Begoña Kaidō Agiriano

Begoña Kaidō Agiriano is a Spanish Sōtō Zen nun in the Deshimaru–Triet line and the responsible teacher of the Dōjō Zen de Vitoria-Gasteiz in the Basque Country^[1][2]. The dōjō's own Linaje page records that she has been a Zen nun since 1990 ("La responsable de la enseñanza en el dojo de Vitoria-Gasteiz es Begoña Kaidô Agiriano, monja zen desde 1990")^[1], and the Association Zen Internationale's directory of practice centres confirms her institutional role as the centre's responsible teacher^[2].

In 2013 she received Dharma transmission (shihō) from her teacher Raphaël Dōkō Triet^[3][4], formally entering the Sōtō dharma succession via the Deshimaru–Okamoto–Triet line. The Association Zen Internationale's La Gendronnière summer-retreats brochure documents the transmission directly ("Begonia Kaido Agiriano received the Dharma transmission in 2013 from her teacher, Raphaël Doko Triet")^[3], and the Spanish-language Foro Budismo register of Spanish Zen masters records the same fact ("Begoña Kaidó Agiriano… in 2013 receives the transmission of the Dharma from her master Raphaël Dôko Triet (Vitoria)")^[4]. Together with Yves Shōshin Crettaz (Lisbon, also 2013), Hugues Yūsen Naas (2009), and Alfonso Sengen Fernández (Seville, 2017) she is one of four publicly-documented shihō recipients of Triet^[3][4].

Under her guidance the Vitoria-Gasteiz dōjō has functioned as a continuous local seat of Sōtō practice in the Basque Country, hosting regular zazen and serving as the recognised AZI centre for the city^[2]. As a long-standing teacher in the Iberian wing of the Kōsen / Triet network she anchors the Basque community's connection to the wider European AZI federation alongside Triet's other Spanish heirs^[1][3]. Beyond her teaching responsibilities she is active as a translator of Zen literature into Spanish, contributing to the Iberian-language dissemination of Deshimaru-line teaching alongside the Kōsen Sangha's other translation work^[1].