Seiso Paul Cooper is an ordained priest and a transmitted teacher in the lineage of Dainin Katagiri. He has practiced and studied in both the Soto and the Rinzai traditions. He began his formal practice in 1980 and received Dharma transmission from Sojun Diane Martin Roshi. He is the founder and former guiding teacher of the Two Rivers Zen Community in Narrowsburg, NY. He currently lives in Barry, Vermont where he founded and leads the Barre Zen Meditation Center. He teaches and practices the shakuhachi as a Zen arts practice. Seiso is a psychoanalyst and maintains a private practice working as a supervisor with therapists in training and with individuals and couples in Montpelier, Vt. He is a published author and his most recent book is entitled “Zen Master Yueh Shan & Thinking's Bad Rap: A practitioners guide”.

More about Paul's Book:

https://www.hohmpress.com/products/zen-master-yueh-shan-thinkings-bad-rap

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This a recorded Simplicity Zen Dharma talk by Gambo Kyogan Berry Crawford on the topic of "Showing Up".

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Speaker Bio: Gambo Kyogan Berry Crawford first started practicing Zen meditation in 1992. He lived at the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center and practiced as a resident in the mid 1990s. Afterwards, he practiced with Diane “Eshin” Rizzetto in the Ordinary Mind Zen School started by Joko Beck. Later, he became a student of John “Shoji” Sorenson under whom he eventually received shiho (2022) and Inka Shomei (2025) in the lineage of Soto priest Soyu Matsuoka Roshi. He has also completed the Open Mind Zen koan curriculum under Russell “Kyofu Seikyo” Mitchell and was given dharma transmission in that lineage in 2025. Berry is a member of the “Doan-ryo” at the Valley Streams Zen Sangha and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Sacramento Dharma Center where he serves as Vice President.

Stephen a long time Zen koan practitioner and a professor of music theory at the University of North Texas. He was a professional fiddler and banjo player and an author of a book on the Americanization of Zen Chanting. This is part 2 of our discussion. You can find our earlier conversation as part of this podcast series.

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In this talk we explore how to work with the Zen Bodhisattva Precepts using an inquiry approach.

Speaker Bio: Gambo Kyogan Berry Crawford first started practicing Zen meditation in 1992. He lived at the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center and practiced as a resident in the mid 1990s. Afterwards, he practiced with Diane “Eshin” Rizzetto in the Ordinary Mind Zen School started by Joko Beck. Later, he became a student of John “Shoji” Sorenson under whom he eventually received shiho (2022) and Inka Shomei (2025) in the lineage of Soto priest Soyu Matsuoka Roshi. He has also completed the Open Mind Zen koan curriculum under Russell “Kyofu Seikyo” Mitchell and was given dharma transmission in that lineage in 2025. Berry is a member of the “Doan-ryo” at the Valley Streams Zen Sangha and is a member of the Board of Directors for the Sacramento Dharma Center where he serves as Vice President.

More Zen podcast episodes and online Zen training:

https://simplicityzen.com/

James Ishmael Ford is a Zen teacher and semi-retired Unitarian Universalist minister. He has dharma transmission from Houn Jiyu Kennett and Inka Shomei from John Nanryu Ji'un-ken Tarrant. He is the guiding teacher of the Empty Moon Sangha.

For more about James:

- http://www.jamesishmaelford.com/

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- https://simplicityzen.com/

Berry Crawford first started practicing Zen meditation in 1992. He lived at the Sonoma Mountain Zen Center and practiced as a resident in the mid 1990s. Afterwards, he practiced with Diane “Eshin” Rizzetto in the Ordinary Mind Zen School started by Joko Beck. Later, Berry became a student of John “Shoji” Sorenson and in 2022 was authorized to independently teach Zen. He is a koan student of Russell “Kyofu Seikyo” Mitchell in the Open Mind Zen School and was authorized by him as an Assistant Teacher in June 2023.

Simplicity Zen Podcast:

https://simplicityzen.com/

An Interview with Zen Teacher Eihei Peter Levitt

Eihei Peter Levitt is the founder and guiding teacher of the Salt Spring Zen Circle on Salt Spring Island in British Columbia, where he resides with his wife, poet Shirley Graham. He was authorized as a Zen teacher in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi by Zoketsu Norman Fischer, founder of the Everyday Zen Foundation, and received Preceptor Transmission in the White Plum Lineage from Roshi Egyoku Nakao.

Salt Springs Zen Circle:

https://saltspringzencircle.org/

Simplicity Zen Podcast:

https://simplicityzen.com/

Katherine Daiki Senshin Griffith is the Head Teacher at the Zen Center of Los Angelos. She started studying Zen in the Rinzai tradition at New York Zendo Shobo-Ji in Manhattan in 1987. At Dai Bosatsu Zendo, she received Jukai in 1994 from Eido Shimano Roshi, with whom she studied until 2000, when she moved to Los Angeles. She became a member of ZCLA in 2001 and began her studies with Roshi Egyoku. She joined ZCLA’s staff as Program Steward in 2010 and the Teacher’s Circle in 2016. Sensei Senshin was empowered as Dharma Holder in 2018 and was empowered as an independent Zen teacher and Preceptor in 2019. She is a member of the Lay Zen Teachers Association (LZTA), the American Zen Teachers Association (AZTA), the White Plum Asanga (WPA) and the Zen Peacemaker’s Order of Disorder. Currently, she is a professional actor, comedic performer and writer.

More about Katherine and ZCLA:

https://zcla.org/

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