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”
Category Archives: Uncategorized
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”
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”
