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]
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]
. David Chadwick (writer). Crooked Cucumber: The Life and Zen Teaching of Shunryu Suzuki. registration. 1999. Broadway Books. 0-7679-0105-3. 258.
. James Ishmael Ford. Zen Master Who?: A Guide to the People and Stories of Zen. Wisdom publications. 2006. 134. 0-86171-509-8. registration.