Junsei Jana Drakka dies at 65

Junsei Jana Drakka, Zen priest and dharma heir to Zenkei Blanche Hartman, died on October 28 due to lung cancer. She was 65.

Born in 1952, Junsei Jana Drakka became a Zen priest in 2001 and received Dharma Transmission from Zenkei Blanche Hartman in May 2009. Before entering hospice care at Jikoji Zen Center in July, Drakka spent many years offering ministry to low-income and homeless people through both meditation groups and counselling via her “street ministry” known as “The Zendo Without Walls.” She also did advocacy work on the board of Religious Witness with Homeless People, “an activist interfaith organization, which unites diverse leaders and homeless individuals in the spirit of genuine compassion and to act with them in the struggle for justice.”

The announcement of her death on Facebook reads:

Jana wanted you to know that loving you was a great joy in her life. Like her teacher, Zenkei Blanche Hartman, she felt that kindness is one of our most important practices. She said, “There is never such a thing as too much love. This is a basic realization that has sustained her in the past difficult days, freeing her to do her inner work despite the pain.

Go in peace, Jana. Walk peacefully in the midst of the uncountable beings.

Memorial services will be held at both Jikoji Zen Center and San Francisco Zen Center. Details to come.