Jikoji Zen Center

Tom Tolan (Kinho Bokushu) first practiced with Shoho Mike Newhall in the 1980s, in Milwaukee and at the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, where the late Dainin Katagiri Roshi was abbot. Tom has been Michael's student since 2019 and was priest-ordained by him in October 2021. Tom practices at the Milwaukee Zen Center with Rev. Reirin Gumbel and at Ryumonji Zen Monastery in Iowa with Shoken Winecoff Roshi, and he's taking a course in the Process of Awakening from Rev. Taizen Verkuilen of Madison, Wisconsin. Tom had a career in journalism, working for several newspapers and a magazine. He retired in 2019, and has been concentrating on his Buddhist practice since then. He's married to Priscilla Pardini, a writer, and their son, Casey, is a journalist at CNN. Tom is in the process of receiving transmission at Jikoji.