Tokan worked as a nuclear engineer in the Navy for six years, studied at California State University, Stanislaus, and worked with Mother Teresa in Calcutta while traveling around India one summer. There, he met Fr. Bede Griffiths at his Benedictine monastery. These experiences led him to search for the enlivened community of simplicity, harmony, and well-being he had experienced in India. He had a chance encounter with the Rev. Joan Halifax who pointed him to Jakusho Kwong-roshi. Within a month, he was living at SMZC as a resident. He received Jukai from Kwong-roshi in 1991 and spent nearly five years as a resident before meeting his future wife. After more than 25 years working as a landscape/gardening contractor and raising his family, he has returned as a resident and was ordained in 2023. He enjoys sailing and gardening when time permits.