Jana Drakka

We remember Jana, whose birthday is this week, as is the third anniversary of her passing. Jana was a longtime student of Zenkei Blanche Hartman, former abbess of SFZC. Jana worked with Blanche for nearly two decades, receiving priest ordination and transmission from her. Jana went on to teach, working extensively with the homeless and the destitute, helping each person she met to more kindly meet their lives, teaching meditation and concentration on simple objects (a can of soda, a flower) to help others find some internal peace that they could return to.

Jana was the guiding teacher of Zendo Without Walls that worked with the homeless of San Francisco. Today, Jana’s practice of bringing the Dharma to the disabled, the homeless, and the LGBTQ community continues through her students in Zen Kei Sangha, who continue her work at the Glide Cathedral (helping street people find inner peace) and at the Community Garden in the SOMA area of SF.

Many of us who knew Jana deeply appreciated her kind heart and sharp wit.

She offered many techniques to meet the conundrum of existence. Her Scottish upbringing gave her a rich culture to share with those that met and knew her. She could recite in old Scottish the poetry of Rabbie Burns.

In her last weeks, Jana still shared her new insights as she came to the end of this life. Her reverence for Breath gave us all a deeper gratitude for this existence we each get to work with, play with, and to manifest ourselves.

With deep gratitude to her parents and to her conditioning in Scotland and in Europe as well as here in the US, Jana was a true teacher of the Dharma. Her work continues with her many students and friends.

Jikoji was fortunate to have Jana as a resident for three years. We were able to help with much of her hospice care here until she requested going to the hospital and later to a nursing care facility in San Jose. She was able to see many of her friends and students during that time, and so was able to share her life ending in their midst.

Kaizan Doug Jacobson

______________________________

Religion: Zen Buddhism
School: Sōtō
Lineage: Shunryu Suzuki
Education: B.A.
Dharma names: Gengetsu Junsei
Nationality: Scottish
Born: October 21, 1952
Teaching name: Muhiki Shinna
Died: October 27, 2017 (aged 65)
San Francisco, California, U.S.

Gengetsu Junsei Jana Drakka (October 21, 1952 – October 28, 2017) was a Soto Zen teacher practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. Reverend Gengetsu Junsei Jana Drakka departed on October 28 at 9:16 pm.

With, “Zendo Without Walls,” Rev. Junsei Jana Drakka brought the Dharma received from ZenKei Blanche Hartman on April 30, 2009 to many of San Francisco’s poor, houseless, and marginalized communities. Jana created and taught Harm Reduction Meditation to support people facing great stressors. Jana could often be seen on the streets of San Francisco giving comfort to people who were suffering.

zenkeisangha.org has more on Jana.

Ballad of Louder

by Nico
(to Jana)

i laughed myself to sleep last night
'cause crying never works
fingering my battle scars
from fending off the jerks

i dreamed i was the queen of light
at one with mother earth
without a need to prove a thing
without a place of birth

i dreamed I was some she-wolf fiend
unleashed upon them all
howling at the sun and moon
hear your mistress call

i sang in magic harmonies
a tragic lullaby
a comedy of errors
and kites caught by the sky

i was the ghost of future present past
rolled all in one
the variable variable 
the sum beyond the sum

i found myself a lightning rod
aloft in outer space
stirring up the milky way
to save the human race

i made myself the temple whore
the source of all divine
the one you speak your secrets to
when all is on the line

they tried their worst to take me down
and I cannot be prouder
for that which does not silence me
only makes me louder