The Appalachian Zen House, incorporated as a non-profit 501 (c) (3) affiliated with the Zen Peacemakers Order, consists of an innovative and exciting group of ongoing projects, created to manifest the Bodhisattva Vow to save all beings by addressing rural poverty and environmental challenges in our own region of central Pennsylvania.
Local native Steve Kanji Ruhl, M.Div., currently finishing his pre-ordination training for ministry in the Zen Peacemakers, supervises the Appalachian Zen House projects with assistance from Rosalind Jiko Kisan McIntosh, a fellow Zen Peacemakers ministry candidate.
Featured in current issues of “Buddhadharma” and “Tricycle: The Buddhist Review” and in a forthcoming issue of “EnlightenNext” magazine, the Zen Peacemakers’ social ministry and its activities through the Appalachian Zen House build on models adapted from the successful experience of Roshi Bernie Glassman – one of the best-known Zen teachers in the world – to serve people suffering in the inner-city tenements of New York.
Here in the mountains and countryside of central Pennsylvania, the Appalachian Zen House comprises four main projects. The first, “Green Appalachia,” is based at Ahimsa Village and consists of No Harm Farm consists and the Earth Education Program, including the Ahimsa Summer Camp. The second, “Floating Lotus Zendo,” offers authentic Zen training through Zen Buddhist ministry. The third, “Speak Your Peace,” provides workshops in Non-Violent Communication, Council Circle, and Byron Katie’s “The Work.” The fourth, “Many Paths, One Heart,” focuses on multi-faith initiatives.
We seek to realize and actualize the interconnectedness of life, believing that “the depth of our realization of Oneness is shown by how we serve others.”
To learn more about AZH visit www.appalachianzenhouse.org
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