Val Szymanski is the founding teacher of Bamboo in the Wind, a Zen practice group that meets in Sunnyvale. She was ordained by Diane Martin in the Danin Katagiri Roshi lineage. Reverend Val is an esteemed calligrapher and offers calligraphy workshops, as well as dharma studies. For more information about Bamboo in the Wind, go to: www.bamboointhewind.org.
Shinshu was ordained in 1988 and received teacher certification in 2005 from Sojun Mel Weitsman, Abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. She trained for 17 years at the San Francisco Zen Center holding various leadership positions. She holds the appointment of Kokusaifukyoshi (International Teacher) with the Soto Zen School in Japan.
Greg Campbell is a Staff Resident who also serves as Business Manager at Jikoji. Greg was born in Washington state in 1938. He joined the Marines while still a teenager. He later practiced Zen Buddhism and studied Japanese culture in Japan. Back in America in his late twenties, he became a nurse, served as an interpreter-monk for Sasaki Joshu Roshi, and studied world mysticism. In Europe in his fifties he served as an ecumenical counsellor/comforter for the dying and also gave talks, retreats, and educational programs. He received lay ordination from Michael Newhall at Jikoji.
At 18, Ying arrived in the U.S from China. Now she leads design efforts for emerging markets at LinkedIn. She’s also a translator and interpreter, and an experiential and outdoor educator. She has traveled to five continents and 30 countries, always affirmed by people's relationship with the environment they live in--their creativity and spirituality in everyday life. At a young age she envisioned a world without borders and is constantly inspired by the next generation of global citizens and their steady movement toward connection.
Joseph W Hall is a resident priest at Jikoji Zen Center. His energy is enthusiastically focused on the nexus between Lay Practice and the Monastic world and he is fascinated by the ways in which we interpret the world and the means by which physical motion trains the mind. He wakes up in the morning excited to witness the ongoing birth of American Zen. His favorite words are Sublime, Exquisite, and Ravissant. His blog can be found here.
A Wayseeking mind is the first talk given by a Zen student and is the story of how we arrived on the cushion. As Michael says,"Zen has colorfully and seamlessly sewn together the fabric of my entire spiritual and philosophical journey." His talk begins with playing lead guitar in a heavy metal band in the 80's which was the inspiration to get a doctorate and to establish himself as a Christian Philosopher until a car wreck led to Hinduism and becoming a resident of Jikoji. To understand how this all fits together, don't miss Michael's talk.
Shoho Michael Newhall was ordained and transmitted by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi. Prior to his installation as Jikoji’s Resident Teacher, he taught art and Buddhism at Naropa University, the Art Institute of Chicago, and other universities in the midwest. He leads sesshins and meditation workshops at Zen centers in the U.S. and Europe. Shoho has also practiced and studied with Keibun Otogawa in Japan, Dainin Katagiri Roshi, and Tenshin Reb Anderson.
After only 40 years of practice, Cliff Isberg, PhD, was ordained by Shoho Michael Newhall as a Soto Zen Buddhist Monk in 2010. A longtime student of Kobun Chino, he sometimes serves as one of Jikoji's oversight managers. Cliff has created and maintains a growing archive of the teachings and life of our founding teacher.
Dan Zigmond was ordained as a priest by Kobun Chino Otagawa Roshi in 1998, and was Shuso with Michael Newhall in 2009. He has been a regular speaker at Jikoji over the years. In addition to his day job at Hampton Creek Foods, he is a Contributing Editor at Tricycle, and an occasional contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. He also started two wheelchair factories in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Dan's practice is wide ranging.
Vincent Horn is a mind hacker & buddhist geek. He has been practicing meditation intensively since his freshman year in college—including a full year doing intensive silent retreat practice. He began teaching meditation in 2010 with the encouragement of his own teachers, Kenneth Folk and Daniel Ingram. In addition, in 2006, Vincent cofounded Buddhist Geeks, which has gone on to become one of the most important venues for exploring the future of Buddhist thought & practice for new generations. You can find out more about Buddhist Geeks on the pages of the Los Angeles Times, Fast Company, and Tricycle. Vincent was also honored to be part of Wired UK’s "Smart List 2012: 50 people who will change the world." Along with his wife and creative partner Emily Horn, he makes his home in Asheville, North Carolina—that is until the distinction between atoms and bits dissolves.
Angie Enji Boissevain was a student of Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi for 40 years and was one of his students who, with Kobun, created and founded Jikoji, where she was director during its first twelve years. For a long time she was a visiting teacher to a number of distant sanghas, as well as guiding teacher for Floating Zendo in San Jose. Floating Zendo is now her primary focus, and she also offers occasional writing workshops in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Shoho Michael Newhall was ordained and transmitted by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi. Prior to his installation as Jikoji’s Resident Teacher, he taught art and Buddhism at Naropa University, the Art Institute of Chicago, and other universities in the midwest. He leads sesshins and meditation workshops at Zen centers in the U.S. and Europe. Shoho has also practiced and studied with Keibun Otogawa in Japan, Dainin Katagiri Roshi, and Tenshin Reb Anderson.
After meeting Kobun Chino Roshi in Austria, Shoho received priest ordination in 2000 from Vanja Palmers and traveled to US/Tassajara to receive training. Having studied at all three centers of the SFZC, Shoho became resident of Jikoji in 2009. By 2010 she moved to join her partner Kokyo's life in Santa Cruz. Since then she picked up training in the Tibetan Nyingma tradition, which also led her to study in Nepal, where she currently studies Buddhism at the Rangjung Yeshe Institute.
Kokyo Henkel leads a new generation of Buddhist scholars and is currently Head Teacher at Santa Cruz Zen Center. Kokyo's interests include looking at how the classic original teachings of Buddha-Dharma from ancient India, China, and Japan are still very much alive and useful in present-day America to bring peace and harmony to this troubled world. Click here for more about Kokyo.
Shoho Michael Newhall was ordained and transmitted by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi. Prior to his installation as Jikoji’s Resident Teacher, he taught art and Buddhism at Naropa University, the Art Institute of Chicago, and other universities in the midwest. He leads sesshins and meditation workshops at Zen centers in the U.S. and Europe. Shoho has also practiced and studied with Keibun Otogawa in Japan, Dainin Katagiri Roshi, and Tenshin Reb Anderson.
