Upaya Zen Center – Joan Halifax Roshi
Roshi’s new book, Being with Dying
Joan Jiko Halifax (born 1942) is a Zen Buddhist roshi, anthropologist, ecologist, civil rights activist, hospice caregiver, and the author of several books on Buddhism and spirituality. She currently serves as abbot and guiding teacher of Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, a Zen Peacemaker community which she founded in 1990. Halifax-roshi has received Dharma transmission from both Bernard Glassman and Thich Nhat Hanh, and previously studied under the Korean master Seung Sahn. She is founder of the Ojai Foundation in California, which she led from 1979 to 1989. As a socially engaged Buddhist, Halifax has done extensive work with the dying through her Project on Being with Dying (which she founded). She is on the board of directors of the Mind and Life Institute, a non-profit organization dedicated in exploring the relationship of science and Buddhism. Read More: > HERE <
Zen is a school of MahÄyÄna Buddhism. The Japanese word Zen is derived from the Chinese word Chán, which in turn is derived from the Sanskrit word dhyÄna, which means „meditation“ or „meditative state.“ Zen emphasizes experiential prajñÄ in the attainment of enlightenment. As such, it de-emphasizes theoretical knowledge in favor of direct realization through meditation and dharma practice. The teachings of Zen include various sources of MahÄyÄna thought, including the PrajñÄpÄramitÄ literature and the teachings of the YogÄcÄra and TathÄgatagarbha schools. The emergence of Zen as a distinct school of Buddhism was first documented in China in the 7th century CE. From China, Zen spread south to Vietnam, and east to Korea and Japan. As a matter of tradition, the establishment of Zen is credited to the South Indian prince-turned-monk Bodhidharma, who came to China to teach a „special transmission outside scriptures, not founded on words or letters“. Read More: > HERE <
Meditation, Zen Buddhist Retreats, Chaplaincy Training and End-of-Life Care – Upaya Zen Center is a residential Buddhist community located in beautiful Santa Fe, NM. As a Zen center, we offer daily meditation which is open to the public, a weekly public Dharma talk which often highlights Buddhist teachings, a residential Path of Service and work exchange program, and weekly retreats and workshops focusing on practices related to engaged Buddhism, how to live in our world responsibly, with affection, kindness and wisdom. For your convenience, here is a downloadable document representing a synopsis of Learning and Buddhist Practice at Upaya.
Upaya Zen Center also offers a two-year Certificated Buddhist Chaplaincy Training Program in the areas of Prison, End of Life Care, Peacemaking, Women’s, Youth and Environmental Ministries and a Professional Training Program in Contemplative End of Life Care.
Upaya Zen Center is a Zen Buddhist practice, service, and training center. Our vision focuses on the integration of practice and social action, bringing together wisdom and compassion.
Our mission is to provide a context for community practice, education in Buddhism and social service in the areas of death and dying, prison work, the environment, women’s rights, and peacework. It endeavors to fulfill the vision of the Five Buddha Family Mandala, by understanding the integration of all of its functions.
The Five Buddha Family Mandala is based on the Five Meditation Buddhas of traditional Buddhism from India. It is a vision of Buddhism that is integrated, interconnected, and process oriented and is based on the integration of our spirituality, education, livelihood, service, and community into a whole cloth.
Joan Halifax Roshi is a Buddhist teacher, Zen priest, anthropologist, and author. She is Founder, Abbot, and Head Teacher of Upaya Zen Center, a Buddhist monastery in Santa Fe, New Mexico.
She has worked in the area of death and dying for over thirty years and is Director of the Project on Being with Dying. For the past twenty-five years, she has been active in environmental work.
A Founding Teacher of the Zen Peacemaker Order, her work and practice for more than three decades has focused on engaged Buddhism. Of recent, Roshi Joan Halifax is a distinguished invited scholar to the Library of Congress and the only woman and buddhist to be on the Advisory Council for the Tony Blair Foundation.
She is Founder and Director of the Upaya Prison Pro ject that develops programs on meditation for prisoners. She is founder of the Ojai Foundation, was an Honorary Research Fellow at Harvard University, and has taught in many universities, monasteries, and medical centers around the world.
She studied for a decade with Zen Teacher Seung Sahn and was a teacher in the Kwan Um Zen School. She received the Lamp Transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh, and was given Inka by Roshi Bernie Glassman. A Founding Teacher of the Zen Peacemaker Order, her work and practice for more than three decades has focused on engaged Buddhism.
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