Kyoki Roberts
Rev. Kyōki Roberts | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Christine Munroe Roberts December 17, 1951 Sewickley, Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Died | December 19, 2023 (age 72) Omaha, Nebraska, U.S. |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Buddhism |
| School | Sōtō |
| Senior posting | |
| Predecessor | Nonin Chowaney |
Rev. Kyōki Roberts (OPW) (December 17, 1951 – December 19, 2023),[1] born Christine Munroe Roberts, was an American Sōtō Zen priest from Pennsylvania. She was founder and head priest of the Zen Center of Pittsburgh.
Early life and education
[edit]Christine Roberts[2] was from Sewickley, Pennsylvania, the daughter of Joseph Loughrey Roberts Jr. and Helen Shaw Roberts. She was raised on her family's farm; her father also owned a jewelry store.[3] She graduated from Sewickley Academy in 1969, and earned a degree in agriculture from Colorado State University in 1973.[1] She studied Buddhism in Minnesota, California, and Japan in the 1990s, after her marriage ended.[4]
Career
[edit]Roberts ran an organic farm near Yutan, Nebraska, with her husband in the 1980s, and worked as a professional mediator, helping other farmers negotiate with creditors.[5] "We were literally telling people to check their guns at the door," she later recalled of that work.[6] She was ordained as a Zen priest in 1993, and chose the name Kyōki Einin Roberts at that time.[7][8][9]
In September 2000,[7] she opened the Zen Center of Pittsburgh on a six-acre farm in Bell Acres.[4] Her teacher Nonin Chowaney attended the center's dedication.[7] The facility hosted overnight guests and services on weekdays, which raised local concerns about land use and traffic.[10] She published a cookbook, Stone Soup, in 2002.[2] She taught meditation to prisoners in Cambria County.[7]
Roberts blended her practice with art during the 2003 exhibition Gestures: An Exhibition of Small Site-Specific Works at The Mattress Factory Museum in Pittsburgh. Her installation exhibit, No where to go; nothing to do: Just Sitting, invited visitors to experience aspects of Zazen (seated meditation).[11]
Chowaney represented the Order of the Prairie Wind when he returned to the Zen Center to assist Roberts in performing an ordination in 2005.[12] In 2008, Roberts helped welcome a handmade erhu to Pittsburgh.[13] In 2011, she founded An Olive Branch, a project to address the aftermath of sexual misconduct scandals in religious communities.[6]
Personal life
[edit]Roberts married Charles Eliason and had a son, Joe. She and Eliason divorced in 1989. In 2016, she moved to Omaha, Nebraska, to care for the aged Chowaney and to be closer to her grown son and his family.[1] Her existing health issues were exacerbated by COVID-19 in 2021, and she used a supplemental oxygen in her last years.[5] Chowaney died in 2022, and she died in 2023, at the age of 72, in Omaha.[9]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b c "Kyoki Roberts Obituary". Zen Fields. Archived from the original on 2025-01-25. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ a b Miller, Jane (November 7, 2002). "Meals of Meditation". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. E1, E6. Archived from the original on June 18, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Hipwell, Alisha (April 26, 2007). "Downtown jewelry store owner was treasurer of Sewickley fox hunting club". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 114. Retrieved June 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Pitz, Marylynne (December 4, 2000). "Buddhist priest at center of controversy". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 21. Archived from the original on June 18, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b Severens, Gene (2024-04-03). "The early Center years: remembering the 'Center's first client,' Chris Roberts (Kyoki)". Center for Rural Affairs. Archived from the original on 2024-11-14. Retrieved 2025-06-18.
- ^ a b Rodgers, Ann (March 28, 2011). "Finding Zen amid a church scandal". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. 1, 2. Archived from the original on June 18, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b c d Miller, Jane (September 27, 2000). "Locally-bred Zen priest preaches 'just sitting'". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 93. Archived from the original on June 18, 2025. Retrieved June 17, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Miller, Jane (October 4, 2000). "Zen path leads to meditation center on farm". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 107. Retrieved June 17, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ a b "Memorial Service for Kyoki Einin Roberts". Nebraska Zen Center. Archived from the original on 14 March 2024. Retrieved 14 March 2024.
- ^ "Buddhist priest takes town to court". Public Opinion. November 30, 2000. p. 21. Retrieved June 17, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ "No where to go; Nothing to do: Just Sitting". Mattress Factory. Archived from the original on March 15, 2025. Retrieved June 18, 2025.
- ^ Ganster, Kathleen (September 29, 2005). "Following a chosen path". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. p. 79. Retrieved June 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
- ^ Vranish, Jane (July 27, 2008). "Pulling strings; Youth Symphony helps bring hndmade Chinese erhu safely to Pittsburgh". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. pp. 35, 37. Retrieved June 18, 2025 – via Newspapers.com.
.svg){kind=small}