Sweeping Zen

Densho Quintero Interview

2009-11-07T14:39:00.000-08:00

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, published in Editorial Kairós in Barcelona Spain in 2009. 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 2009 he did Zuisse at the two main temples of the Soto Zen School, Eiheiji and Sojiji. He is a full member of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association of North America.

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Ven. Eshu Martin Interview

2009-11-07T14:33:00.000-08:00

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. A thank you to Eshu Martin for his participation.

On the web: http://www.zenwest.ca/

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Zen Master Soeng Hyang Interview

2009-10-09T15:44:00.000-07:00

Zen Master Soeng Hyang (Barbara Rhodes) is the School Zen Master and Guiding Dharma Teacher of the Kwan Um School of Zen. She received dharma transmission from Zen Master Seung Sahn on October 10, 1992. She was one of Zen Master Seung Sahn’s first American students and studied with him since 1972. She was given inka in 1977. A registered nurse since 1969, she works for Hospice Care of Rhode Island. She helped found Providence Zen Center, and lived there for seventeen years, serving in a number of administrative capacities. Zen Master Soeng Hyang has a daughter and lives with her partner, Mary, in Providence.

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Manfred Steger Interview

2009-10-09T15:35:00.000-07:00

Manfred Steger is a Zen teacher currently in retirement, authorized to teach by Robert Aitken-roshi of the Diamond Sangha. He co-led the Princeton Area Zen Group with his partner Perle Besserman and is the author of the book Grassroots Zen.

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Mary Mocine Interview

2009-10-07T03:41:00.000-07:00

Mary Mocine is a Soto Zen priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi currently leading the Vallejo Zen Center (Clear Water Zendo) in Vallejo, California. A Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman of the Berkeley Zen Center, Mary began her Zen practice in 1988 at Berkeley Zen Center and Green Gulch Farm after 18 years of practicing law. I’d like to thank Mary for participating in this project.

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Zen Master Wu Kwang Interview

2009-10-03T15:30:00.000-07:00

Zen master Wu Kwang (born Richard Shrobe) is a Zen teacher in the Kwan Um School of Zen, a dharma heir of the late Zen master Seung Sahn. He currently serves as Guiding teacher of the Chogye International Zen Center of New York and at Three Treasures Zen Center of Oneonta. Before coming to Zen practice, Shrobe studied with Swami Satchidananda and lived for four years at the Integral Yoga Institute in New York. He holds an MA in social work and studied Gestalt therapy for six years, including some time training with Laura Perls. He has taught psychiatry and Gestalt at the university level and also did undegraduate studies in music, studying piano some of that time under the legendary jazz pianist Barry Harris. To date he has authored two books: Open Mouth Already a Mistake (1997) and Don’t Know Mind: The Spirit of Korean Zen (2004).

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Steve Hagen Interview

2009-09-25T14:28:00.000-07:00

Steve Hagen has been a student of Buddhist thought and practice since 1967. In 1975 he became a student of Dainin Katagiri Roshi in Minneapolis and was ordained in 1979. He has studied with teachers in the U.S., Asia, and Europe, and in 1989 received transmission (endorsement to teach) from Katagiri Roshi. He is currently head teacher at Dharma Field in Minneapolis, Minnesota. A thanks to Steve for participating.

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Gerry Shishin Wick interview

2009-09-22T14:51:00.000-07:00

Gerry Shishin Wick is a Zen priest in the White Plum Asanga, a Dharma heir of the late Taizan Maezumi-Roshi. He is President and Spiritual Teacher of Great Mountain Zen Center located in Lafayette, Colorado and is currently President of the White Plum Asanga (the lineage of Maezumi-Roshi’s Dharma heirs). Before this he was an administrator for the Zen Center of Los Angeles and the Kuroda Institute for the Study of Buddhism and Human Values for several years. Wick holds a Ph.D. in Physics from UC Berkeley and has held a variety of secular positions as a journalist, university professor, software developer, and oceanographer. Until 2007 he was Director of electronic publishing for Merriam-Webster. Wick is currently an adjunct professor at Naropa University and he has authored several books, including The Book of Equanimity: Illuminating Classic Zen Koans (Wisdom, 2006). I’d like to thank Shishin for participating.

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Sei’un An Roselyn Stone interview

2009-09-21T15:49:00.000-07:00

Sei’un An Roselyn Stone is a Zen master with the Sanbo Kyodan school of Zen Buddhism, the founder and guiding teacher of Mountain Moon Sangha with centers in Canada and Australia. Authorized as a Zen master in the Sanbo Kyodan by her teacher Yamada Koun-roshi, Stone began her Zen training in Japan in 1977 and had her kensho (“awakening”) confirmed by Yamada-roshi in 1978. Stone has named several successors to date within her sangha. I would like to thank Roselyn for her willingness to participate in this project.

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Kojun Jean Leyshon interview

2009-09-20T14:54:00.000-07:00

Kojun Jean Leyshon interview

Completed on September 20, 2009

Kojun Jean Leyshon is a Soto Zen priest in the lineage of Kobun Chino Otogawa. She began practicing with Dainin Katagiri Roshi at Minnesota Zen Meditation Center in the late 1970s. She moved to New Mexico in 1982, and in 1988 began practicing with Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi at Hokoji near Taos. She was ordained by Chino Roshi in 1994 and in 2003 received dharma transmission in Chino Roshi’s lineage from Vanja Palmers. She is a regular visiting teacher at Silver City Zen Center in southern New Mexico and has led practice at Jikoji Zen Center and Stone Creek Zendo in California, as well as at Hokoji. She lives in the mountains above Taos on land that borders national forest and works as a bookkeeper. I would like to thank Kojun for her willingness to participate.

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Joan Hoeberichts interview

2009-09-19T14:59:00.000-07:00

Joan Hoeberichts interview

Completed September 19, 2009

Joan Hogetsu Hoeberichts is a Zen priest with the White Plum Asanga, the lineage of the late Taizan Maezumi-roshi. On June 12, 1995, she received ordination as a Zen priest from Nicolee Jikyo McMahon, Roshi. The Heart Circle Sangha in Ridgewood, NJ, was founded by Nicolee Jikyo McMahon, Roshi, in Oct. 17, 1996, when Rev. Hoeberichts was authorized as the spiritual director. Rev. Hoeberichts, Sensei, received Dharma Transmission (made a Zen Teacher) from Nicolee Jikyo McMahon, Roshi, on July 31, 2004, and was thus formally authorized to teach the Dharma. Rev. Hoeberichts is also a full-time psychotherapist with a private practice in Manhattan and Montclair, NJ. She has a BA from Cornell University, an MBA from NYU and an MSW from Fordham University. She received post-graduate certifications in Pastoral Psychotherapy and Marriage and Family Therapy from Blanton-Peale Graduate Institute.

Dairyu Michael Wenger interview

2009-09-19T14:57:00.000-07:00

Dairyu Michael Wenger interview

Completed on September 19, 2009

Dairyu Michael Wenger is a Soto Zen priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi and a Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman. A practitioner of Zen Buddhism since 1972, Michael currently oversees Dharma group support at the San Francisco Zen Center in California (where he is a Senior teacher) and is the author of the book 33 Fingers: A Collection of Modern American Koans. He was the editor of Zen Center’s book Wind Bell: Teachings from the San Francisco Zen Center – 1968-2001 and was a contributor to the book Branching Streams Flow in the Darkness: Zen Talks on the Sandokai, a book of lectures by Shunryu Suzuki. He has previously served as President of the San Francisco Zen Center and was also Dean of Buddhist Studies there. Wenger has given Dharma transmission to Darlene Su Rei Cohen and Mark Lancaster.

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Rosan Yoshida interview

2009-09-14T15:02:00.000-07:00

Rosan Yoshida interview

Completed on September 14, 2009

Rosan Osamu Yoshida-roshi is a Soto Zen priest practicing in the lineages of Dainin Katagiri-roshi and Tsugen Narasaki-roshi. He is founder and practice leader of the Missouri Zen Center and has an extensive background in Zen training in both the United States and Japan. The author of many scholarly works and translations, Dr. Yoshida trained for 6 months at Zuioji monastery and completed his Zuise training at Eihiji and Sojiji. I would like to thank Dr. Yoshida for being interviewed on the site.

Paul Dochong Lynch, JDPSN interview

2009-09-12T03:05:00.000-07:00

Paul Dochong Lynch, JDPSN interview

Completed on September 12, 2009

Paul Dochong Lynch, JDPSN (b. 1957), is a Zen teacher in the Seung Sahn lineage of Zen Buddhism, formerly a student of Zen Master Ji Bong, now engaged in advanced studies with James Ishmael Ford Roshi, a Zen Master in the Soto and Harada/Yasutani Lineage of Japanese Buddhism. Paul began practicing Buddhism in 1985 and is the Guiding Teacher of the Five Mountain Sangha. Paul is a poet and author and has written many books on Zen and Poetry. Visit him on the web at: http://www.fivemountain.org/

Maria Teresa (Nenates) Pineda interview

2009-09-10T15:03:00.000-07:00

Maria Teresa (Nenates) Pineda interview

Completed on September 10, 2009

Nenates Pineda (MYÔUN-AN) is a Zen teacher in the Sanbo Kyodan school of Zen, recognized as such by Koun Yamada-Roshi and confirmed by his successor Kubota Ji’un Roshi in 1993. Born in the Phillipines and raised Catholic, Pineda took her Zen orientation at the Phillipine Zendo in 1983. Pineda is a longtime student of Sister Elaine Maclnnes, and currently lives in Toronto, Canada. On Tuesday evenings gathers with others for meditation practice at Holy Rosary Church in Toronto. She also holds sesshin and one days retreats at Scarboro Missions. Read more on her on the web at: http://torontozendo.ca/

Jules Shuzen Harris interview

2009-08-26T03:20:00.000-07:00

Jules Shuzen Harris interview

Completed by email August 26, 2009

Jules Shuzen Harris-sensei is a Zen teacher of the White Plum Asanga, the lineage of the late Taizan Maezumi-roshi. A Dharma heir of Pat Enkyo O’Hara-roshi, Shuzen is one of the first African-American individuals to have received Dharma transmission in the history of Zen Buddhism. He is founder of Soji Zen Center in Pennsylvania and is also an experienced martial artist. He has studied with various teachers of our times, including Taizan Maezumi-roshi, John Daido Loori-roshi, Dennis Genpo Merzel-roshi, and Pat Enkyo O’Hara-roshi. I would like to thank Shuzen-sensei for taking the time to answer our questions for this interview.

See his website at: http://sojizencenter.com/

Daijaku Judith Kinst interview

2009-08-01T15:13:00.000-07:00

Daijaku Judith Kinst interview

Completed in August of 2009

Daijaku Judith Kinst is a Soto Zen priest practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi and a Dharma heir or Sojun Mel Weitsman-roshi. She has taught and led retreats in a variety of settings, including Gampo Abbey with the Venerable Pema Chodron, Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, and Esalen. She holds a Ph.D. in Buddhism and Psychology and teaches graduate courses in contemplative psychology and Buddhism. I would like to thank Daijaku for taking the time to talk with me via phone for this interview.

Eshin Godfrey interview

2009-07-29T03:30:00.000-07:00

Eshin Godfrey interview

Completed on July 29, 2009

Eshin Godfrey is Abbot of the Zen Centre of Vancouver in Canada, a position he has held since 1991. While living in New Zealand he met his teacher, Kyozan Joshu Sasaki-Roshi of the Myoshin-ji branch of Rinzai Zen. Two years later Eshin moved to Mt. Baldy Zen Center where he practiced for four years. While there he underwent traditional Zen training with Joshu-Roshi and eventually ordained and received the Dharma name Eshin.

After completion of formal training in 1985, Eshin assumed responsibility for the Zen Centre of Vancouver. Under his leadership the Zen Centre provides daily zazen, both one- and seven-day (sesshin) intensive retreats in the traditional style, has developed a solid core of students, runs a Zen Studies group, and has moved to a more suitable location. In 1988 he became an Osho (a Rinzai Zen teacher) and was given the Osho name Hoju. In 2001 he married Corinne Zeraffa.

Eshin has two ordained students, a monk E’cho and a nun Myorei. Both are training and helping the centre. I wish to thank him for taking time to participate in this interview.

Myo Denis Lahey interview

2009-07-28T03:18:00.000-07:00

Myo Denis Lahey interview

Completed on July 28, 2009

Rev. Myo Denis Lahey (b. July 14, 1951) is a Soto Zen priest practicing in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi. Myo is practice leader at Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco and at Iron Bell Zendo in Sacramento, California. A Dharma heir of Tenshin Reb Anderson, he serves on the Board of Directors for the Soto Zen Buddhist Association of North America (SZBA) and is a member of the Association for Soto Zen Buddhism of Japan (ASZB). Raised in an observant Roman Catholic home, Myo was drawn to religion and spirituality at an early age and found Zen Buddhism in his teens. He began sitting in 1969 with Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi and befriended many San Francisco Zen Center practitioners and teachers, including Issan Dorsey.

Teido Bill Stephens interview

2009-07-28T03:15:00.000-07:00

Teido Bill Stephens interview

Completed on July 28, 2009

Teido Bill Stephens is a Rinzai Zen teacher with the Blue Ridge Zen Group in Charlottesville, VA. He is a student of Kyozan Joshu Sasaki. Concerning his biography, Teido wrote the following in response to my inquiry in an interview he has done with us:

I was born in Danville, Virginia in 1939. I am married, and have two sons. Concerning my spiritual biography, in essence, it must be about the same as for all who enter the path of Zen. It is as if we are entering a river, wading in, gradually going out further and further until we discover that our feet haven’t been touching bottom, and we are not really in charge. It is the river that is carrying us on. We don’t know where we are going, but the river is ancient and knows its course. When people call out from the shore “What is the river like?”, we can only say “Come on in, if you want to. The water’s fine!” Or maybe we should say “Stay out, if you want to save your self!”

Taigen Dan Leighton interview

2009-07-22T03:27:00.000-07:00

Taigen Dan Leighton interview

Completed on July 22, 2009

Taigen Dan Leighton is a Soto Zen priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi and a Dharma heir of Tenshin Reb Anderson. Taigen is the Guiding Teacher of Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago, Illinois and is an accomplished scholar on Dogen studies in the West. Taigen is an author, scholar, and translator. He still teaches online through the Institute of Buddhist Studies of the Graduate Theological Union, Berkeley, and remains Founding Dharma Teacher and consultant to Mountain Source Sangha in the San Francisco Bay Area. Taigen teaches courses in Buddhism and East Asian Religion at Loyola University in Chicago.

Nomon Tim Burnett interview

2009-07-18T03:36:00.000-07:00

Nomon Tim Burnett interview

Completed on July 18, 2009

Nomon Tim Burnett has been a student of Zoketsu Norman Fischer since 1987 when he was a resident at San Francisco Zen Center’s Green Gulch Farm. After sitting practice periods at Green Gulch and Tassajara Zen Monastery, Tim helped found Red Cedar Zen Community (then the Bellingham Zen Practice Group) in 1991. Tim was ordained as a Zen Priest by Norman in 2000, completed his Shuso (head monk’s) training in 2003 and is now preparing for Dharma Transmission. Like his teacher, Tim is interested in the possibility of deep and complete practice by lay people. A person of wide-ranging professional interests, Tim has been a botanist, elementary schoolteacher, writer, and computer programmer. In addition to his work at the Resident Priest of Red Cedar Zen Community, Tim works as a software developer. I wish to thank Tim for participating in this interview.

Website: http://www.bellinghamzen.org/

Ryuten Paul Rosenblum interview

2009-07-14T03:34:00.000-07:00

Ryuten Paul Rosenblum interview

Completed on July 14, 2009

Ryuten Paul Rosenblum is a Soto Zen priest and Dharma heir of Zentatsu Richard Baker. Ryuten Roshi is a teacher in the Dharma Sangha in both the U.S. and Europe. He spends several months each year as Seido, Resident Teacher, at Buddhistisches Studienzentrum Johanneshof located in the Black Forest in Germany. Ryuten also teaches at other centers throughout Germany, Austria and The Netherlands. He lives in San Anselmo, California.

Website: http://www.ryutenpaulrosenblum.com/

Roger Shikan Hawkins interview

2009-07-10T03:38:00.000-07:00

Roger Shikan Hawkins interview

Completed on July 10, 2009

Roger Shikan Hawkins is the founder and guiding teacher of the Ft. Lauderdale Zen Group in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida. He has studied under various teachers, including Zentatsu Richard Baker, Tenshin Reb Anderson, Taizan Maezumi and Lou Mitsunen Nordstrom, the latter from whom he has received dharma transmission. I would like to thank Roger for participating in this interview.

Denko John Mortensen interview

2009-07-10T03:37:00.000-07:00

Denko John Mortensen interview

Completed on July 10, 2009

Denko John Mortsensen is a Rinzai priest and the guiding teacher of Egely Monastery (Taikyo-ji) located in the small town of Østermarie on the island of Bornholm in Denmark. He began his Zen training in Japan, 1971. There he trained at Ryutaku-Ji, where he met the famous master Soen Nakagawa-Roshi. Later he became a student of one of Soen-Roshi’s Dharma successors, Eido Tai Shimano-Roshi, who ordained him a Buddhist monk on July 4, 1980. In 2002 he received inka, the Rinzai equivalent of Dharma transmission, from Eido-Roshi. I would like to thank Denko for participating in this interview.

Website: http://egelykloster.dk/

Josho Pat Phelan interview

2009-07-08T03:41:00.000-07:00

Josho Pat Phelan interview

Completed on July 08, 2009

Josho Pat Phelan is a Soto Zen priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki currently serving as guiding teacher at Chapel Hill Zen Center in North Carolina. The Chapel Hill Zen Center, in the Spring of 1991, asked the Abbots of the S.F. Zen Center to send Josho Pat Phelan to lead the group. Pat was ordained in 1977 by the former Abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center, Zentatsu Richard Baker, who was Suzuki Roshi’s successor. She has also studied with two of Suzuki Roshi’s other disciples, Sojun Mel Weitsman and Tenshin Reb Anderson. In addition, she practiced with Robert Aitken Roshi of the Diamond Sangha in Hawaii. I wish to thank Josho for participating in this interview.

Website: http://www.intrex.net/chzg/

Myoan Grace Schireson interview

2009-07-06T03:39:00.000-07:00

Myoan Grace Schireson interview

Completed on July 06, 2009

Grace Myoan Schireson is a Soto Zen priest with dual-training in the Rinzai tradition. A Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi and once a student of now retired Rinzai master Keido Fukushima, Myoan-Roshi is founder and guiding teacher of Empty Nest, Valley Heartland, and Fresno River Zen Groups. A retired psychotherapist, she has authored a book on Zen’s female ancestors titled Zen Women: Beyond Tea Ladies, Iron Maidens, and Macho Masters. I would like to thank Myoan-roshi for taking the time to answer my questions.

Website: http://www.emptynestzendo.org/

Grace’s blog at Sweeping Zen

Shinshu Roberts interview

2009-07-03T03:45:00.000-07:00

Shinshu Roberts interview

Completed on July 03, 2009

Shinshu Roberts is co-leader of Ocean Gate Zen Center in Capitola/Santa Cruz with her partner Daijaku Kinst, a Soto Zen priest in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-Roshi. A Dharma heir of Sojun Mel Weitsman, Roberts began her practice at the San Francisco Zen Center in 1986. I wish to thank Shinshu Roberts for taking the time to participate in this interview.

Myozen Melissa Blacker interview

2009-06-25T03:55:00.000-07:00

Myozen Melissa Blacker interview

Completed June 25, 2009

Melissa Myozen Blacker is a Zen priest with Boundless Way Zen, a Dharma heir of James Ishmael Ford. She attended Wesleyan University, earning her BA magna cum laude in Anthropology and Music in 1976. She went on to earn an MA in Counseling Psychology from Vermont College of Norwich University in 1991. Since 1993 she’s worked at the Center for Mindfulness, founded by Jon Kabat-Zinn at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester. She is the associate director of the Stress Reduction Clinic, and a director of professional training and education programs at the Center. Melissa is married to David Dayan Rynick, a Dharma heir of Zen master George Bowman. I would like to thank Melissa for participating in this interview.

Adam Genkaku Fischer interview

2009-06-25T03:51:00.000-07:00

Adam Genkaku Fischer interview

Completed on June 25, 3009

Adam Genkaku Fisher was a student of the late Kyudo Nakagawa-Roshi and is the founder of Black Moon Zendo (www.blackmoonzendo.com) in Massachusetts. He is not a priest or anything, just some wise guy with more than thirty years of practice whom I’ve corresponded with over time. Adam is author of the book Answer Your Love Letters: Footnotes to a Zen Practice and also regularly blogs (http://genkaku-again.blogspot.com/).

Joko Dave Haselwood interview

2009-06-25T03:49:00.000-07:00

Joko Dave Haselwood interview

Completed on June 25, 2009

Joko Dave Haselwood is a Soto Zen priest and guiding teacher of Empty Bowl Sangha in Cotati, California. A Dharma heir of Jisho Warner, Haselwood is also an Associate Teacher at Warner’s Stone Creek Zen Center. Additionally, Dave counts among his teachers Shunryu Suzuki, Philip Whalen and Jakusho Kwong. He is also a member of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association of North America. Dave was a joy to interview and I wish to thank him for participating.

Jissan Larry Christensen interview

2009-06-24T04:00:00.000-07:00

Jissan Larry Christensen interview

Completed on June 24, 2009

Jissan Larry Christensen is a Zen teacher with the Ordinary Mind School currently leading the Zen Center of Portland in Oregon. A Dharma heir of Charlotte Joko Beck, Christensen was ordained a priest at the Zen Center of Los Angeles by Taizan Maezumi-roshi in 1976 and served as his personal attendant. Christensen is also a licensed psychoanalyst and member of both the American Zen Teachers Association and the Soto Zen Buddhist Association of North America. I would like to thank Larry for taking the time to do this interview.

Ven. Jongmae Kenneth Park Interview

2009-06-22T03:54:00.000-07:00

Ven. Jongmae Kenneth Park Interview

Completed June 22, 2009

Ven. Dr. Jongmae Kenneth Park is Bishop of the Overseas Parish for the Taego Order of Korean Buddhism. He is the founder of the Institute of Buddhist Studies Austria (IBS) and the International Mook Rim Society. From 1995 to 2004 he was a Faculty Fellow and Buddhist Director at the University of Southern California and, since 2007, he has held a professorship at Loyola Marymount University—a Jesuit Catholic university. I wish to thank Ven. Jongmae for participating in this interview and for his assitance in securing documentation on the Taego Order of Korean Buddhism.

Carolyn Atkinson interview

2009-06-21T03:58:00.000-07:00

Carolyn Atkinson interview

Completed June 21, 2009

Carolyn Eiko Joshin Atkinson is a Dharma Heir of the late Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi, and has been practicing Zen Buddhist meditation since 1973. She currently serves as guiding teacher of Everyday Dharma Zen Center in Santa Cruz, California. I’d like to thank Carolyn for sitting down to talk with us.

Zuiko Redding interview

2009-06-17T19:40:00.000-07:00

Zuiko Redding interview

Completed on June 17, 2009

Zuiko Redding is a Soto Zen priest and the guiding teacher of Cedar Rapids Zen Center in Iowa. Redding grew up in Texas where she encountered Zen as a university student. She studied in Milwaukee with Tozen Akiyama and in Minneapolis with Dainin Katagiri. In 1992 she was ordained in Japan by Tsugen Narasaki. She remained to practice under his direction at Zuioji Monastery and its mountain training center, Shogoji. She received certification as a teacher in the Soto tradition from Rev. Narasaki in 1996 and returned to the US in 1997. She has done monastic practice at Hokyoji in southern Minnesota. I’d like to thank Zuiko for taking time to do this interview.

Peter Coyote interview

2009-06-16T19:37:00.000-07:00

Peter Coyote interview

Completed on June 16, 2008

Peter Hosho Jishi Coyote, the well-known progressive political activist, actor, and writer, is also an experienced Zen practitioner with many years of sitting under his belt. He began his practice at the San Francisco Zen Center and in 2007 received lay priestly ordination from his teacher, Chikudo Lew Richmond. I wish to thank Peter for having taken the time to complete this interview with me.

Keido Josh Bartok interview

2009-06-11T03:43:00.000-07:00

Keido Josh Bartok interview

Completed on June 11, 2009

Josh Mu’nen Keido Bartok is a Senior Dharma Teacher with Boundless Way Zen at the Ralph Waldo Emerson Sangha and was ordained in July of 2006 by James Ishmael Ford as a Soto Zen priest in the Boundless Way Zen tradition. In 2001, he became James Ford Roshi’s first formal student in the Boston area, and in 2005, James asked him to start the Boston sangha. Josh first encountered Zen practice in 1991 while studying Cognitive Science at Vassar College. In 1992, he became a student of John Daido Loori at Zen Mountain Monastery. After college he was a monastic practitioner at Zen Mountain Monastery for a year and a half. In 2000, he left Loori’s Mountains and Rivers Order, and began studying with Jan Chozen Bays Roshi in Oregon. Together with Rod Meade Sperry he founded Spring Hill Zen in Somerville/Medford, and shortly after met James Ishmael Ford, with whom he and several others helped found the Zen Community of Boston, now called Boundless Way Zen (BoWZ). Additionally, his Dharma is influenced by the Zen teaching of Ezra Bayda and Shin (Pure Land) Buddhism as taught by Shinran Shonen, and interpreted by Tai and Mark Unno. Josh is a staff editor at Wisdom Publications, where he has served as in-house editor for dozens of books on Buddhism and Zen including Hardcore Zen, Mindfulness Yoga, and The Dharma of Star Wars. Recreationally, he is an amateur photographer who shows locally in Boston. I wish to thank Josh for participating in this interview.