California’s Berkeley Zen Center (BZC) has announced that Shinchi Linda Galijan will be, in a “Mountain Seat” ceremony to take place on March 1st, installed as its first female abbot.
Galijan has been co-leader (with Zenshin Greg Fain) of the Bay Area Soto Zen center since 2024, following the death of abbot Hozan Alan Senauke, who had succeeded predecessor Sojun Mel Weitsman after Weitsman’s death in January, 2021.
As her bio on the BZC website reads, “Shinchi Linda Galijan was ordained as a Zen priest by Sojun Mel Weitsman in 2004 and received Dharma Transmission from him in 2012. She has been a professional musician and licensed clinical psychologist and has practiced Buddhism and yoga for over 30 years. Linda practiced at Tassajara for almost 10 years, including four years as the Director. She completed her service as President of San Francisco Zen Center at the beginning of 2021.”
The ceremony will not be open to the public but will be streamed live via https://berkeleyzencenter.org/
