Andy Acker

Andy is a Jikoji Resident and student of Chinese medicine and Zen.  In this "Way Seeking Mind" talk he will describe his practice, how he uses his back-round to care for the body when sitting Zazen/Shikantaza, and what led him (and continues to lead him) to Zen.  After being raised Catholic & having an amicable "break-up" with theism in his late teens, he began studying Taoism & Qigong in 1997 &  Buddhist meditation in 2000 with both Sokuzan Bob Brown & Mike Dosho Port.  He has studied and practiced intensively in the Shambhala, Tibetan Kagyu, & Zen lineages.  Andy moved from Minneapolis to Boulder, Colorado in 2002 to attend Naropa University, where he studied transpersonal psychology, religious studies, somatics, writing, & music- graduating with a BA in 2005.  After a period at Jikoji five years ago, he returned to the midwest and practiced again with Sokuzan Bob Brown at Sokukoji in Michigan, & Dosho Port at Wild Fox Zen Center near Minneapolis.  He has recently returned to California & Jikoji, resuming his studies at Five Branches University in San Jose and Zen training here at Jikoji with Shoho Mike Newhall.

Your generosity supports our teaching and meditation programs, helps us renovate and maintain our buildings and grounds, and lets us extend our teachings and offerings to the world beyond our Santa Cruz Mountains temple as we make a growing number of events available to our expanding online Sangha.