I've been practicing Zen since 1992. I first became interested in Zen after reading Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance when I was 16. It was recommended to me because I was a motorcyclist. Pirsig's book doesn't say much about Zen, or even about motorcycle maintenance; however, it made me curious. I read a number of books about Zen over the next few years, but never did anything beyond that. After many changes in my life -- graduate school, new career, marriage -- I sort of forgot about Zen. Then, things changed again (Buddhism calls this dukkha). My marriage evaporated, and I found myself re-evaluating everything. I remembered my former interest in Zen, and decided to investigate it again. This time I found an Introduction to Zen training program at Zen Mountain Monastery.
The study of the art of motorcycle maintenance is really a miniature study of the art of rationality itself. Working on a motorcycle, working well, caring, is to become part of a process, to achieve an inner peace of mind. The motorcycle is primarily a mental phenomenon.
Prior to my recent move to Boston, I practiced Zen with the Ekoji Zen Group. EZG is a small group that shares the Ekoji Buddhist Temple with several other Buddhist groups (e.g., Tibetan, Pure Land). The temple was originally a Pure Land temple, given to the Buddhist Churches of America by the Bukkyo Dendo Kyokai. Now it is an ecumenical group supporting Buddhist practice in Richmond, Virginia. In adition to practicing at Ekoji, I attend sesshins (Zen meditation intensives) at Zen Mountain Monastery and the Chapel Hill Zen Group. I also spent a short residency at Tofuku-ji, a Rinzai Zen Monastery in Kyoto, Japan.
I also am an editor for the Zen section of the Open Directory.