buddhism – Richard Bryan McDaniel

Joko Beck

A conversation with Peg Syverson – Joko Beck died in 2011, before I began doing these interviews. I never met her but have spoken with several people who knew her. Peg Syverson was one of the most informative of these. Joko was the founder of the Ordinary Mind School of Zen and became one ofContinue reading “Joko Beck”

Leonard Marcel

Seven Thunders – Leonard Marcel is a founding member – and current teacher – of Seven Thunders Zen Sangha in Portland, Oregon. He is also a retired psychiatrist and Jungian analyst. He grew up in Brooklyn, ten blocks away from Bernie Glassman’s home neighborhood. “We never knew each other, and, of course, he died aContinue reading “Leonard Marcel”

Pat Hawk

Abridged from Catholicism and Zen – Combining Zen practice and Catholicism is based in “the recognition in experience of a resonance between the two traditions. Many Catholics remark, after their first Zen experience, that it is what they have always been seeking.” So wrote the first Catholic priest born in America to receive Dharma transmission.Continue reading “Pat Hawk”

Michael Elliston

Atlanta Soto Zen Center – Taiun Michael Elliston is the founder and guiding teacher of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center in Georgia. He grew up in Centralia, Illinois. “Named after the Illinois Central Railroad. Due east of St. Louis, about 300 miles south of Chicago. Pretty much in the middle of the state,” he tellsContinue reading “Michael Elliston”

Dan Dorsey

Zen Desert Sangha – Dan Dorsey is the resident teacher at the Zen Desert Sangha in Tucson. He grew up in Texas, and first encountered Buddhism in the library at Stephen F. Austin State University in Nacogdoches where he was studying forestry. “There were only three books in the library on Buddhism, and I readContinue reading “Dan Dorsey”

Nona Strong

Empty Cloud Zen, California – Nona Strong of the Empty Cloud Zen Sangha in Northern California grew up in Oklahoma City. “Both my parents were from smaller towns in Oklahoma. And after World War II, they moved to Oklahoma City and bought a house. They were both educators – teachers – and they had me.Continue reading “Nona Strong”

Soyu Matsuoka

A conversation with Tim Ryuko Langdell – Tim Ryuko Langdell is the guiding teacher at Still Center Zen in Pasadena. He contacted me after I had written a post about the Japanese teachers who first brought Zen practice to North America. I had neglected, he informed me, to include Soyu Matsuoka. In fact, I wasContinue reading “Soyu Matsuoka”

Glenn Webb

Conversations with Genjo Marinello and Kurt Spellmeyer – “I came to Seattle in 1976 as a VISTA volunteer,” Genjo Marinello tells me. Genjo is the abbot of Dai Bai Zan Cho Bo Zen Ji. “I had already started studying Zen in 1975 with Daizen Victoria at the College of Oriental studies and a little bitContinue reading “Glenn Webb”

Issan Dorsey

Maitri Compassionate Care – Issan Dorsey died thirty-five years ago on Sept 6th, 1990, nearly a quarter of a century before I began this pilgrimage into the landscape of North American Zen. What I know about him comes from reading, especially David Schneider’s biography, Street Zen.[1] For me, Issan is a stellar example of aContinue reading “Issan Dorsey”