I began meditating at 19 years old and started practicing in the Zen tradition around 1996. My first teacher was Charlotte Joko Beck, founder of the Ordinary Mind Zen School. In 2005, I began practicing with the All Beings Zen Sangha in Adams Morgan. Reverend Inryu Bobbi Ponce-Barger is the guiding teacher and spiritual director of ABZS. I serve as president of the board of directors of ABZS.
I am a member of Insight on the Inside, a congregation of volunteers that teaches mindfulness practices to incarcerated men and women and to those transitioning from homelessness and incarceration into their communities.
I received the Buddhist precepts from Dairyu Michael Wenger of Dragons Leap in San Francisco in the ceremony of Jukai in April 2016. My Dharma name is Shinren Weihen (Japanese for Clear Practice, Wide Door).
I served as Shuso (Head Student) for the All Beings Zen Sangha during the 2018 fall practice period and answered Dharma questions in the Hossen ceremony on December 15.
For me, receiving the precepts helps me embody the link between my happiness and serving others. I am grateful to Inryu and Dairyu for their support, patience and levity.