Sit, Breathe, Bow

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Myokei Caine-Barrett, Shonin, first encountered Buddhism in 1963. She has been practicing the Lotus Sutra ever since. In 2002, she began training to become a priest. She became head priest and guiding teacher of the Nichiren Buddhist Sangha of Texas in Houston, also known as Myoken-ji Temple in 2007. She has active prison and hospice ministries. Myokei Shonin, is currently bishop of the Nichiren Shu Order of North America.

Zen Master Bon Haeng, Mark Houghton, became a student of Zen Master Seung Sahn's in 1976 and was an early member of the Cambridge Zen Center where he lived for 14 years and was abbot for 12. He received inka, or permission to teach, in 1990. Zen Master Bon Haeng received transmission from Zen Master Seung Sahn in 2000. Today he is retired but continues to serve as the guiding teacher of the Open Meadow Zen Group in Lexington, MA, the co-guiding teacher the Providence Zen Center. If you are considering either short or long-term residence in a Zen community please visit: https://providencezen.org/ You can find ZM Bon Haeng's practice and retreat schedule by visiting: http://www.openmeadowzen.com/ Sit, Breathe, Bow is hosted by Ian White Maher: https://www.theseekerstable.com/ Sit, Breathe, Bow is sponsored by the Online Sangha of the International Kwan Um School of Zen https://kwanumzenonline.org

Kim Hoben Hansen began formal Zen practice in 1995 and the following year he became a student of Chozen Bays, Roshi and Hogen Bays, Roshi. In 2009 Hoben completed Sanghakai training, a 3-year program for lay Zen students designed to cultivate different aspects of Sangha service. He was made a Dharma Heir by Chozen Bays, Roshi and Hogen Bays, Roshi in 2015. Hoben is the founding teacher of the North Shore Zendo in Vancouver, Canada. And in addition to leading traditional retreats, Hoben has taught Zen Buddhism in specialized communities like lawyers and youth. You can find out more by visiting: http://www.northshorezen.org/welcome/ Sit, Breathe, Bow is hosted by Ian White Maher. https://www.theseekerstable.com/ Sit, Breathe, Bow is sponsored by the Online Sangha of the International Kwan Um School of Zen https://kwanumzenonline.org

Mitra Bishop Roshi began practicing Zen in 1974 while living in Turkey and soon after began training at the Rochester Zen Center with Roshi Philip Kapleau. In 1986, Mitra-roshi was ordained by Roshi Kapleau and after completing her formal training in 1992, she moved to Sogen-ji, a Rinzai Zen temple, in Okayama, Japan, to train under the guidance of the Ven. Harada Shodo-roshi. Mitra-roshi returned to the United States in 1996 was formally sanctioned to teach by Roshi Kapleau as one of his dharma heirs. In that same year, she was asked to guide the Hidden Valley Zen Center in San Marcos, California, and as well, established Mountain Gate Sanmonji, a monastic practice center in the mountains of northern New Mexico. Mitra-roshi is an accomplished calligrapher and her writings have appeared in the books Mu, Zen Teaching, Zen Practice, Blossoms of the Dharma, and in Record of the Hidden Lamp, as well as numerous websites and magazines. A number of videos of her teisho [Zen talks] are available on YouTube. You can find out more by visiting the website for Mountain Gate Sanmonji at https://www.sanmonjizen.org/ She also works with the Regaining Balance Program which offers retreats for women veterans with PTSD. You can learn more by visiting https://www.regainingbalance.org/ And Hidden Valley Zen Center at https://www.hvzc.org/ Sit, Breathe, Bow is hosted by Ian White Maher. https://www.theseekerstable.com/ Sit, Breathe, Bow is sponsored by the Online Sangha of the International Kwan Um School of Zen https://kwanumzenonline.org

Ilan Luttenberg was first introduced to Buddhism while studying philosophy in university. And he began practicing the path in 1996 with a variety of teachers from both the Theravada and Mahayana traditions. He was a founding member of "Akoda" and "Middle Way", organizations that bring tools and insights from the Buddhist practice into social action promoting a culture of non-violence, compassion, and peace. He co-translated the books End of Time by Krishnamurti, What the Buddha Taught, by Walpola Rahula and Samasati-An Exposition of Right Mindfulness by Ven P.A. Payutto into Hebrew. Ilan is a co-founder of the "Buddhism in Israel" website and of the program "One Dharma - Many Paths" As a teacher, his approach combines the practice of meditation with practical applications for daily training and a way of life that brings release and liberation from suffering. If you read Hebrew you can find out more by visiting the website for Buddhism in Israel at https://www.buddhism-israel.org/ Sit, Breathe, Bow is hosted by Ian White Maher. https://www.theseekerstable.com/ Sit, Breathe, Bow is sponsored by the Online Sangha of the International Kwan Um School of Zen https://kwanumzenonline.org

If you give up, then what?

Myong Hae Sunim, JDPS, was originally planning on becoming Catholic nun when a friend invited her to hear a visiting Chinese Zen Master, Su Bong Sunim. Lithuania had recently become independent from Communism and was opening up to the world. She had never seen a Chinese person before and initially went just to meet him. But she was so moved by his message she immediately signed up to sit a three-day retreat. Myong Hae Sunim quickly realized that the Buddhist path fit her better than the Catholic one and she began sitting retreats in Poland before finally moving to Hwa Gye Sat Temple in South Korea in 1996 to begin her monastic training. The following year, after ordaining as a nun, she moved to Hong Kong to serve at Su Bong Zen Monastery, where she has been ever since and now serves as the second guiding teacher. You can find out more by visiting the website for Su Bong Monastery in Hong Kong at https://subong.org.hk/en Sit, Breathe, Bow is hosted by Ian White Maher. https://www.theseekerstable.com/ Sit, Breathe, Bow is sponsored by the Online Sangha of the International Kwan Um School of Zen https://kwanumzenonline.org

Zen Master Bon Yeon, Jane McLaughlin-Dobisz, began to get interested in Buddhism in college, which led to her studying abroad in Nepal during her senior year. After graduation, she moved to Los Angeles to get a Masters in Tibetan Studies but also began practicing vipassana with Jack Kornfield and Joseph Goldstein. After several shorter retreats, she sat her first 90 retreat at the Insight Meditation Society in Barre MA when she was 23 and she enjoyed it so much she stayed for a second three-month sit. Zen Master Bon Yeon first heard Zen Master Seung Sahn when he came to teach at Barre, instantly connected with him as her teacher, and moved to the Providence Zen Center. Not long after she sat another 90-day retreat followed by a one-hundred day solo retreat in Maine. She moved into the Cambridge Zen Center at age 25, where she lived for the next 14 years. Zen Master Bon Yeon received Inka, or permission to teach, at 31 and began traveling and teaching in the US, Europe, and South Africa. She received transmission in April of 2000 at the age of 39 and published The Wisdom of Solitude, an account of her 100-day solo retreat, the following year. Zen Master Bon Yeon lives in the Greater Boston area with her husband and two children and continues as the Guiding Teacher of the Cambridge Zen Center. Check out her book One Hundred Days of Solitude: Losing Myself and Finding Grace on a Zen Retreat https://amzn.to/2HVISZj You can find her retreat and interview schedule by visiting The Cambridge Zen Center website https://cambridgezen.org/ And you can find some of her talks and videos on her personal website https://www.jane-dobisz.com/ Sit, Breathe, Bow is hosted by Ian White Maher. https://www.theseekerstable.com/ Sit, Breathe, Bow is sponsored by the Online Sangha of the International Kwan Um School of Zen https://kwanumzenonline.org

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