About Appalachian Zen House

The Appalachian Zen "House" does not consist of a physical building, but is an integrated group of projects that addresses rural poverty and environmental challenges in our own region of central Pennsylvania.

Incorporated as a non-profit 501 (c) (3), the Appalachian Zen House is affiliated with the Zen Peacemakers' Zen House Social Ministry.

Featured in Buddhadharma and Tricycle: The Buddhist Review as well as 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 those created by Roshi Bernie Glassman – a leader among Western Zen teachers – to serve homeless and impoverished people 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, Bald Eagle Biofuels, 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 on:– getting all needs met in situations of conflict using Non-Violent Communication; speaking and listening from the heart in Council Circle; questioning stressful patterns of thought as influenced by Byron Katie’s “The Work.”
• The fourth, “Many Paths, One Heart,” focuses on multi-faith initiatives. We are a member congregation and have board representation on State College Area Interfaith Mission which is comprised of 24 Christian and two Jewish congregations in addition to Appalachian Zen House.

Steve Kanji Ruhl, M.Div., a native of the area, and a novice minister in the Zen Peacemakers who is currently completing training for full ministry, supervises the Appalachian Zen House projects working with Rosalind Jiko Kisan McIntosh, a fellow Zen Peacemakers ministry candidate.

Knowing that “the depth of our realization of Oneness is shown by how we serve others," we seek through our activities to realize and actualize the interconnectedness of all life.

Mission

To share spiritual development through Zen training and multi-faith cooperation, expressed through service to the underserved populations and the natural environment of the central Appalachian Mountain region of Pennsylvania.

Biographies

Steve Kanji Ruhl — whose dharma name means "Indomitable Spirit" — is a novice minister in the Zen Peacemakers and a graduate of the Maezumi Institute's Zen House Seminary for Socially Engaged Buddhism. He is a longtime Zen practitioner with experience in both shikantaza and koan work. He has trained in Japan at Taiyo-ji Soto Zen temple with Watanabe Roshi; at Zen Mountain Monastery in New York with John Daido Loori Roshi; at Mount Equity Zendo in Pennsylvania with Dai-En Bennage Roshi; and at Springwater Meditation Center in New York with Toni Packer. Currently he trains with Roshi Bernie Glassman, Paul Genki Kahn Roshi and with Sensei Eve Myonen Marko of the Zen Peacemakers Order. Kanji grew up in the Appalachian Mountain region of central Pennsylvania, home to his family of farmers and mill workers for many generations. In 2008 he received his Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University, where he co-chaired the Harvard Buddhist Community. In 2005 he received his B.A. in Religious Studies, with high distinction and Phi Beta Kappa, from the Schreyer Honors College of the Pennsylvania State University. He is also a published and award-winning poet, journalist, and writer of lyrical nonfiction.

Rosalind Jiko Kisan McIntosh — whose dharma names mean "Compassionate Light" and "Mountain Spirit" — is a graduate of the Zen Peacemaker Zen House Seminary for Socially Engaged Buddhism. She grew up in New Zealand, and received her Ph.D. from Cambridge University in England. She had 9 years full-time training and practice as a monastic at Zen Mountain Monastery, Mount Tremper, NY, after a 35-year international career as a medical researcher, professor and consultant. She has been personal assistant to Roshi Bernie Glassman. Mother of two grown children, she ran a lay Zen group in New Zealand for 8 years, and has experience as a dancer, photographer, and solo wilderness enthusiast.