Claude Dalenberg

Claude Dalenberg (also known as Ananda Claude Dalenberg) (July 2, 1927^[1] — February 18, 2008^[2][3]) was a Zen priest ordained by Shunryū Suzuki and a dharma successor of Tenshin Reb Anderson.^[3]

Biography

Dalenberg was born on July 2, 1927, in South Holland, Illinois.^[1] Growing up in a Dutch-Reformist environment,^[4] he attended Sunday school, catechism classes, Sunday morning and evening services.^[1]

After serving in the Navy, Dalenberg enrolled in Northwestern University in the School of Engineering.^[1] Dalenberg initially discovered Buddhism after attending a talk by Alan Watts in Chicago in 1949.^[4] Dalenberg eventually graduated Northwestern with a degree in Philosophy.^[1]

After moving to California in the 1950s, Dalenberg began attending the American Academy of Asian Studies where he met D.T. Suzuki,^[4] Gary Snyder^[3][4] and others who deepened his interest in Buddhism.^[4] Dalenberg was a member of a zazenkai group with Snyder, Philip Whalen, Albert Saijo, and Lew Welch.^[5] He studied with Nyogen Senzaki in Los Angeles^[4] as well as with Hodo Tobase at Sokoji in San Francisco.^[4]

In the mid-1960s, Dalenberg met Shunryū Suzuki and began studying with him, eventually becoming a Senior Priest at the San Francisco Zen Center.^[6]

Dalenberg enjoyed learning from other Buddhist sects and often attended services at a Buddhist Churches of America branch near Sokoji.^[7] He was also involved with Quakers and worked with them towards prison abolition.^[7]

He served as President of the Buddhist Council of Northern California^[3] and helped establish the East-West House in San Francisco.^[3]

Dalenberg appeared under the pseudonym "Bud Diefendorf" in Jack Kerouac's novel The Dharma Bums.^[3][4]

References

1. "Ananda Claude Dalenberg Biographical Notes". Cuke.com. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
2. "Dalenberg, Ananda Claude". Sweeping Zen. Archived from the original on August 8, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
3. "In memory of Ananda Claude Dalenberg". Sweeping Zen. Archived from the original on June 19, 2013. Retrieved April 9, 2015.
4. Chadwick, David (1999). Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki. Broadway Books. pp. 258. ISBN 0-7679-0105-3.
5. Fields, Rick (1992). How the Swans Came to the Lake: A Narrative History of Buddhism in America. Shambhala Publications. p. 220. ISBN 0-87773-631-6.
6. Ford, James Ishmael (2006). Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen. Wisdom publications. pp. 134. ISBN 0-86171-509-8.
7. Chadwick, David. "Remembering Ananda Claude Dalenberg". Cuke.com. Retrieved April 9, 2015.

External links

• Ananda Claude Dalenberg main page at David Chadwick's website
• Ananda Claude Dalenberg – Remembering My Friend
• Ananda Claude Dalenberg's Cloud-hidden Friends, Universal Life Friends, & Zen Freethinker Newsletters