Uncategorized – Page 16 – Richard Bryan McDaniel

Dang Nghiem [Huynh Thi Ngoc Huong]

At Blue Cliff Monastery outside Pine Bush, NY, Sister Dang Nghiem tells me people call her Sister D. She is Vietnamese by birth The Vietnamese language is tonal, and there is an element of that tonality in the way in which she speaks English. “My mother passed away by the time I was twelve, andContinue reading “Dang Nghiem [Huynh Thi Ngoc Huong]”

Sandra González

Driving along a county road in an agricultural region of New York State, I miss the side road to the Springwater Center on my first pass, come to a dead end, turn around, and watch more closely on the way back. Even when I pull onto the gravel road indicated, I’m not entirely sure I’mContinue reading “Sandra González”

Dosho Port

When I first met Dosho Port, he was still living and working outside of St. Paul, Minnesota, in a place called White Bear. It was not somewhere I was going to get to when I was doing my tour of centers in 2013, but, as chance has it, he was giving a workshop at theContinue reading “Dosho Port”

Taigen Henderson

The Toronto Zen Centre is on High Park Gardens in a well-to-do neighborhood on the west side of the city. I follow a stone path around the house to the back entrance passing carefully cultivated and maintained flower beds adorned with elegant Bodhisattva statues. Downstairs there is a Zendo (with about twenty-six places) and aContinue reading “Taigen Henderson”

Bodhin Kjolhede

There is a bumper sticker on Bodhin Kjolhede’s car that reads: “Ask me about my vow of silence.” We are driving to the Rochester Zen Center’s retreat house, located at Chapin Mill, forty minutes from the city. Bodhin’s hair is short, but not shaved off, and he is dressed in a navy blue short-sleeve shirtContinue reading “Bodhin Kjolhede”

Genjo Marinello

I would eventually have an opportunity to spend time at Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji in Seattle, meeting its abbot – Genjo Marinello – and joining the regular morning sitting group not only for zazen but also for coffee at a local cafe which has a table waiting for them. No one blinksContinue reading “Genjo Marinello”

AZTA Conference – July 8, 2021

[photo above with Genjo Marinello Roshi] [The American Zen Teachers’ Association invited me to address their Annual Conference on July 8, 2021. This is the text of that speech.] I started writing because my leg broke. I’d been taking a medication for osteoporosis called Fosamax. You used to see a lot of ads for FosamaxContinue reading “AZTA Conference – July 8, 2021”

Bobby Rhodes/Zen Master Soeng Hyang

In addition to the Japanese teachers who came to North America in the ’60s and ’70s, there were also Zen teachers from China, Vietnam, and Korea. The focus of my early books had been on the tradition as it came from Japan, but people frequently mentioned the importance in America of the Korean teacher, SeungContinue reading “Bobby Rhodes/Zen Master Soeng Hyang”

David Dae An Rynick

David Rynick is the husband of Melissa Blacker and, with her, co-teacher at the Boundless Way Zen Temple in Worcester. He is also a potter, and some of his pieces are displayed on the temple grounds. When I first visited the temple in 2013, David told me a story which I have frequently repeated since.Continue reading “David Dae An Rynick”