06.24.2019 - By Joan Halifax | Zen Buddhist Teacher Upaya Abbot
Matthew Kozan Palevsky hosts Shoryu Eddy Eusepi and Kotan René Barownick, long-term Upaya residents who speak about what drives their practice and how it has enriched their lives. Shoryu discusses how home for him has historically been associated with a sense of uprootedness because of the different environments that he has lived in. Quoting Zen Master Dogen, he describes a newly acquired sense of home: “Do not ask me where I am going, as I travel in this limitless world, where every step I take is my home.” Kotan continues with a similar theme by asking what happens when one leaves a home in London and comes to the desert? His story involves the suffering which led him to Buddhism and the emptiness of the desert which has allowed him to slowly let healing happen.
Shoryu Eddy Eusepi received Jukai this year from Roshi Joan Halifax. Previously, he studied Western philosophy and meditation with Master Chufei Tsai in the Karma Kagyu lineage. His interest in Zen and Upaya comes from a desire to practice with a community that is socially engaged.
Kotan René Barownick, recently from London, received Jukai in March from Roshi Joan and is our samu leader here at Upaya.