Zen Practice
“Zen” is translated from the Japanese as “meditation.” The roots of Zen Buddhism are traced back 2500 years to the teachings of Gautama Siddhartha, the Buddha. In ancient India, Buddha taught a path to awaken to our true nature and become free from ignorance, craving, and anger. This awakening is expressed by compassion for all beings.
Zen evolved into a distinct expression of Buddhism in China during the 6th to 8th centuries. Zen practice emphasizes zazen, or seated meditation, as the primary means to realize the insights of the Buddha. Zen practice includes walking meditation, bowing, chanting, and working closely with a teacher. Practice extends into everyday activities such as eating, working, and relationships. These activities are seen as part of practice because, on one level, they support our effort to awaken; on another, they intimately express our true nature.
Guiding Teacher – Josho Phelan Sensei
Josho Phelan Sensei, the abbess of the Chapel Hill Zen Center, is the guiding teacher of Richmond Zen. She is an ordained priest in the Soto Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki. Josho visits us about once a month to offer Dharma talks and private practice instruction. Her heart-centered teaching comes from a strong vow and deep training in the traditional forms of zen practice grounded in zazen, seated meditation. In addition to leading Chapel Hill Zen Center and Richmond Zen, she frequently visits other Zen groups and supports the practice of inmates of several correctional facilities in North Carolina.
Josho began sitting zazen in Oregon in 1969. She moved to San Francisco in 1971 and spent several years at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. Prior to her arrival in Chapel Hill in August 1991, she was a Practice Leader and Director of Zen Center’s residence facility in San Francisco. In Fall 1995, she returned to Tassajara and completed her training by receiving Dharma Transmission from Abbot Sojun Weitsman Roshi. In October 2000, Josho Sensei was officially installed as Abbess of the Chapel Hill Zen Center. In December 2008, Josho Sensei traveled to Japan to participate in Zuise ceremonies at Eihei-ji and Soji-ji temples. She is married and has a daughter.
Head Priest – Eden Kevin Heffernan
Eden Kevin Heffernan has practiced Zen for over 30 years. In 1997, he received the precepts (formal Buddhist vows) from his teacher, Josho Phelan Sensei, Chapel Hill Zen Center abbess. Eden has served as lay leader of Richmond Zen at Ekoji Buddhist Sangha of Richmond since 1999. In September 2018, he was ordained as a priest in the Soto Zen lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, and in 2019 attended a three-month training period at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. Eden was Shuso, “head monk,” for Richmond Zen’s 2023 Kessei Ango, a 90-day practice period.
Beginning in 2008, Eden has served as the Buddhist campus minister at the University of Richmond. He also taught an upper-level undergraduate class on Zen Buddhism at Virginia Commonwealth University from 2007 to 2011. Eden has also had the opportunity to practice with and learn from many Zen teachers, including Sojun Mel Weitsman, Shohaku Okamura, Taigen Dan Leighton, and Zoketsu Norman Fischer. Eden has offered meditation instruction in diverse settings, from the Richmond City Justice Center to area college campuses, to yoga studios. He also practices yoga and is a certified yoga instructor (RYT 200). You can find contact info here >>.
Visiting Teachers
Richmond Zen receives regular visits from our guiding teacher, Josho Pat Phelan. We are fortunate to have received visits from other Zen teachers. Sojun Weitsman Roshi, late abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center, visited us periodically. We have also hosted Taigen Leighton, abbot of Ancient Dragon Zen Gate in Chicago, Issho Fujita Sensei, former Soto Zen International Center director, Hosan Alan Senauke, abbot of Berkeley Zen Center, and Dairyu Michael Wenger of Dragon’s Leap. From time to time, we also have other teachers visiting from San Francisco Zen Center and Berkeley Zen Center. Richmond Zen was also honored by visits from Keido Fukushima Roshi, former abbot of the Rinzai Zen temple Tofukuji in Kyoto, Japan, and Kaz Tanahashi, renowned artist, activist, and translator of Dogen Zenji.
Supported by You
Richmond Zen is an independent 501(c)3 tax-exempt organization. Members and friends support us in many ways: presence in the zendo and practicing together, volunteering for various roles and responsibilities, and donations. Donations to Richmond Zen are tax-deductible. You can contribute online via our secure PayPal button. Thank you for your practice and generosity.