New Interview with Eshu Martin

New Interview with Eshu Martin

Ven. Eshu Martin has been the guiding force behind the Victoria Zen Centre since his arrival in Victoria in 1995. Ordained by Kyozan Joshu Sasaki Roshi in January 1999, Eshu practiced in the Rinzai-ji lineage of Rinzai zen until February 2008. His continuous practice is complemented by his extensive front-line experience both with youth in the care of the Ministry for Children and Family Development, and most recently with Mental Health and Addictions Services for the Vancouver Island Health Authority. Since November of 2005, Eshu has been dedicated full-time to the practice and development of the Victoria Zen Centre and the Buddhist community on Vancouver Island.

Eshu is also committed to increasing awareness of, and creating more opportunities for, Buddhist practice in the Greater Victoria area. To this end he is the Buddhist Chaplain at the University of Victoria's Interfaith Chaplaincy, is the past chair of the World Interfaith Education Association (BC) and has been a committee member on the Vancouver Island Health Authority's Spirituality in Mental Health and Addictions Initiative.

Read the Interview:
http://www.sweepingzen.com/Eshu_Martin_Interview.html

New Interview with Densho Quintero

New interview available with Densho Quintero

Densho Quintero is a Soto Zen priest and Dharma heir of Shohaku Okumura Roshi (head teacher of Sanshin Zen Community in Bloomington Indiana and Director of the Soto Zen Buddhism International Center). Densho is the director of the Daishin Temple of the Soto Zen Community of Colombia in Bogotá. He started practicing in 1984 and received monk ordination in France in 1987. In 1989, he founded in Bogota a center for the diffusion and practice of Soto Zen. In October 2001, he received Tokudo and the name of Densho in Antaiji, by the abbot Ven. Shinyu Miyaura. After Miyaura Roshi's death in February 2002, he became student of Shohaku Okumura Roshi. In December 2007 he completed the ceremony of Hossenshiki in Sao Paulo Brazil, with Rev. Dosho Saikawa Sokan. He translated the Book Opening the hand of Thought by Kosho Uchiyama Roshi into Spanish (to be published). In November 2006 he published the book Conciencia zen (Spanish Edition) (Zen Consciousness) with Editorial Albatros from Argentina. In March 2009, he received Dharma Transmission from Okumura Roshi. In 2007 he did Zuisse at the two main temples of the Soto Zen School, Eiheiji and Sojiji.

Read Interview:
http://www.sweepingzen.com/Densho_Quintero_Interview.html

Zen Buddhism & Second Life

Article
Some of you may be aware of Second Life—a virtual reality platform where users create an avatar and socialize with others whilst immersed in a 3D simulated environment. Various companies, universities, and religious institutions have a virtual presence in the game, reaching demographics which often include the disabled or geographically isolated. Everything one sees on the platform is user created, signing up is free, and there is also a working economy. Depending on who you talk to, a person might say this is a game, a communication outlet, a marketing tool, or an educational experience. They could make a good argument for any and all of these descriptions.

Recently, various Zen teachers have been staking their virtual presence in Second Life. They’ve been giving talks at a location in Second Life known as Kannonji Zen Retreat, a Buddhist community of more than 1300 members. Reverend Jiun Foster, a Bodhisattva priest with the Five Mountain Order of Korean Zen, actually has his own Five Mountain temple there and gives Dharma talks, provides meditation instruction, and fields audience questions. Roger Shikan Hawkins, a Soto priest and Dharma heir of Lou Mitsunen Nordstrom-roshi, will be giving a Dharma talk on October 30th at 4 PM there. In addition to Rev. Jiun and Shikan, other teachers have agreed to come aboard to give a talk at some point in the future. These include Soto priest Jundo Cohen of Treeleaf Zendo, James Ishmael Ford-roshi of Boundless Way Zen, and Nomon Tim Burnett of the Everyday Zen Foundation.

You might be thinking that this all sounds very interesting but are unsure of the significance. After all, there are various other ways for individuals to interact online with teachers—internet forums, podcasts, websites, Skype, email, etc. Why is Second Life anything more than just another form of technology? That is a valid question. Second Life is just another technology, but the interactions therein are as real as anything else. Its overall value to us is found in the value we are willing to place in it. There is an intimacy one discovers when sitting in a room full of others, listening to the same Dharma talk in real time—an immediacy in being able to ask the teacher a question and receive an answer. There is also talk of conducting Jukai ceremonies and various other services in the future.

While the target audience may be persons without convenient access to a Dharma Center, Buddhism in Second Life can serve to enrich everyone’s practice. Where else can you attend a Dharma talk with visiting teachers without ever leaving home—asking questions and eventually developing very real relationships with them? I think that what these teachers and Kannonji Zen Retreat are doing is commendable. In a technology age such as ours, we really must embrace what there is to be offered in order to effectively spread the Buddhadharma.

Click Here to visit Kannonji in Second Life
(requires client application install)

Manfred Steger Interview

Hey everybody! This interview is being published late as I took a short break from the website to catch up on other affairs. This one is with Manfred Steger, now retired from the Princeton Area Zen Group and authorized to teach by Robert Aitken-roshi of Diamond Sangha. Manfred is the author of Grassroots Zen and it was an honor to interview him.

Manfred Steger Interview

John Daido Loori death

Dear friends,

As some of you may know by now, John Daido Loori-roshi of the Mountains and Rivers Order passed away earlier today after a tough bout with lung cancer. Daido Loori was one of Taizan Maezumi-roshi's twelve Dharma successors and the founder of Zen Mountain Monastery, now under the leadership of Konrad Ryushin Marchaj and Geoffrey Shugen Arnold. Nearly everyone in the American Zen community knew or knew of this man. Reverend Nonin Chowaney remembered first meeting Daido Loori, stating, "I always enjoyed his company and was impressed by his spiritual depth. I first met him when Kyogen Carlson and I were taking a walk at Zen Mountain Monastery prior to an AZTA meeting. Daido came along driving a jeep and Kyogen introduced me to him. He was wearing jeans and a plaid shirt and was smoking a cigarette. His smile showed a hole from two missing front teeth, and his rolled up shirt exposed a big tattoo on his forearm. I thought right then that he was my kind of guy!"

He will be remembered by many.

Photo by Rachael Romero

Zen Master Soeng Hyang Interview

Here is our latest interview with the school master and guiding teacher of the Kwan Um School of Zen, Zen master Soeng Hyang (Bobby Rhodes). Bobby was a student of Zen master Seung Sahn since 1972 and was also one of his earliest students. She received Dharma transmission from him in 1992. I must admit this interview was rather exciting for me, as my earliest interests in Zen came through the teachings of Zen master Seung Sahn. It was great to interview both ZM Soeng Hyang and ZM Wu Kwang. She is a very warm person--down to earth.

Zen master Soeng Hyang Interview

Mary Mocine Interview

New interview available with Mary Mocine of the Vallejo Zen Center in Vellejo, California. Mary is a Soto Zen priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi and a Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman. She has practiced Zen for more than twenty years and is also a former practitioner of law, a career she gave up to more steadfastly devote herself to Zen practice. I'd like to thank Mary for participating in the project.

Mary Mocine Interview

New biography:
Ian Hakuryu Forsberg