Zen monk seeks to begin group in Alamosa

ALAMOSA — A monk in the Zen Buddhist lineage of Shunryu Suzuki-roshi is exploring the possibilities for forming a Zen group in Alamosa.

Dennis Marshall (Buddhist name Rei-Un, or BlackCloud) has practiced Zen for just short of 50 years, almost all of that time as a student of Richard Baker-roshi, the abbot of Crestone Mountain Zen Center. He is now inviting people in the San Luis Valley to get in touch with him to discuss the possibilities for meeting to sit zazen (Zen meditation) together, either in Alamosa or nearby. If there is enough interest, the group could start sitting together in July.

Baker-roshi, Rei-Un’s teacher, is Suzuki-roshi’s dharma heir, in the Soto lineage that stems from Shakyamuni Buddha, through Bodhidharma in China, and the great Eihei Dogen in Japan. Baker-roshi teaches part of the year in Crestone and Boulder and at other times in Europe. Suzuki-roshi’s well-known and greatly loved book “Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind,” is the world’s best selling Zen book.

Rei-Un Dennis, lay ordained in 1972, was ordained by Baker-roshi as a monk and priest in 2015. To contact him phone 719-256-4968 or email [email protected]