Rick McDaniel

Sunyana Graef

The Vermont Zen Center is located in Shelburne, a small, artistically inclined community outside Burlington. Perhaps because there had been one outside my office for several years, I notice the Peace Pole at the foot of the Center’s drive before I see the official sign set in a small flower bed. The sign bears theContinue reading “Sunyana Graef”

Eshu Martin

There are those – whether ordained or not – for whom teaching Zen is a career. Other teachers – again, lay or ordained – need to have a job on the side to pay the bills. Still others pursue an entirely different professional life while teaching on the side. And there are those who teachContinue reading “Eshu Martin”

Chimyo Atkinson

Great Tree Zen Temple in North Carolina is specifically intended to be a women’s residential center. The teacher is Teijo Munnich, a former Roman Catholic nun and Dharma heir of Dainin Katagiri. In 2018 there were several guests at the temple but only two permanent residents, Teijo and Chimyo Atkinson. Chimyo tells me that herContinue reading “Chimyo Atkinson”

Brother Contemplation

One of the matters I discussed with the monks I met at Blue Cliff Monastery in 2014 – such as Brother Fulfillment – was whether their residence was a lifelong calling. It isn’t always, of course. In fact in traditionally Buddhist cultures, it is not unusual for young males (it tends to be a gender-specificContinue reading “Brother Contemplation”

Dené Granger Redding

Dené Granger Redding is the Head Cook at the Rochester Zen Center. I ask if people refer to her as the “tenzo.” “Occasionally,” she tells me. “When they’re being very formal?” She laughs lightly. “I feel that it gets used in an endearing way.” She is also in the Sangha Programs Coordinator, which, she explains,Continue reading “Dené Granger Redding”

Gerardo Gally

Gerardo Gally is a lay teacher in the Kapleau lineage and the director of Casa Zen in Mexico City. He explains that he first encountered Zen through his wife. “About six months into marriage, I felt curious about why did she get up at six in the morning to sit facing a wall. And itContinue reading “Gerardo Gally”

Patrick Gallagher

I first met Patrick Gallagher in 2013 when I had arranged to interview Sister Elaine MacInnes, the first Canadian to receive Dharma transmission. She was living in a home on the east side of Toronto for members of Our Lady’s Missionaries, a community of Roman Catholic nuns associated with the Scarboro Fathers. She had askedContinue reading “Patrick Gallagher”

Sally Metcalf

This week – the week following Remembrance Day – is recognized as YMCA Peace Week in Canada In 1987 – when I had been with the Y for only two years – the International Committee of the Fredericton YM-YWCA was given responsibility for developing the resources for that year’s national Peace Week activities. I andContinue reading “Sally Metcalf”

Tetsugan Zummach

I met Tetsugan Zummach when she and her husband, Dosho Port, were teaching at Great Tides Zen in Portland, Maine. She later explained that she began her study of Buddhism when she was still in her 20s, prompted by what she termed “an overall feeling of discontent” “Discontent in what way?” “Wondering, looking around andContinue reading “Tetsugan Zummach”