As a Zen Buddhist nun who in the 1980's trained for 8 years in a monastery in South Korea, the primary focus of my life and practice has always been a path of spiritual awakening. Korean Zen, or Seon, utilizes a practice called "Hwadu", similar to ko...

As a Zen Buddhist nun who in the 1980's trained for 8 years in a monastery in South Korea, the primary focus of my life and practice has always been a path of spiritual awakening. Korean Zen, or Seon, utilizes a practice called "Hwadu", similar to koan practice. This is a practice of inquiry, where we look into what is the essential nature of our being. When we directly experience our True Nature, we realize that the ego-identity, the picture we have of who we are and all our struggles and difficulties, is false. In actuality, who we truly are is vast, infinite, and filled with compassion, love and wisdom. I have also had the great fortune to study and work with a Korean Buddhist monk who taught me alternative health practices from S. Korea such as Five Element Sasang nutritional programs designed to alleviate health symptoms, a Korean Taoist breathing practice, and other healing systems. Together, he and I established Zen centers in Seattle WA and Berkeley CA where we taught these health practices as a way of establishing a healthy foundation for one's spiritual practice. When we can be free of physical pain and emotional turbulence, we can go more deeply into our Zen practice. Five Element Sasang Constitutional Medicine is an ancient nutritional system from Korea that is extremely effective in alleviating a wide variety of health symptoms. The foods we choose to eat can have a tremendous impact on our body's health and the functioning of our internal organs. So it is vitally important that we understand our own body's constitution, which foods create internal imbalance, and which foods are the ideal fuel for our specific body's energy makeup. Eating foods that work against our body constitution and specific energy makeup can result in chronic health symptoms that may seem mysterious, with no real solution for alleviation. When we understand our body constitution and provide it with only the foods that truly serve our body, then the body will respond within a few weeks, so that numerous health symptoms are greatly alleviated, or simply disappear. I currently have a monthly Online Zen Group that includes a dharma talk and two periods of sitting, followed by a question/discussion period. I also provide Five Element Sasang nutritional consultations, both online and in person. In addition, I teach a Taoist breathing practice from Korea called Sundo. It is a truly transformative practice, addressing physical health issues and allowing us to go more deeply into our spiritual practice. This is the practice of the ancient Taoist hermits who still live in caves in the mountains of Korea and China. When we can learn to take care of our body so that it truly supports our spiritual practice, then our path of practice becomes clearer and simpler. I provide Zen teachings that remove the mystery from Zen, showing a clear, simple path to correct practice. Instead of fighting with thoughts we rest in that place of peace within.