Hogen Bays

Hogen Bays began his Zen practice in 1968 with Philip Kapleau and served on the residential staff at the Zen Center of Rochester in Rochester, New York, until 1975. From 1980 to 1984, he lived and trained at the Zen Center of Los Angeles under the direction of Taizan Maezumi, Roshi, from whom he received priest ordination in 1990. In 2000, he received Dharma Transmission from Chozen Roshi.

From 1991 through 2024, Hogen continued his Zen studies with Rinzai teacher Shodo Harada Roshi, abbot of Sogen-ji Monastery in Japan and One Drop Zendo in Tahoma, Washington. He has also completed hundreds of weeks of intensive retreat practice.

Hogen has been a leader of the Zen Community of Oregon since 1985 and has worked full-time for the sangha since 1997. He currently serves as co-abbot of Great Vow Zen Monastery.

He holds a Doctor of Naturopathic Medicine (ND) and a Master’s degree (MS) in Psychology, and he worked for ten years with the Oregon Department of Corrections. He and his wife, Chozen Bays, have been married for over 40 years.

His vows are to see the perfection in all things; to cultivate an inclusive awareness that each person, place, and situation arises from the whole universe; and to recognize that samsara and nirvana are equally penetrating. He teaches that our responsibility and responsiveness arise not from fear or righteousness, but from an appreciation of the dynamic unfolding of the cosmos.

Through his teaching, he aims to help others transform problems, limitations, and suffering into wisdom, clarity, and equanimity. Grounded in direct experience, he seeks to share the possibility of awakening and responding to the world just as it is.