Prajna Zendo
5A Camino Potrillo
Lamy, New Mexico 87540
505-699-1464

e-mail: : Roshi Musai Walter, Teacher

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Prajna Zendo's Teacher

Roshi Musai Walter, teacher and priest at Prajna Zendo, began studying Zen in 1970 with Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. He later became a student of Taizan Maezumi Roshi and remained with him until Roshi's death in 1995, when Musai became Jitsudo Sensei's student. Musai received dharma transmission from Jitsudo Sensei in 1999. In addition to Zen practice, Musai Roshi studied with Chogyam Trungpa Rimpoche.

Musai Roshi received denkai from Genpo Roshi in 2004, studies Big Mind process with Genpo Roshi, and is an authorized teacher of Big Mind.

On January 23, 2008, Musai Roshi received Inka from Genpo Roshi, att Genpo Roshi's Mahasangha gathering, on the island of Ameland, off the coast of The Netherlands. Inka is a feature of our Rinzai lineage, and it is considered “the final seal of approval.”

The style of Zen Buddhism practiced at Prajna Zendo reflects the influence of Musai's teachers: Jitsudo Sensei, Genpo Roshi, and Maezumi Roshi. Maezumi Roshi received dharma transmission in both the Soto and Rinzai schools of Zen. He blended the elements of both schools into a vibrant teaching that encompasses the stillness of shikantaza (just sitting) and the energy of koan practice (the use of seemingly paradoxical stories as teaching devices). To this mix, Genpo Roshi has added the Big Mind process, bridging Western psychological understanding and authentic Zen practice.

Prajna Zendo welcomes people from all walks of life to pursue the opportunity to become intimate with a rich tradition that has now taken firm root in America.

About the Practice at Prajna Zendo

Prajna Zendo is a community Zen Center, with no residential program. For those who wish to pursue Zen practice outside the context of a residential center, we offer the opportunity to practice casually, moderately, or intensively. That decision is up to you.

Prajna Zendo has two qualified teachers--Musai Walter Roshi and his dharma successor, Daishin Brighton Sensei. We offer a broad based practice, includinging koan study, shikantaza (just sitting), and Big Mind practice. Koan study and shikantaza are the traditional practices of the Rinzai and Soto schools respectively. Big Mind practice is a teaching recently developed by Genpo Roshi that joins traditional Zen practice with the insights of Western psychology and provides rapid and dramatic insights into our Buddha Nature. Musai Roshi’s lineage includes both Rinzai and Soto practices, through his root teacher, Maezumi Roshi, and authorization from Genpo Roshi to teach the Big Mind process. This combination presents those who undertake to practice at Prajna Zendo a rare opportunity to Realize their True Nature, and to bring that Realization into all aspects of life.

photograph of Roshi by Jim Kando Green

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