Teachers on this page have taught at MZC or I have done shesshins with them or met them personally
-michael
Diane Martin and Michael -1996, My first Zen Teacher
SOJUN DIANE MARTIN started her training at
the San Francisco Zen Center in 1970 with Suzuki roshi. She began studying with Katagiri Roshi in 1979 and was lay ordained
by him in 1985. She was priest ordained by Yvonne Rand in 1995 and received Dharma transmission from Karen Sunna, Abbess of
the Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, in 2001. Three of the four teachers on Diane's transmission committee are of the
Suzuki lineage. Diane also holds a Doctorate degree in psychology and is a practicing psychoanalys and is the head of Udumbara
Zen Center in Evanston,IL.
Rev. Val Szymanski.
Rev. Val Szymanski leader of Bamboo In The Wind in Sunnyvale,
CA
L to R- Michael,Taigen Dan Leighton Roshi, Dean Williams at Cleveland Buddhist Temple
Taigen Dan Leighton
is a Soto Zen priest
and Dharma successor in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. Taigen first studied Buddhist art and culture in Japan in 1970,
and began formal everyday zazen and Soto practice
in 1975 at the New York Zen Center with Kando Nakajima Roshi. This led to his returning to graduate in East Asian Studies
and study Japanese language at Columbia College. Through the 70’s Taigen was also an award-winning documentary film
editor in New York and San Francisco, including work for NBC News and Bill Moyers Journal. While editing TV news, it was necessary
for Taigen to learn about the one who is not busy. Taigen left his filmmaking career in 1979 to work full time for the San
Francisco Zen Center at the Tassajara Bakery, and he was ordained in 1986 by Reb Anderson Roshi.
Lama Kathy
LAMA KATHY WESLY (Lama Gyurme Chotso) has been
a student of Tibetan Buddhism for over 25 years. She started down this path in 1977 when, as a reporter for her newspaper
the Newark Advocate, she interviewed Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche. Later on from June 1993 to May 1996 she completed
a traditional 3 year meditation retreat at Karme Ling Retreat Center in Delhi, NY under Ven. Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche and now
serves as the resident teacher at K.T.C.(Karma Thegsum Choling) Tibetan Buddhist Meditation Center in Columbus, Ohio of which
she is a cofounder.
Bardo Tulku Rinpoche
Bardor Tulku Rinpoche teaches and works tirelessly in Woodstock.
In conjunction with Venerable Khenpo Karthar Rinpoche, Abbot of KTD, Bardor Rinpoche skillfully guides, participates in practice
retreats, leads pujas and teaches students at affiliate Karma Thegsum Cholings and Karma Kagyu Study Groups. Bardor Rinpoche's
teaching style is not confined to formal settings. Away from the shrine room, Rinpoche's warmth and openness communicates
simply and directly, the compassionate wisdom of the Buddha Dharma. And is the Tulku that I took refuge with in 1996.
Daniel Terragno
Daniel Terragno Roshi a native of Chile, is a teacher in the koan tradition of the Diamond
Sangha, which was founded by Robert Aitken Roshi. Daniel is the dharma heir of John Tarrant Roshi of the Pacific Zen Institute.
Daniel started his spiritual practice in 1967 studying the Gurdjieff Work with W. A. Nyland before taking up Zen. Daniel received
authorization to teach Zen in 1995, and in 2001 received dharma transmission from John Tarrant Roshi. He is also a cabinet
maker and lives in CA.
Reb Anderson and Michael
Reb Anderson Roshi is a lineage-holder
in the Soto Zen tradition. Born in Mississipi, he grew up in Minnesota and left advanced study in mathematics and Western
psychology to come to Zen Center in 1967. He practiced with Suzuki Roshi, who ordained him as a priest in 1970 and gave him
the name Tenshin Zenki ("Naturally Real, The Whole Works"). He received dharma transmission in 1983 and served as
abbot of San Francisco Zen Center's three training centers (City Center, Green Gulch Farm and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center)
from 1986 to 1995. Tenshin Roshi continues to teach at Zen Center, living with his family at Green Gulch Farm. He is author
of "WARM SMILES FROM COLD MOUNTAINS: Dharma Talks on Zen Meditation" and "BEING UPRIGHT: Zen Meditation and
the Bodhisattva Precepts"
Edward Espe Brown and Michael
Edward Espe Brown has been practicing Zen since
1965 (and yoga since 1980), and has been head resident teacher at each of the San Francisco Zen Centers: Tassajara, Green
Gulch, and City Center. He has led meditation retreats and cooking classes throughout the United States, as well as Austria,
Germany, Spain, and England. He is the author of several cookbooks including The Tassajara Bread Book and Tomato Blessings
and Radish Teachings, and is the editor of Not Always So, a newly published book of lectures by Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. He has
also done extensive Vipassana practice.
Kaaren Wiken
Sensei Kaaren Wiken is a
Jukai Sewing Teacher in the lineage tradition of Soto Zen Buddhism. She was Lay Ordained by Katagiri Roshi in 1983 and was
taught her Jukai sewing skills by Katagiri Roshi's wife Tomoe Katagiri. She has helped many, many people sew their
Rakusu (Okesa) to take their first important step in becoming Lay Ordained Buddhists and Ordained Buddhist Priests.She
and her husband Tom are artists and live on their farm in WI.
Beverly Morgan
Beverly Morgan(Dances Bear Medicine) is
a medicine person in the tradition of the Lakota Sioux. She grew up in Bucyrus Ohio and moved to Mansfield in 1970 where
I met her in 1973. Living in the area for 30 years her work found her involved in service to the people through agency's
in and around Richland Co. Over the years her earth centered awareness inspired her to become an artist / potter
and eventually led her to Native American Spirituality. She has studied with many Lakota (Sioux) and other medicine people
over the past 12 years. She dances yearly at the sacred Sun Dance ceremony in South Dakota on the Rosebud Sioux
Indian Reservation. She has led many pipe and Inipi (sweat lodge) ceremonies here in north central Ohio, Indiana, South Dakota,
West Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida and in Colorado where in 2005 she was involved in co-founding
the non-profit Solidarity of Hope Organization, (It serves to fulfill the promise of a sustainable lifestyle within our lifetime.)
She recently moved back from Colorado to her family home in Bucyrus where she lives with her two daughters Emilee and Willow.
Master Dae Gak from Furnace Mountain KY
Zen
Master Dae Gakreceived Dharma transmission from the Korean Zen Master Seung Sahn in
1994. He has practiced Zen for almost forty years. Before becoming a student of Zen Master Seung Sahn, he studied extensively
with teachers in Japanese lineages. Zen Master Dae Gak has taught internationally for over fifteen years. In addition to his
teaching responsibilities at Furnace Mountain, he regularly visits students and leads retreats in cities around the U.S. and
in Europe.
Ven. Shih Ying-Fa and Michael in Cleveland at Cloud Water Zendo
Ven. Shih Ying-Fa The
Abbot of CloudWater Zendo and founder of the Nien-Fo Ch'an Order of Buddhist Monks. Ven.
Ying-Fa is a disciple of his root teacher, Rev. Koshin Ogui of the Midwest Buddhist Temple in Chicago, Illinois. He received
Dharma Transmission from Ven. Shih Shen-Lung of the Dragon Flower Ch'an Temple in 1998 and succeeded Master Shen-Lung
as Abbot of Dragon Flower following his death. Ven. Ying-Fa was recently named honorary Spiritual Director of the Richard
Hunn Association of Ch'an Study in England. Ven. Ying-Fa regularly teaches at CloudWater Zendo's affiliate Sanghas
in Canton and Akron, Ohio as well as Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He is also active in teaching Zen and Buddhism to inmates at
several Ohio correctional facilities.
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold and Michael in Toledo, OH
Geoffrey Shugen Arnold, Sensei completed his formal training
in the Mountains and Rivers Order, and received Dharma Transmission from John Daido Loori, Roshi founder of Zen Mountain Monastery
in 1997. Shugen Sensei is currently the Director of Training and Operations at the Monastery and the Vice-Abbot of Zen Center
of New York City. He manages the National Buddhist Prison Sangha and is director of the New York State Prison Program of the
Monastery. He received a degree in music performance and composition from the State University of New York, with a minor in
mathematics. He has served as the Monastery's Work Master, Cook, and Comptroller.
Brad Warner at book sigining in Akron
Brad Warner was ordained in Japan in the Soto School of
Zen Buddhism, the sect brought to Japan by Dogen in the 13th century. His teacher is Gudo Wafu Nishijima who originally
studied under Kodo Sawaki, a radical teacher who set out to overturn pretty much all of what had become established as Buddhism
in Japan in the early 20th century. Brad began studying Zen in the early 1980's in Kent Ohio under Tim McCarthy
whose teacher was Kobun Chino who was brought to America by Shunryu Suzuki, author of Zen Mind Beginner's Mind. In those
days, Brad was the bassist for ODFx (or Zero Defex), a hardcore punk band. He fulfilled a lifelong dream and got a job
in Tokyo, Japan with the company founded by the special effects man behind the classic Godzilla films. He is the author
of two books, the first called Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies and the Truth About Reality and Sit
Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death & Dogen's Treasury of the Right Dharma
Eye. Both published by Wisdom Publications.
Kosen Osho in Wooster OH 9-29-08
Kosen Osho is a Dhama heir of
Zen Master Dae Gak and is a resident teacher of Furnace
Mountain KY and she is originally from England. More later.
You can support Mansfield Zen Center by buying from this link for Movies Unlimited:
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter...And Spring (Bom Yeoreum Gaeul Gyeoul Geurigo Bom) [DVD](2003) DVD Powerful
and thought-provoking Korean drama examines the triumphs and tragedies of existence. Through five seasonal segments--each
representing a stage in the life of a Buddhist monk--issues of innocence, desire, lust, evil, atonement, enlightenment, and
rebirth are explored. Oh Yeong-su, Kim Ki-duk, Kim Young-min star. 103 min. Widescreen (Enhanced); Soundtrack: Korean Dolby
Digital 5.1; Subtitles: English, French. Enlightenment Guaranteed [DVD](2001) DVD From Doris Dorrie ("Men...") comes this
spiritual comedy about two brothers whose lives are on a downward spiral. Seeking some sort of connection
to the world and themselves, they travel to a Zen monastery near Tokyo, but before getting there, they find
themselves lost and broke in Tokyo's neon jungle. Will the siblings reach their goal and be able to leave their fractured
past behind them? With Uwe Ochsenknecht and Gustav-Peter Wohler. 105 min. Widescreen; Soundtrack: German
Dolby Digital stereo; Subtitles: English; interview.
