Our TeachersFounding Teacher:
Zen Master Seung Sahn The founding teacher of our School is Zen Master Seung Sahn, the 78th Patriarch in his line of transmission in the Chogye order of Korean Buddhism. In 1972 he came to the United States and started the Providence Zen Center, the first center in what is now the Kwan Um School. He and his students have founded over a hundred temples, centers, and groups around the world. His books include Ten Gates, The Compass of Zen, Dropping Ashes on the Buddha, Only Don't Know and The Whole World is a Single Flower -- 365 Kong-ans for Everyday Life. (Dharma Lineage) (Formal Picture).
Guiding Teacher:
José Ramírez, JDPSN José Ramírez, JDPSN is the Guiding Teacher and abbot of the Delaware Valley Zen Center, which he helped found in the Spring of 1999. He has been practicing in the Kwan Um School of Zen since 1994, and received Inka in April 2009. He has a degree in mathematics from the Universidad Simón Bolívar in Caracas, Venezuela, and a Master and Ph.D in statistics from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. In his role as an industrial statistician he works closely with engineers and scientists to help them make sense of data. He lives in Pennsylvania with his wife and daughter.
Guest Teachers:
Zen Master Dae Kwang Zen Master Dae Kwang has been a monk since 1985 and received transmission in 1996. He is abbot of the international Kwan Um School of Zen, and guiding teacher of the Providence Zen Center. He is also guiding teacher of Zen centers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Ontario, Wisconsin, British Columbia, and Alaska. Zen Master Dae Kwang has traveled widely, leading retreats throughout North America, Europe, and Asia, including 90-day retreats in Korea. His interests include meditation practices common to Christians and Buddhists.
Zen Master Wu Kwang Zen Master Wu Kwang (Richard Shrobe) is Guiding Teacher of the Chogye International Zen Center of New York and lives in New York with his family. Before he began practicing Zen he studied intensively with Swami Satchidananda, living with his wife and children for four years at the Integral Yoga Institute in New York. He has a Master's degree in Social Work and did six years of postgraduate study in Gestalt, including training with Laura Perls. He has been director of a drug program, and has served as an instructor in psychiatry and Gestalt therapy. He started practicing with Zen Master Seung Sahn in 1975 and was given inka in 1984. He received dharma transmission on August 1, 1993. A former piano player, his undergraduate training was in music, and he also studied with jazz pianist Barry Harris. Currently he has a private practice in psychotherapy specializing in the Gestalt approach.
Zen Master Soeng Hyang Zen Master Soeng Hyang (Barbara Rhodes) is the School Zen Master and Guiding Dharma Teacher of the Kwan Um School of Zen. She received dharma transmission from Zen Master Seung Sahn on October 10, 1992. She was one of Zen Master Seung Sahn's first American students and studied with him since 1972. She was given inka in 1977. A registered nurse since 1969, she works for Hospice Care of Rhode Island. She helped found Providence Zen Center, and lived there for seventeen years, serving in a number of administrative capacities. Zen Master Soeng Hyang has a daughter and lives with her partner, Mary, in Providence, RI.
Ken Kessel, JDPSN Ken Kessel, JDPSN received inka in April 1996. He has studied with Zen Master Seung Sahn since 1975. He has an MSW degree and has been practicing as a psychotherapist since 1983, working with children and families in foster care, substance abuse, outpatient and inpatient mental health and therapeutic preschool settings, as well as in private practice. He recently moved to Raleigh, NC from New York City. He is Guiding Teacher for New Haven Zen Center and teaches at the Chogye International Zen Center of New York, as well as at other Zen Centers and affiliates.
Dharma Teachers:
William McCracken, Dharma Teacher William McCracken has been with DVZC since April of 2001. He became a Dharma Teacher in August of 2005 and is a student of Zen Master Dae Kwang. He is an alumnus of the University of Delaware and has an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania. He is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker and Certified Alcohol and Drug Counselor and has been practicing in the fields of mental health and addictions since 1994. Before practicing within the Kwan Um School of Zen, he practiced in the Japanese Soto tradition. He has studied and taught the arts of Bonsai and Taiji Chuan and also enjoys writing music and playing guitar.
Ben Fleury-Steiner, Dharma Teacher Ben Fleury-Steiner has been a student of Zen Master Dae Kwang since 2001, and became a Dharma Teacher in 2008. Ben leads a satellite group, Open Heart Zen Group, at the First United Universalist Church of Wilmington. He is Associate Professor of Sociology and Criminal Justice at the University of Delaware. He has written three books and numerous scholarly articles on topics that focus broadly on the intersections of inequality, institutions, and (in)justice. In addition to teaching and research, he has served as an expert witness in a death penalty trial and was an invited speaker at the national conference of the NAACP’s Legal Defense Fund. He currently lives in Wilmington, Delaware with his wife Ruth and daughters Anna and Robin. |
