Clark Strand's Page

About Me:

I am a former Rinzai Zen Buddhist monk and currently a writer and spiritual teacher living in Woodstock, New York. I began studying Zen in 1977 under Eido Shimano Roshi at Dai Bosatsu Zendo and eventually took over New York Zendo, Shobo-ji in the late 80s. On the verge of taking permanent responsibility for that organization, I decided to leave. The reasons were complex, but my overriding concern was that tribal affiliation (even Zen affiliation) was not what the world needed going forward, and I could not be responsible for teaching that kind of approach, even mystically. I left the monkhood in 1990, and a few years later became the first senior editor of the newly created magazine Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. I remained in that position through 1996, at which time I began writing full-time.

My first book (SEEDS FROM A BIRCH TREE: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey) offered Western readers a way of writing haiku poetry as a Zen art, drawing upon a small-group practice model, and two years later I published THE WOODEN BOWL: Meditation for Everyday Life (since republished as MEDITATION WITHOUT GURUS), which applied the same small-group model to meditation practice. By then I was traveling across the U.S. to teach in a wide variety of different spiritual settings, including Buddhist and Christian monasteries.

In January of 2000, I founded the Koans of the Bible Study Group, a weekly inter-religious gathering dedicated to using the spiritual teachings of one religion to unlock the spiritual texts of another. I remain the spiritual director of that group today. In March of 2009, my book "HOW TO BELIEVE IN GOD: Whether You Believe in Religion or Not" will be published by Doubleday. That book draws heavily upon the teachings of Pure Land Buddhism in order to reinterpret the teachings of the Judeo-Christian Bible, making the Bible useful as a spiritual handbook, even for people who have no desire to embrace Judaism or Christianity as a religion.

Amida Membership

Would like to be a member

Faith Background & Affiliation

Unaffiliated or Hyperaffiliated (Take Your Pick)

Occupation or Primary Activity

Writer/Spiritual Teacher

Involvement in Spirituality/Religion

My involvements are so broad and so extensive that they would be impossible to chronicle here. I have studied everything from Pure Land Buddhism to Hasidic and Muslim prayer practices, all in great depth and detail. When I left Rinzai Zen, I turned my training in koan study to the task of reading the various religious texts and scriptures of the world using the meditative techniques I had learned. Later I learned to use the Nembutsu in the same way, as a key to unlock the spiritual texts of diverse traditions.

What is your interest in Amida Trust

I am interested in exploring the world of Western Buddhism outside of the U.S. and Japan (which until now have been my main areas of experience).

How did you find this web site?

I was invited to join by David Brazier.

What country are you living in?

United States

What is the nearest town to where you live? If in UK, please give first half of your postcode. Thank you.

New York City

Are you a member of an Amida group/Congregation

not at the moment

Have you visited

None of these

What can you offer to other members of this network?

Expertise

What other interests do you have, eg Arts, Gardening and so on.

I am an avid outdoorsman (hiking and camping) and a committed environmentalist. You can find recent interviews online that I have conducted with Alan Weisman (THE WORLD WITHOUT US) and Paul Hawkin (BLESSED UNREST).

Website:

http://WholeEarthGod.com