Venerable Sochu
Encyclopedia
Sochu is the Rinzai Zen
Buddhist
monk
who leads Shobo-an, the Zen Centre's residential and lay training temple in north-west London
. A second property in Luton
, Bedfordshire
, Fairlight Zen Buddhist Training Temple, is headed by Venerable Sogen.
Sochu was born in Yorkshire
and holds a degree in philosophy. Before becoming teacher in residence at Shobo-an, in spring 2003, he worked as a personnel and training officer in the trade union Amicus
. His ordination, together with those of Myosui and Myokun, was performed on 26 June 2004 at Fairlight. The ceremony was officiated by Daiko Iizuka, Chief Abbot of the Ichibata temple http://ichibata.org/e-index.html in Shimane, Japan.
Sochu oversees and delivers a number of classes and courses at the Buddhist Society, London, with which the Zen Centre is closely affiliated.
Zen
Zen is a school of Mahāyāna Buddhism founded by the Buddhist monk Bodhidharma. The word Zen is from the Japanese pronunciation of the Chinese word Chán , which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyāna, which can be approximately translated as "meditation" or "meditative state."Zen...
Buddhist
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
monk
Monk
A monk is a person who practices religious asceticism, living either alone or with any number of monks, while always maintaining some degree of physical separation from those not sharing the same purpose...
who leads Shobo-an, the Zen Centre's residential and lay training temple in north-west London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. A second property in Luton
Luton
Luton is a large town and unitary authority of Bedfordshire, England, 30 miles north of London. Luton and its near neighbours, Dunstable and Houghton Regis, form the Luton/Dunstable Urban Area with a population of about 250,000....
, Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire
Bedfordshire is a ceremonial county of historic origin in England that forms part of the East of England region.It borders Cambridgeshire to the north-east, Northamptonshire to the north, Buckinghamshire to the west and Hertfordshire to the south-east....
, Fairlight Zen Buddhist Training Temple, is headed by Venerable Sogen.
Sochu was born in Yorkshire
Yorkshire
Yorkshire is a historic county of northern England and the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its great size in comparison to other English counties, functions have been increasingly undertaken over time by its subdivisions, which have also been subject to periodic reform...
and holds a degree in philosophy. Before becoming teacher in residence at Shobo-an, in spring 2003, he worked as a personnel and training officer in the trade union Amicus
Amicus
Amicus was the United Kingdom's second-largest trade union, and the largest private sector union, formed by the merger of Manufacturing Science and Finance, the AEEU agreed in 2001, and two smaller unions, UNIFI and the GPMU...
. His ordination, together with those of Myosui and Myokun, was performed on 26 June 2004 at Fairlight. The ceremony was officiated by Daiko Iizuka, Chief Abbot of the Ichibata temple http://ichibata.org/e-index.html in Shimane, Japan.
Sochu oversees and delivers a number of classes and courses at the Buddhist Society, London, with which the Zen Centre is closely affiliated.
See also
- Buddhism in EuropeBuddhism in EuropeAlthough there was regular contact between practising Buddhists and Europeans in antiquity the former had little direct impact. In the latter half of the 19th century, Buddhism came to the attention of Western intellectuals and during the course of the following century the number of adherents has...
- List of Rinzai Buddhists
- Venerable Myokyo-niVenerable Myokyo-niMyokyo-ni was a Rinzai Zen Buddhist nun and head of the Zen Centre in London....
- Christmas HumphreysChristmas HumphreysTravers Christmas Humphreys, QC was a British barrister who prosecuted several controversial cases in the 1940s and 1950s, and later became a judge at the Old Bailey. He was an enthusiastic Shakespeare scholar and proponent of the Oxfordian theory...