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Zen Mountain Monastery [This is an abridgement of my chapter on ZMM in Cypress Trees in the Garden.] John Daido Loori, the founder of Zen Mountain Monastery, had been dead for four years when I visited ZMM in 2013 to conduct a series of interviews. On my second day, I was introduced to the monastery’sContinue reading “John Daido Loori”

Zen Center of Los Angeles Katherine Senshin Griffith is an actress, a writer, and a stand-up comedian. She is also the current head teacher at the Zen Center of Los Angeles. She was raised in Texas and, on occasion, slips back into the regional accent. Her father had been a professor at Our Lady ofContinue reading “Katherine Senshin Griffith”

Bright Sea Zen Sangha, Weymouth, MA When Kate Hartland was growing up, her parents were atheists, but Kate wondered if she was missing something. “My neighbors were all involved in churches, and I felt the lack of something.” So at the age of ten, she walked to a local church, “maybe a mile away,” wentContinue reading “Kate Hartland”

Russian River Zendo Cynthia Kear is a Soto priest in the Shunryu Suzuki lineage attached to the Russian River Zendo north of San Francisco. She is also one of the most articulate spokespeople for that form of Zen I have interviewed. She was raised on the East coast, but after college she moved across theContinue reading “Cynthia Kear”

Zen Center of Denver Peggy Sheehan is one of the Spiritual Directors – along with Karin Kempe  – of the Zen Center of Denver founded by Danan Henry, an heir of Philip Kapleau. Both Peggy and Karin have medical degrees, although Karin is now retired. I ask Peggy if she is jealous. She laughs andContinue reading “Peggy Sheehan”

Bread Loaf Mountain, Vermont Joshin Byrnes is the founder and Guiding Teacher of the Bread Loaf Mountain Zen Community in Vermont. He is also active in Bernie Glassman’s “Zen Peacemakers” and continues the tradition of Street Retreats that Bernie had conducted, bringing Zen practitioners to live among the homeless in urban centers Joshin’s life storyContinue reading “Joshin Byrnes”

Endless Path Zendo, Rochester, NY Rafe Martin’s Endless Path Zendo is located three blocks from the famous Rochester Zen Center established by Philip Kapleau. “You went toe-to-toe with the Kapleau people?” I ask, in surprise. “No,” he assures me. “My wife and Roshi Kapleau and I were very, very close. His daughter says we wereContinue reading “Rafe Martin”

Dharma Rain, Portland, Oregon Gyokuko Carlson is the retired abbot of the Dharma Rain Zen Center in Portland, Oregon, which she co-founded with her husband Kyogen Carlson, who died in 2014. The two met at Shasta Abbey, the primary teaching center of the Soto teacher, Jiyu Kennett. Although Gyokuko served as Kennett’s attendant for aContinue reading “Gyokuko Carlson”

Benevolent Zen Sangha, Providence James Córdova was a member of the Boundless Way community in New England, which – as he puts it – “sort of split apart, and then I was affiliated with Greater Boston Zen Center for a while, and then we sort of split apart from them, and now we’re doing anotherContinue reading “James Córdova”