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”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
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”
Robert Waldinger
Like Mike Fieleke, Bob Waldinger is the resident teacher of a zendo in Newton, the Henry David Thoreau Sangha (“affectionately known as ‘Hank’”). He came to Zen relatively late in life. He was in his 50s. “I had been interested in meditation since I was in my 30s because someone I did my psychological trainingContinue reading “Robert Waldinger”
Henry Shukman
Santa Fe architecture, even for private homes, largely adheres to a handful of local styles—Pueblo, Mission, and what they refer to as “Territorial.” The Mountain Cloud Zen Center on the Old Santa Fe Trail is in Pueblo style: thick adobe walls, flat roof, softly rounded corners, and projecting viga rafters. It was built by PhilipContinue reading “Henry Shukman”
Grover Genro Gauntt
Genro Gauntt is one of the co-founders of the Zen Peacemakers movement which grew out of Bernie Glassman’s street retreats where, instead of sitting on cushions in a zendo, participants lived for a week on the streets with the homeless. I ask Genro how that is Zen practice. “Zen isn’t about learning a Japanese form.Continue reading “Grover Genro Gauntt”
From My Correspondence with Albert Low
I recently came upon a file of email exchanges I had with Albert Low when I first began formal Zen practice, during an era prior to the advent of Skype or Zoom. These are some extracts from that correspondence: “Our practice is to follow the breath. While thoughts may present a great obstacle to doingContinue reading “From My Correspondence with Albert Low”
Koun Franz
The first time I met Koun Franz, a friend and I had arranged to visit his center in Halifax. We arrived early and found the door locked. Then we saw a young man with a shaved head, wearing Japanese samugi, approaching with a wide smile. “Wouldn’t it be great if I wasn’t the guy?” heContinue reading “Koun Franz”
Mike Fieleke
Mike Fieleke is the resident teacher at the Morning Star Zen Sangha in Newton, Massachusetts. “I was raised Protestant,” he tells me, “and that actually planted the seeds of practice, because I felt as a child – I bet many children do – a kind of sacred presence that was a mystery to me thatContinue reading “Mike Fieleke”
Richard Bryan McDaniel 