Monthly Archives: December 2022

During my conversation with Ruben Habito, he mentioned that his wife, Maria, was now the principal teacher at a Zen center in Indiana. “Where in Indiana?” I asked. “South Bend, near the campus of Notre Dame.” “I grew up in LaPorte, about 25 miles west of South Bend,” I told him. “It’s been a while.”Continue reading “Maria Reis Habito”

Just a month after the official opening of the Buddhist Temple of Toledo on April 23, 2022, a young woman in the sangha died. Her body was brought to the temple where a public visitation was held followed by a 24-hour vigil. Such rituals are vitally important to families, friends, and communities, but they areContinue reading “Buddhist Temple of Toledo”

Valerie Forstman is the Guiding Teacher at Mountain Cloud in Santa Fe. Previously she had been a professional orchestral flutist. “Finding Zen,” she tells me, “came out of my life of music.” She was living in Dallas and preparing for an audition, which, she says, “is rather like Olympic training. For three months, I didContinue reading “Valerie Forstman”

At the inauguration of the Buddhist Temple of Toledo last April, Karen Do’on Weik received “denbo,” the second stage in full authorization within the Soto tradition. Do’on is the wife of the temple’s abbot, Rinsen Weik. They met in an aikido class. “I punched him,” she tells me. She was studying to become an EpiscopalianContinue reading “Do’on Weik”