Cliff Isberg

Cliff Isberg

After only 40 years of practice, Cliff Isberg, PhD, was ordained by Shoho Michael Newhall as a Soto Zen Buddhist Monk in 2010. A longtime student of Kobun Chino, he sometimes serves as one of Jikoji's oversight managers. Cliff has created and maintains a growing archive of the teachings and life of our founding teacher.  

Brie Mathers

Brie Mathers

The Way Seeking Mind talk is the first public talk given by Zen practitioners and is the story of how we came to be sitting on this cushion facing the wall.  The story of Brie’s arrival on the mat at Jikoji begins with a young girl running in Canada and passes through Montreal, the White Wind Zen Community, some time writing in the quietude of Saltspring Island before flowing into large crowds of young people awash in feminism and nutrition until arriving at this spot she calls ‘gentle zen.' 

Joe Hall

Joe Hall

Joseph W Hall is a resident priest at Jikoji Zen Center.  His energy is enthusiastically focused on the nexus between Lay Practice and the Monastic world and he is fascinated by the ways in which we interpret the world and the means by which physical motion trains the mind. He wakes up in the morning excited to witness the ongoing birth of American Zen. His favorite words are Sublime, Exquisite, and Ravissant. His blog can be found at at rawzen.org

Peter Szydlowski

Peter Szydlowski

Peter Szydlowski was ordained as a Zen priest by Kobun Chino Otogawa Roshi at Jikoji. On those infrequent occasions when he gives a dharma talk at a Sunday program or sesshin, he tends to focus on zazen, "just sitting", or silence. He usually includes an outdoor kinhin into the schedule. He was, after all, a National Park ranger for 16 years. He is still an avid hiker and traveler, a "grampa" of five, and past Jikoji board president.

Ian Forsberg

Ian Forsberg

Ian Hakuryu Forsberg began zazen practice in his teens and was ordained by Kobun at Haiku Zendo in 1977. Ian practiced with Kobun and the Sangha in California at Haiku Zendo, Hidden Villa Ranch and later at Jikoji. In 1987 he went to Taos for three months to help build Hokoji Zen Center and never did leave. Ian is now the Resident Teacher at Hokoji and builds homes in Taos.

Greg Campbell

Greg Campbell

Greg Campbell is a Staff Resident who also serves as Business Manager at Jikoji. Greg was born in Washington state in 1938. He joined the Marines while still a teenager. He later practiced Zen Buddhism and studied Japanese culture in Japan. Back in America in his late twenties, he became a nurse, served as an interpreter-monk for Sasaki Joshu Roshi, and studied world mysticism. In Europe in his fifties he served as an ecumenical counsellor/comforter for the dying and also gave talks, retreats, and educational programs. He received lay ordination from Michael Newhall at Jikoji.

Shinshu Roberts

Shinshu Roberts

Shinshu was ordained in 1988 and received teacher certification in 2005 from Sojun Mel Weitsman, Abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. She trained for 17 years at the San Francisco Zen Center holding various leadership positions. She holds the appointment of Kokusaifukyoshi (International Teacher) with the Soto Zen School in Japan. 

Dan Zigmond

Dan Zigmond

Dan Zigmond was ordained as a priest by Kobun Chino Otagawa Roshi in 1998, and was Shuso with Michael Newhall in 2009. He has been a regular speaker at Jikoji over the years. In addition to his day job at Google, he is a Contributing Editor at Tricycle, and an occasional contributor to the San Francisco Chronicle. He also started two wheelchair factories in Phnom Penh, Vietnam. Dan's practice is wide ranging.

Gerow Reece

Gerow Reece

Gerow Reece first sat with Yamada Reirin Roshi and the young monk, Maezumi Sensei, in the old brick Zenshuji in Los Angeles in the early 60s. He then practiced with with Robert and Ann Aitken at Kokoan in their home in Honolulu. While studying in Kyoto, Japan, he sat at Antaiji with Uchiyama Roshi and later with Morinaga Roshi at Daishu-in and Kobori Nanrei at Ryoko-in, never settling on one person as teacher until the arrival of his son. Gerow serves Ceremonial Tea and teaches calligraphy at Jikoji. His Sunday talk will be on gratitude.

Keith Wiley

Keith Wiley

Keith Wiley, Kai Shin Ko Chi, began his path of practice at the San Francisco Zen Center and found his way to Darlene Cohen who was his teacher until her death. Keith is a member of Crystal Springs Sangha where he works with Sarita Tomayo. His journey began as a simple quest for spirituality in his life and along the way he has found, in Zen, a transformation of suffering and a sense of compassion for the hardship of others.