Irene Kaigetsu Baker
Irène Kaigetsu Bakker (1945) is a Zen master; became a Buddhist in 1989 and has been a Zen practitioner since 1995.monk.
Since meeting Roshi Joan Halifax during a Zen Peacemaker retreat in Auschwitz in 1996, Irène has worked closely with her, both in the field of end-of-life care and in Zen training in Zen Center Effort in Santa Fe (NM).
In 2012, Irène received dharma transmission from Joan Halifax, making her a fully authorized Zen priest and Zen master (Sensei) in the White Plum Asangha transfer line. She received the name 'Kaigetsu' (Ocean Moon) in addition to the dharma name 'Kyojo' (Jewel Mirror Samadhi) which she received in 1989 from Genpo Merzel. She practiced Zen from 1986 – 2011 under the guidance of the American Zen master Genpo Merzel, of which six years full-time at the Kanzeon Zen Center in Salt Lake City (USA).
Irène Bakker leads Zen Spirit since 2004, with Zen groups in Arnhem, Groningen, Rosmalen and Geldermalsen. In addition to silent retreats, she regularly provides training and workshops on dealing with dying, including for people who work in healthcare. As a systemic therapist, she worked for seven years with people with cancer in the psycho-oncological center 'Het Bevangen Huys' in Haren (Gr) and also had her own therapeutic practice. Irène Bakker is an end-of-life consultant for the Buddhist Union of the Netherlands (BUN) and 'Spirit holder' for the Zen Peacemakers Low Countries.
Irène is mother of two sons and a daughter and proud 'Omi' of nine grandchildren.
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#38 Irène Kaigetsu Bakker – Excerpt from Living With Dying
In this episode we share an excerpt from one of Irène Kaigetsu Bakker's lectures from her live course...
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In 2012, a portrait of Sensei Irène Kaigetsu Kyojo Bakker was made for the Buddhist Broadcasting Foundation (BOS).
At a young age she married her childhood sweetheart and they had three children. Although she has a good life, she lacks something essential. She immerses herself in Buddhism and when the children have left home, she leaves for her teacher Genpo Roshi in the US. Zen master Joan Halifax Roshi becomes her second Zen teacher and her inspiration for guiding people in their final stages of life. Since 2004, Irène Bakker has led Zen Spirit, a thriving Buddhist and socially engaged organization that includes sanghas in Groningen and Arnhem. In March 2012, she received dharma transmission from Joan Halifax Roshi, in the lineage of Bernie Glassman and Maezumi Roshi.
