Diane Shoshin Fitzgerald

Diane was ordained as a Soto Zen priest in 2013 and received full Dharma transmission in 2017 in the combined lineage that derives from Rev Master Jiyu-Kennett, the first western female Soto Zen priest, and the koan teaching Sanbo Kyodan Zen Community through Robert Aitken, Roshi.

Diane formed the Zen DownEast Maine sangha in 2012 and serves as its Spiritual Director/Guiding Teacher. She offers zazen M-F mornings and Tuesday evenings as well as four annual sesshins. She teaches a weekly Dogen class and two monthly classes: Mahayana Sutras and Eco-Sattva. She regularly offers precepts classes. A Maine lawyer, Diane has been practicing Zen for more than 30 years and is a member of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association.

To journey through all eight components of the Noble Path is to travel toward a life of understanding (prajna/wisdom), skillfulness (sila/ethics) and insightful concentration (samadhi/meditation).