Rōshi Mark Kizan Shōgen Angyo Bloodgood

Raised in the Episcopal Church, Rōshi Shōgen aspired to become an Episcopal priest in his youth. But in the late 1960s and early ’70s, a “subtle feeling” nudged him toward the spiritual teachings of the East. This quiet shift began with Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha, and deepened through the writings of Shunryū Suzuki, Philip Kapleau, Huston Smith, Alan Watts, and D.T. Suzuki. During this formative period, he studied religion, existentialism, and Buddhism at California State University, Northridge.

For decades, Shōgen considered himself a “closet intellectual Buddhist.” But on his 50th birthday, during a camping trip in Big Sur, an article in Tricycle magazine reignited his practice. Inspired, he sought a teacher and found his way to the Zen Center of Los Angeles in 1999, where he became a student of Rōshi Egyoku Nakao.

His formal Zen path unfolded over the next two decades: receiving Jukai in 2005, Tokudo in 2012, Denkai in 2016, Dharma Holder empowerment in 2019, Dharma Transmission in December 2019, and Inka Shōmei in December 2025.

Rōshi Shōgen has led the San Luis Obispo Zen Circle for over 20 years. He also leads a prison sangha at the California Men’s Colony, where he offers weekly services, meditation, and Dharma talks. He recently retired from his work as a hospice chaplain.

He is a member of the White Plum Asanga, the Zen Peacemakers, the American Zen Teachers Association, and an associate member of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association.

Active in the interfaith community, Shōgen participates in the San Luis Obispo Ministerial Association and Opening Doors of Interfaith Understanding.

He lives in Los Osos, California, with his wife, Karla.