Ep. 227 - Simplicity on the Soto Zen Path with Rev. Chimyo Atkinson & Vincent Moore

Exploring the Soto Zen path, Rev. Chimyo Atkinson and Vincent Moore reflect on inclusivity, feminine wisdom, and the beauty of simplicity.

This episode is from the series Paths of Practice. Click here to subscribe on YouTube, Spotify, or Apple Podcasts!

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In this episode, Rev. Chimyo and Vincent Moore chat about:

• Building a Zen Buddhist community in the Southern United States
• Rev Chimyo’s profound experience volunteering at a prison as a Zen priest
• How Rev Chimyo was first introduced to meditation and Buddhism
• The beautiful serenity within taking pause, being still, and doing a Zen practice
• Finding reality in the present moment and realizing that everything else is made up in our minds
• Walking the Soto Zen path and finding depth within simple practices
• Great Tree Zen Women’s Temple and holding space specifically for women in the Buddhist world
• Paying attention to what feminine energy can bring to Buddhist practice and temples
• Inclusive spiritual practice and focusing on the shared elements of life
• The calm and connection that can be discovered through Zen labor
• Loving others and loving the dharma, wishing peace for all people
• Doing all daily tasks with the dharma in our hearts and minds

About Rev. Chimyo Atkinson:

Rev. Chimyo Atkinson is a Soto Zen priest that serves the Great Tree Zen Women’s Temple in Alexander, NC, as well as sanghas and centers throughout the United States and internationally. Rev. Chimyo was ordained by Rev. Teijo Munnich in 2007 and received Dharma Transmission in 2015. She received monastic training at Great Tree Temple and completed two Sotoshu International training periods (angos) in Japan in 2010 and 2011, two additional angos at Aichi Senmon Nisodo in Nagoya in 2012 and one ango at Ryumonji Monastery in Iowa in 2014. Chimyo served as Head of Practice at Great Tree Zen Women’s Temple and volunteered with the sangha at Avery-Mitchell Correctional Institute until 2020. For more information, please visit: https://chimyoatkinson.org/

About Vincent Moore:

Vincent Moore is a media specialist and creative consultant at Good for Nothing Ideas based in San Francisco, California. Vincent has over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry as a producer, performer, and writer in stage, film, and television and wrote a children's book titled, You're a Rubber Duck. He also has a master's degree in Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies with a Certificate in Soto Zen Studies. Vincent is also the creator and host of the podcast, Paths of Practice, which features interviews with Buddhists from all over the world. For more information about his work, please visit: www.goodfornothingideas.com

“Just stop, and give not just the breath but the whole being to that stillness, that stop. Be in reality for a minute, for 40 minutes, if you can handle it, 60 minutes. Be in that stop. Experience it. Know there’s reality. Everything else you’re making it up as you go along.” –Rev. Chimyo Atkinson

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