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Growing up in the Episcopal Church, Sensei. Mark Kizan Shōgen Bloodgood aspired to become an Episcopal priest during his pre-college years. In the late 1960s and early 1970s, a “subtle feeling” nudged Shōgen to read Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha, Shunryū Suzuki’s Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind, Philip Kapleau’s The Three Pillars of Zen, Huston Smith’s The Religions of Man, and many of the writings of Alan Watts and D.T. Suzuki. Thus, began a love of Eastern religion and philosophy that continues to this day. During this period Shōgen spent time in the Religious Studies Department at Cal State Northridge, California, where he furthered his studies of religion, existentialism, and Buddhism.

On his 50th birthday, during a camping trip in Big Sur, he read an article in Tricycle magazine celebrating the anniversary of Hermann Hesse’s Siddhartha. Shōgen realized he needed to deepen his meditation practice and look for a teacher. In October of 1999, he found his way to the Zen Center of Los Angeles and became a student of Roshi Egyoku Nakao. He received Jukai (lay ordination) in 2005, Tokudo (priest ordination) in 2012, Denkai (preceptor transmission) in 2016, was empowered as a Dharma Holder (Hoshi) in 2019 and received Dharma Transmission (Denbo) in 2019.

Sensei Shōgen has led the San Luis Obispo Zen Circle (SLOZC), an affiliated ZCLA sitting group, for over fifteen years. He also leads a prison sangha at the California Men’s Colony (CMC), where inmates meet weekly for service, meditation, and Dharma teachings.

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