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FACE TO FACE | EASTERN HORIZON 41
Zen for Everyday Life
By Ben Connelly
Ben Connelly is a Soto Zen Benny: You’re a Zen teacher, pretty good too. The more I devoted
teacher and Dharma heir in the author, and dharma heir of myself to practice the more I was
Katagiri lineage. He also teaches Katagiri roshi. How did you first able to enjoy life and embody my
mindfulness in a wide variety of encountered Zen Buddhism and values. My long term commitment
secular contexts including police what motivated you to stay in this to the practice comes from my
training and addiction recovery tradition for so long? personal experience of liberation
groups. He works with multi-faith from very powerful negative
groups focused on intersectional Ben: I came to Zen because I had habits and personally witnessing
liberation, racial justice, and serious mental and behavioral how the practice transforms lives,
climate justice. Ben is based at health problems. I experienced and relationships, and communities.
caused a lot of suffering and harm.
Minnesota Zen Meditation Center, I was involved in an addiction The word Zen itself refers
travels to teach across the United recovery community and getting to meditation. So how is Zen
States, has written for Tricycle mental health therapy for years meditation similar or different
and Lion’s Roar magazines, and but still needed more help. I am from what Buddha Sakyamuni
is author of Inside the Grass Hut, very fortunate the Minnesota Zen actually taught?
Inside Vasubandhu’s Yogacara, Meditation Center was near my
and Mindfulness and Intimacy. home, and Zen practice meshed At our Zen center we incorporate
really well with all the other ways and learn from many Buddhist
In this interview, Benny Liow I was learning to be well and care traditions. Having said that, Soto
asks Ben about his Zen lineage, for the people around me. I used Zen meditation is usually different
whether Zen meditation was to go to the Zen center for early from the type of meditation
originally taught by the Buddha, morning meditation on Thursdays. described in the earliest Buddhist
role of mindfulness meditation One day I realized Thursday was literature in that we emphasize
in the modern world, and the always the best day of the week objectless meditation: not focusing
benefits of Zen practice. for me so I tried going on Sundays on a particular thing and not
too, lo and behold, Sundays got having an object we are trying to
