Joan Halifax

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Joan Halifax (1942 to present) is a Zen Buddhist priest who received inka from Tetsugen Bernard Glassman. She has been practicing Zen Buddhism since 1965. Joan is head abbess and founder of the Upaya Zen Center in Santa Fe, NM. The Upaya Zen Center is non-sectarian and has guest speakers from many traditions. Joan trained and taught for a decade under the tutelage of Seung Sahn Soen-sa in the Kwan Um School of Zen, and has received Dharma transmission from Thich Nhat Hanh, as well. Joan is at the forefront of socially engaged Buddhism. She helped to found the Zen Peacemaker Order, and has held various teaching positions in institutions as prestigious as Harvard University. In addition Joan has a background in anthropology and studied with many native peoples. The combination of her anthropological studies and Dharma studies is eloquently presented in her work, "The Fruitful Darkness".