Teachers
Venerable Thich Minh Tinh (Thay Kozen)
Thich Minh Tinh has been transmitted in the Vietnamese Rinzai Zen line of Thich Thien An and Thich An Giao.
In addition he has studied in Japan with Nanrei Kabori Roshi, then in the US with Soyu Mastsuoka Roshi, then in Japan with Doki Suda Roshi. Matsuoka Roshi later transmitted Kozen after a period of time as the Long Beach Zen Center’s administrative assistant.
It is under Matsuoka Roshi’s and Thich An Giao’s request that Kozen teaches and maintains a temple. Saito Roshi from Japan, has been a mentor and dear friend and teacher. Saito Roshi and Kozen were both student priests over 40 years ago in Southern Japan. They worked and studied together at a large temple. Contact him at thaykozen@mtadamszen.org
The Very Venerable Ming Chan
The Very Reverend Ming Chan is abbot of Jia Shan Temple in Hu Nan Province. His temple is the site of the Blue Cliff records that Dogen Zenji (and many other Zen Masters) have studied.
The Rev. Ming Chan will visit our temple as his other duties allow. Rev Ming Chan spent two weeks with us in July 2012 and shared a wealth of Buddhist Dharma with all. Rev. Ming Chan is a monk in the Chinese Chan tradition. Chan is the origin of both Zen and Thien Buddhism and part of the same school. We are all very happy to have him join our temple as a senior monk and teacher and we have hopes that he will return often to the US and stay here. He is not accepting students here.
Venerable Thích Minh Thiền (Thay Z)
Also known as Thay Z. Thay was ordained in China under Abbot MingChan of Jiashan Temple, Hunan China. He served a novitiate under Thich Minh Tinh and was re-ordained in the Lâm Tế School of Thiền Buddhism in the lineage of The Most Venerable H.T. Thích Thiên Ân. He is currently accepting students. Contact him at thayzzen@gmail.com buddingdharma.com
Reverend Debbie Nelson
Wife, Mother, Grandmother, Artist, Farmer, and lay lineage holder of the Lâm Tế School of Thiền Buddhism. Debbie studied for over 7 years to complete the lay minister’s certification and find her own special Zen Awakening. She is accepting students.
Venerable Thich Vinh Minh “Thay Minh”
He has been a monk for over 15 years. He is currently attending University to obtain his BA in Religious Studies. He travels frequently between school and our temple. He is accepting students. Contact him at Giaithoat@gmail.com
Venerable Koro Kaisan Miles
Koro Kaisan Miles has been practicing and training within the Zen Buddhist tradition for over 45 years, beginning with Chinese Master Xuān Huà at Gold Mountain Monastery (San Francisco, 1973). His interests in the martial arts also led him to train with Danko Tsuniyama Sensei, in the Japanese Rinzai lineage of Omori Sogen Rotaishi. He was subsequently introduced to Korean Zen practice by Master Don Gilbert (Dae Sa Ta Hui), whom he greatly admired. Miles later went on to practice in the Japanese Soto tradition for many years before returning to the Chinese Chán school. He was given the name Fǎ Láng (Fa Lohng), and received transmission from Chuán
Zhì, in the lineage of Chinese Grand Master Xū Yún. Currently, Miles is honored to continue his practice under the guidance of the Most Venerable Thích Ân Giáo Roshi, and is fully ordained as a Dharma Teacher in in the Lâm Tế lineage, as Thích Tâm Pháp. Miles was gifted the name Koro Kaisan by his peers and students at the dedication of Koin-An Zen Dojo and the formation of the Order of the Boundless Way, which consists of Zen practitioners and martial arts students from multiple lineages and traditions. While mostly modeled after the Japanese Zen traditions, the Order was specifically founded on the principles of universal practice methods and remaining non-sectarian. Koro Kaisan Miles has been the resident priest and teacher at Open Gate Zendo, Olympia, Washington since 2004.
http://www.boundlessmindzen.org/open%20gate.htm
Opengatezendo@msn.com
Venerable Thích Tâm Minh (Ven. Jeff)
Thích Tâm Minh 釋心明 (Fa Hsing 法行 )
Thích Tâm Minh began practicing Zen twenty years ago with The Order of the Boundless Way, an independent order modeled after the Japanese Zen tradition, where he trained and ordained with Koro Kaisan Roshi.
He was later ordained in the Línjì school of Chinese Zen in the line of the Venerable Chán Master Xū Yún and given the name Fǎ Xíng (Fa Hsing) by Chuán Zhì Shakya, who subsequently transmitted him.
Most recently, he was ordained in the Lâm Tế school of Vietnamese Zen in the line of the Venerable Thiền Master Thích Thiên-Ân and given the name Thích Tâm Minh by Ven. Thích Ân Giáo. He has been transmitted in the same line by Ven. Thích Minh Tịnh.
For more than a decade, Tâm Minh has been doing most of his Dharma teaching inside prisons as a volunteer with Washington state’s Department of Corrections, and he currently serves as the Buddhist representative on the DOC’s Religious Advisory Council. When he’s not doing that, you might find him wandering through the woods or trying to make progress on his ever-growing reading list. He also drinks a lot of tea, frequently attempts poetry, and often thinks he’s funny.
He can be reached at: mountainwayzen@yahoo.com
Rev. August Jensen
August Jensen is a fully ordained Dharma teacher at the Mt. Adams Buddhist Temple, studying in the Vietnamese lineage with Thay Kozen. Previously, he studied in the tradition of Shambala, and graduated from Naropa—a Buddhist contemplative university in Boulder, Colorado—with an advanced degree in contemplative practice, and completed the Naropa University invite-only meditation teacher training program. A psychotherapist in private practice, he integrates Buddhist practices with Western Psychology. Feel free to contact him and learn more about his practice of merging Buddhism and Psychotherapy.
Sister Minh Bâo
Hello! I am a relatively recent Buddhist, having dipped my toes in the water 2011-2014. After a few years of solitary meditation practice, I started attending the Insight Meditation Center in Redwood, CA in 2015. I found some fulfillment with their Theravada Vipassana tradition but began having this feeling that something was missing. I was introduced to the Vietnamese Mahayana tradition of Thiên Buddhism during that time by my longtime friend, Venerable Thích Minh Thiên (Thay Z) from the Mt. Adams Buddhist Temple in Mt. Hood, OR and Budding Dharma Zen Buddhist Temple in Arlington, TX. I cannonballed all the way into the Zen pool when he accepted me as his student in 2018. This tradition’s emphasis of the heart’s involvement and the Bodhisattva path rang bells with me and it wasn’t long before I felt the call toward becoming a nun. I now live in a cabin along the McKenzie River in my native Oregon. You can currently find me in almost every ZOOM temple service and retreat, at cdkingrey@gmail.com and occasionally at my blog, www.happycatastrophy.com where my ridiculousness knows no bounds. May you be well, happy, know love and know peace.
Rev. Scott See (Minh Tự)
Scott first became curious about Buddhism in 1983 in Ladakh, India where he met people living in primitive and challenging conditions. These Lakakhi’s smiles shone so bright that Scott wanted to learn more about this Buddhist culture. Fast forward to 2015 when Scott approached Thay Kozen with an offer to barter website services for Buddhist teachings. Scott was ordained as a Lay Minister in October, 2022. Scott teaches a Buddhism 101 course at Portland Community College, Clark College, and Columbia Gorge Community College as well as online courses at Buddha Dharma University.
https://nothingtoattain.com/ (This blog does not represent to offer any Dharma teachings. It’s just a personal blog reflecting Scott’s journey on the Path.)
scott@nothingtoattain.com
