Dear Sangha and Dharma Friends,
On May 4, 2025, we held a beautiful ceremony for Jika Lauren Melnikow. She became my first Dharma Heir at the Zen Center of Syracuse, following the conferring of inka shomei, Dharma Transmission, to Zen Studies Society teachers Chigan Dokuro Jaeckel Roshi and Hokuto Daniel Diffin Osho. Jika-shi is serving admirably as a Transmitted Dharma Teacher at HoenJi and in the Syracuse community. From the beginning we agreed that she would not take on the role of abbot after my departure, due to her family and health responsibilities. Read more »
