Soji Teachers

Sensei John Ango Gruber first encountered Zen Buddhism through the writings of Peter Muryo Mattheissen and a visit to SFZC’s Green Gulch Farm in the 1980s. One of his earliest immersive practice experiences came in 1985 at a retreat held at the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland RI. Ango Sensei received jukai, priest ordination and denkai from Shuzen Roshi and received dharma transmission in March, 2021. He currently serves as Chairman of Soji’s Board of Directors.

As a teacher, Ango Sensei is committed to the healing, growth and flourishing of all beings, both human beings and the many other living beings who share the planet with us. He has led recent workshops on Waking Up to Emptiness, Writing Light and Stillness, Seeing Impermanence, and also on Relationship as Practice, using the paramitas to explore how relationships can serve as powerful opportunities to more fully embody our Zen practice in our lives.

Ango is also a science educator and field and laboratory researcher, serving as founder and leader of the Commonwealth Institute for Ecological Learning.He directs a research program that works to recognize cryptic species while encouraging efforts to promote peaceful conservation and sustainability for all forms of life on Earth. In addition to introducing students to the joys of witnessing natural beauty, Ango Sensei has worked to offer instruction in meditation practice to college and high school students as a support to healthy growth and development.

Ango Sensei is married to Sonja Lindgren and is the parent of two grown children, Hayden and Julien.

Sensei Annalisa Rakugo Castaldo started studying Buddhism because an internet “what religion is best for you?” quiz suggested it. She began reading books and trying to sit at home, but she became frustrated with her lack of progress and realized she needed to find a teacher. In 2011, she found Soji Zen Center. She received jukai, ordination, and denkai from Shuzen Roshi. In June 2023 she received transmission from Shuzen Roshi’s successor, Sensei John Ango Gruber.

Rakugo Sensei is a professor of early modern literature and teaches at Widener University. In addition to courses early modern literature, she teaches a wide variety of classes, including introduction to feminist theory, and perspectives on disabilities. Whatever the topic, she is motivated by the desire to help students think critically about texts, themselves, and the world around them. Her 2015 diagnosis of rheumatoid arthritis and struggles with depression have led to workshops on practicing with pain and how to create more accessible sanghas. For the past 6 years she has been leading a disability affinity group, as well as a weekly study group for Soji members. In addition to disability rights, she is passionate about supporting other marginalized groups, especially the LGBT+ and non-monogamous communities.

Sensei Anthony Nentetsu Yuschak began his formal Zen practice in 2016 at Soji Zen Center under the guidance of White Plum teacher Roshi Jules Shuzen Harris. He received jukai (2016), tokudo (2018), hoshi (2022), and denkai (2022) from Shuzen Roshi, serving as his attendant until Shuzen Roshi’s passing in 2023. Nentetsu then continued his training under his late teacher’s successor, Sensei John Ango Gruber, from whom he received Dharma transmission in 2026.

In addition to giving talks, leading workshops, and supporting various other functions at Soji, Nentetsu Sensei serves as a member of the SZBA Ethics Committee. Professionally, he maintains a private practice as a licensed psychotherapist where he specializes in a contemplative therapeutic modality known as Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Nentetsu and his wife Elizabeth live in Paoli, Pennsylvania, caring for their numerous rescued animals and providing support to local animal rescue organizations.

Roshi Jules Shuzen Harris, Ed.D. (1939-2023) was a Zen priest, psychotherapist, and the founding teacher and abbot of Soji Zen Center. Throughout his life, Shuzen Roshi promoted the integration of traditional Buddhist teachings and Western psychology, emphasizing the importance of applying Zen wisdom to everyday life. He founded Soji Zen Center in 2005 to support his mission of ensuring the Dharma is available to everyone, regardless of race or socio-economic status. His teachings continue to flourish through the many students practicing at Soji today.

A lifelong spiritual seeker, Shuzen began his formal study of Zen Buddhism after meeting the influential Japanese Zen teacher Roshi Taizan Maezumi. He first studied with Maezumi’s successor, Roshi John Daido Loori, at Zen Mountain Monastery before moving to Salt Lake City to practice under the guidance of Roshi Dennis Genpo Merzel. Shuzen eventually moved back to the East Coast, where he studied with and received Dharma transmission from Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara, abbot of New York City’s Village Zendo, making him the first African-American man to receive transmission in the Soto Zen tradition.

Throughout his career as a Zen teacher, Shuzen found countless innovative ways to express and transmit his enduring love for the Dharma. His passion for synthesizing contemplative wisdom with Western psychology was thoroughly articulated in his 2019 publication, Zen Beyond Mindfulness, in which he proposed a powerful combination of traditional Buddhist practices and modern psychotherapeutic techniques. Shuzen also appreciated the relationship between Zen and the martial arts; he held black belts in both kendo and iaido and founded swordsmanship schools in Albany, NY and Salt Lake City, UT.

In 2019, Shuzen received inka transmission from Enkyo Roshi, granting him the title of “Roshi” and providing her formal acknowledgement of Shuzen’s contributions to the Zen community. Upon his death in 2023, Enkyo Roshi remarked that, “the Dharma emerged from his being,” and that Shuzen’s life “expressed the compassion and wisdom of contemporary Zen practice.” These qualities continue their expression today under the guidance of his Dharma heir, Sensei John Ango Gruber, and through the continuing practice of the sangha that Shuzen built at Soji Zen Center.

Roshi Pat Enkyo O’Hara is a former abbot of Soji Zen Center and was a Dharma teacher to our founder, Shuzen Roshi. Enkyo Roshi currently serves as abbot of the Village Zendo and remains a continuing source of guidance and support to the community at Soji. She received priest ordination from Taizan Maezumi Roshi and Dharma transmission and inka from Roshi Bernie Tetsugen Glassman. Enkyo Roshi’s lineage comes through Maezumi Roshi whose teaching was uncommon, bringing together Soto priest training and study of the Rinzai koan system. Moreover, Glassman Roshi’s focus on social engagement and peacemaking underlie much of her vision of Zen practice.

Enkyo Roshi is a founding teacher of the Zen Peacemaker Family, a spiritual and social action association. Roshi’s focus is on the expression of Zen through caring, service, and creative response. Her Five Expressions of Zen form the matrix of study at the Village Zendo: Meditation, Study, Communication, Action, and Caring.