"After a lifetime of journeying, I arrive at this unavoidable gate... It swings open freely."
From Belfast, Northern Ireland, Paul Haller left home in 1971 and journeyed throughout Europe, the Middle East, Russia, and Afghanistan. He ended up in Japan, where he lived for a year and was introduced to Zen practice. Subsequently travelling throughout southeast Asia, Paul was ordained a Buddhist monk in Thailand where he spent six months alone meditating in a remote cave.
Moving to Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in 1974, Paul was ordained as a priest in 1980, receiving the Dharma name Ryushin Zendo, "Dragon Heart, Zen Way". In 1993 he received Dharma Transmission from Sojun Mel Weitsman Roshi.
Founder of Outreach at San Francisco Zen Center where he is now Abbot, Paul is interested in finding ways of expressing our practice in society, both as compassionate service and making it available to as many people as possible.
Paul is our Teacher at Black Mountain Zen Centre and visits frequently to teach and lead Sesshins.
"One of the stories I first heard about Paul was of his work with a prisoner who confessed his intention to murder an enemy. After some time working with Paul, the prisoner transformed a block of wood he had been carving from a weapon into an altar. He used the altar to make an offering every day to his enemy. The prisoner had transformed the consequences of his personal karma into something else, something better.
Personally, I have learned in Paul's presence, through his silence, through the embodiment of his compassion, that it is possible for just this moment, if you truly live in the moment, to know that everything is OK.
As Suzuki Roshi says, " If we accept ourselves as the embodiment of the truth, or Buddha nature, we will have no worry." This awareness, this awakening, is a gift, one worth devoting your precious human life to, as Paul has."
