Soryu Forall
I left my home to train at a Japanese Buddhist monastery when I was 19. As a child, seeing people create such suffering in the world tore me apart. I wanted to face the problem directly, and upon learning that monasteries are built for that purpose, I began searching immediately. After visiting teachers for some time, I found a true Zen Master, Shodo Harada Roshi, with whom I was fortunate enough to train for four years, and under whom I was ordained. I also trained, and served as head monk, at Sariputta Boudh Vihar, an Ambedkar Buddhist monastery in southern India, where I worked for the rights of those born into the lower castes and helped to raise thirty boys with the understanding that we are all inconceivably valuable, regardless of family circumstances. I led peaceful protests and organized community efforts to overcome the injustice of the caste system. I further trained at Hemis Gompa, a Kagyud Tibetan monastery in the far north of India, and Xue Feng Si, an ancient Ch'an monastery in eastern China. Since returning to the US, I have had the honor of participating in several Native American ceremonies, including the Sun Dance and a four-year cycle of Vision Quests.
I am currently living in Burlington, VT in the United States, near the house where I began meditation practice when I was 16. I am now 33, and over the past 17 years, I have practiced formal meditation, sometimes joyful and sometimes painful but always exciting, for more than 20,000 hours.
I currently teach meditation techniques at residential retreats around the US and internationally, one-on-one in Vermont, over the phone and the Internet and through text messages, and at King Street Center with youth. It is a blessing for me to have the chance to provide meditation guidance as a full-time job.
-Soryu Forall
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