zen Center.
Rev. Renshin (Barbara) Verkuilen
Deceased (March 18, 2024)
Rev. Renshin Verkuilen was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on November 2, 1997 and received Dharma transmission from him on August 31, 2013. Renshin was co-founder of the Midwest Soto Zen Community (aka Stray Dog Sangha) in Middleton, WI.
Rev. Ichiryu Moran
Deceased (July 27, 2024)
Rev. Moran was ordained by Rev. Winecoff on September 16, 2000 and received Dharma transmission from him on August 24, 2007. Rev. Moran led the Grant Marais Zen Group in Grand Marais, Michigan.
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