GMZC | Berthoud, CO


Our Roshis (Zen Masters)



Gerry Shishin Wick, Roshi



Co-Spiritual Director, GMZC President





Gerry Shishin Wick, Roshi is a Dharma Successor of Taizan Maezumi Roshi who studied in both major lineages of Zen. He received transmission from Maezumi Roshi in 1990 after 24 years of Zen training under Maezumi, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, and Sochu Suzuki Roshi. He administered the Zen Center of Los Angeles and the Kuroda Institute for the Study of Buddhism and Human Values for 8 years from 1978 to 1986. He founded the Great Mountain Zen Center in 1996.


Shishin Roshi received a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of California, Berkeley in 1967, has worked as a University Professor, science writer, journalist, oceanographer, software developer, and technical manager. He retired as the Director of Electronic Publishing for Merriam-Webster, Inc. in May 2007. He was an adjunct Professor of Religious Studies at Naropa University, where he lead frequent classes and retreats. He is the author of three books including The Book of Equanimity, My American Zen Life, and co-author of The Great Heart Way with Ilia Shinko Perez. Shishin Roshi has written numerous articles on Buddhism, physics, and oceanography.


In January, 2006 he received Inka from Roshi Bernie Glassman in the White Plum Asanga and the Zen Peacemaker Order. In May 2007, he was elected President of the White Plum Asanga, the organization of Zen teachers in the lineage of Maezumi Roshi. In 2014 when Shishin Roshi stepped down as President of White Plum Asanga, he was acknowledged as an Elder in the organization.




Roshi Ilia Shinko Perez



Co-Spiritual Director, Abbess





"I vow to be the best possible lover I can be to the Earth and to all earthlings."


Roshi Ilia Shinko Perez was empowered to teach by Shishin Roshi in 2000 after 20 years of Zen training under Shishin Roshi, Philip Kapleau Roshi, and Pat Hawk Roshi. She completed formal Zen studies while simultaneously raising two children and running her business, Rama Imports. Roshi Shinko has an M.A. Degree in Archeology from Universidad Autonoma, Madrid and taught at Caribbean University College, Puerto Rico. She co-authored The Great Heart Way (2006) with Shishin Roshi and authored The Zen Priestess and the Snake (2020). In October 2015 she received Inka from Roshi Egyoku Nakao, Abbot of the Zen Center of Los Angeles.



Affiliate Teachers



Paul Gyodo Agostinelli, Sensei



Spiritual Director, Eon Zen Center





Paul Gyodo Agostinelli, Sensei is a Dharma successor of Shishin Roshi and Roshi Shinko, and is Adjunct Faculty at Naropa University. He was empowered to teach by Shishin and Shinko Roshis in June 2015, after 25 years of Zen practice. He was a resident student at Zen Center of Los Angeles with Maezumi Roshi before becoming a student at Great Mountain Zen Center. He received a Bachelor’s Degree in Physics from Dartmouth College and a Master’s in English Literature from University of Chicago, and has had a long career as an Internet Technology entrepreneur, co-founding and running multiple companies. In addition to assisting at Great Mountain Zen Center, Gyodo Sensei runs Eon Zen Center in Boulder, CO.



Sean Tetsudo Murphy, Sensei



Spiritual Director, Sage Institute





Sean Tetsudo Murphy, Sensei, MFA, SAGE Institute President and Co-founder, Hemingway Award-winning novelist, and author of One Bird, One Stone: 108 American Zen Stories, first studied under the direction of Taizan Maezumi Roshi of the Zen Center of Los Angeles and then with John Daido Loori Roshi of Zen Mountain Monastery in upstate New York. He received Dharma Transmission from Shishin Roshi in 2019. He teaches meditation, creative writing, and literature for UNM-Taos and has taught and presented on Zen practice and meditation for many years. He is the founder of the Sage Institute for Creativity, Consciousness & Environment. Learn more about Sean at www.murphyzen.com.



Karin Ryuku Kempe, Roshi



Co-Spiritual Director, Zen Center of Denver





Karin Ryuku Kempe, Roshi has been practicing Zen since 1971, beginning at the Rochester Zen Center with Philip Kapleau Roshi and then with Toni Packer. Ryuku worked as a family physician for 20 years while raising her family. She practiced with Shishin Wick Roshi, receiving jukai from him in 1997. Karin completed her koan training in 2005 with Danan Henry Roshi at the Zen Center of Denver and served as an assistant teacher until receiving dharma transmission in 2010. Karin also continued her training with Shishin Roshi and received Inka from him in January 2019.



Kent Yugen Brown, Sensei



Spiritual Director, Lafayette Zen Meditation Group





Kent Yugen Brown, Sensei began practicing Zen at GMZC in 2000 and received Dharma Transmission fro Roshis Shishin Wick and Shinko Perez in June, 2021. Yugen received a B.S. and M.S. in Biological Sciences from Texas Christian University. His graduate research on species diversity was conducted at the Savannah River Ecology Laboratory in Aiken, SC and was funded by the Department of Energy. After graduating, his career focused on Information Technology as an IT Director for a Fortune 50 corporation. He now works as a Volunteer Coordinator for Trail Winds Hospice in Boulder. He has studied Zen with Shishin Roshi and Roshi Shinko for the last 21 years. He is happily married, has two children, three grandchildren, and three dogs. He loves spending time with his family and enjoys a wide range of outdoor activities. Yugen leads a meditation group at the Tranquility Room at the Community Holistic Health Center in Lafayette, CO from 9:30-11:30am on Sundays. For more information go to this Meetup site.



Dharma Holders



Dharma Holders (Assistant Zen Teachers) are Senior Students who are in training to be Zen Teachers.



Christopher Daishin Melton



Dharma Holder, Senior Student





Daishin is an architect, artist, and carpenter and lives in Macon, Georgia where he leads a meditation group. Daishin has put countless hours and beads of sweat into the development of our previous zen center and our current abbey.



Ken Kendo Sailor



Dharma Holder, Senior Student





Kendo began Zen practice at the Zen Center of Los Angeles in the late 70s and early 80s and moved to New York with Bernie Glassman to help found the Zen Community of New York in 1984. Kendo found his way to GMZC in 2009. Kendo is married, has grown children, and leads the 10th Street Zendo in Saskatoon, Canada.



Michael Mui Lewis



Dharma Holder, Senior Student, Priest





Mui began formal Zen training in 2003 at Great Vow Zen Monastery. He continued in residence at Yokoji Zen Mountain Center until 2006 and then moved to Boulder, CO for graduate school and to continue training at GMZC. Mui was ordained a novice priest in 2008 and a priest in 2017. Mui works as a psychotherapist and addiction counselor in Boulder, CO, and teaches in the Graduate School of Counseling Psychology at Naropa University. Mui has a graduate degree in Contemplative Psychotherapy from Naropa University and an undergraduate degree in Experiential Education from Appalachian State University. He was an IFMGA Mountain Guide and Outward Bound instructor for 25 years. Mui has been practicing meditation and Yoga since the early 90s.



Andrew Hakuju Smith



Dharma Holder, Senior Student





Hakuju is a bonsai nurseryman and forester living in the beautiful Black Hills of South Dakota. He has been sitting with the Great Mountain Zen Center for the past 20 years and is one of the founding members of the Laughing Teabowl Sangha, a Zen group in Rapid City, South Dakota that has been sitting together since 1997.



Priests



Zen Priests are ordained students who have made a commitment to serve the teachers and the community (sangha).



Jennifer Koren Grahn



Priest, Senior Student, Resident





Koren was born in Maryland and grew up in the forests of Northwestern Washington State. She was home-schooled and began learning meditation from her mother, her first spiritual teacher, when she was 12. After growing up, Koren followed a self-guided spiritual path until 2009 when she began Zen practice with Sean Tetsudo Murphy, Sensei in Taos, New Mexico. She became a formal student of Shishin Roshi and Roshi Shinko in 2012 and ordained as a novice priest in 2018, and a full priest in 2023. Koren is an Associate Member of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association (SZBA). Koren works as a tax accountant in Boulder, Colorado.



2532 South County Rd 15 | Berthoud, CO 80513


CONTACT US
REGISTER
DONATE