Background
John Daido Loori was born on June 14, 1931 in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. Son of John Peter and Anna (DeStephan) Loori.
Daido Roshi giving a mondo at Zen Mountain Monastery.
Daido Roshi in the Buddha Hall at Zen Mountain Monastery.
Daido Roshi in the cemetery of Zen Mountain Monastery.
John Daido Loori, Roshi accepting an honorary doctorate at Franklin Pierce College.
John Daido Loori was born on June 14, 1931 in Jersey City, New Jersey, United States. Son of John Peter and Anna (DeStephan) Loori.
John did his undergraduate studies at Mammouth College. Later, he studied at Rutgers University and New Brunswick Polytechnical Institute of Brooklyn.
John served in the U.S. Navy from 1947 to 1952. Later he worked as a chemist in the food industry and led the American Civil Liberties Union in Orange and Sullivan Counties in New York. Since 1980, Loori served for Zen Mountain Monastery, Mt. Tremper, New York, as abbot and teacher. He was the founder of the Mountains and Rivers Order and CEO of Dharma Communications. In addition to his role as a Zen Buddhist priest, Loori was an exhibited photographer and author of more than twenty books.
In October 2009, John stepped down as abbot citing health issues. Days later, Zen Mountain Monastery announced that his death was imminent. On October 9, 2009, at 7:30 a.m. he died of lung cancer in Mount Tremper, New York.
John Daido Loori was a Zen Buddhist rōshi who served as the abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery. He received dharma transmission from Taizan Maezumi in 1986 and also received a Dendo Kyoshi certificate formally from the Soto school of Japan in 1994. In 1997, he received dharma transmission in the Harada-Yasutani and Inzan lineages of Rinzai Zen as well.
John's political views are described as "active".
John Daido Loori was married and had three sons.