There is a deeper connection through Zen
Zen Ko Ryan Harriot
Zen Ko and I have been meeting in dokusan for this past year in preparation for his ordination as our first official Shining Bright Lotus clergy member. We’ve sat together many times on sesshin. He’s been mentored by Fugen Roshi, and this past year he has been serving as our Shuso, an honor he has taken seriously by modeling leadership in the sangha. I caught up with Zen Ko a few weeks ago to learn about how he got to this moment in his life.
Ekai: I'm here talking to Zen Ko Ryan Harriot. Zen Ko has been studying with Shining Bright Lotus, Dragon Heart Dharma and Hollow Bones Zen for over five years. He's currently preparing to become a priest. Zen Ko, how did you get into all this in the first place? When did meditation show up in your life?
Zen Ko: Meditation was always part of the arts for me. I took martial arts early on, so the draw to Japanese culture was always through my mind. I wasn't disciplined enough at the time, so I never followed through with becoming a sensei in the martial arts form. I’m more drawn to haiku and poetry. Literature and things like that were always heartfelt for me. I was a big poet in high school. I acted as well and did local theater.
Ekai: When did you really start to get into meditation, was it Zen, or what was it?
Zen Ko: My first introduction to Hollow Bones or Mondo Zen was when I was part of the Mankind Project. It was 2000 when I did the Warrior Monk retreat. The spiritual energy with the warrior energy and combining those with Hollow Bones was almost a trifecta. I was like, okay, I did this one. I need to do this one, and this is the third. I really appreciated everything about it. The discipline, the commitment, the being part of the group. I was still learning about myself and my shadows through MKP, so it was a good place to ground myself.
Ekai: That was the early Hollow Bones, when Hollow Bones was just men with a lot of the forms that we are still familiar with. Shining Bright Lotus continues to rely on the Hollow Bones form. So, you met Jun Po Roshi when he was a young guy.
Zen Ko: Yeah, but it wasn’t until five years ago that I really started seriously with Fugen Roshi.
Ekai: That was when Mondo Zen Facilitation became an online program. So, you trained and are certified in Mondo Zen Facilitation. What's it like for you to do Mondo with others, and how does it feel?
Zen Ko: There is a deeper connection through Zen. This allows for an opportunity to see myself in others. I get to hold space for others, both honoring it and diving deeper into helping others with their practice.
Ekai: So you genuinely enjoy being in that service role. What I hear is that you also get a lot from it. You're not just giving.
Zen Ko: If we go back to MKP, there is the projection aspect, but there is also a goal that you see in others as well. So I get to be in that space.
Ekai: It's well suited to you. And now you're taking on another role in the leadership at Shining Bright Lotus. You're becoming a priest. When did you decide, and how did you decide, that you really wanted to take your seat as a clergy member?
Zen Ko: Showing up in the world in a deeper, more compassionate place in my life. I have a lot to give, so I want to shine that light as bright as possible.
Ekai: Nice. Do you have any concerns or worries about taking on that particular role?
Zen Ko: I wouldn't say concerns. I mean there's always a struggle in creating that circle. For me right now, being in Florida is a little bit more difficult with finding the community. But I'm putting myself out there and seeing where stuff lands.
Ekai: Historically you were in eastern Pennsylvania, and so you've definitely changed your environment. You did have a career. If I remember, you were a body worker.
Zen Ko: I did massage for many years. Now I do more energy work or Reiki, and I still help people with that.
Ekai: So, you are familiar with being in the healer role, where people are seeking you out and you're giving them something non-tangible but of value. Do they think that training has helped you with your taking on the role of a priest?
Zen Ko: Yeah, definitely. It's about connection. When I was doing massage, I struggled at one point taking money for it because it was sharing gifts, you know, being part of that. And how do you charge for that? But I'm learning around that as well.
Ekai: That's a good one to learn about. May abundance come to you in some way. Do you ever try and publish your poetry? Do you ever put it out there?
Zen Ko: In the past, I explored that, but again, one of my teachers said long ago that you have to be careful with that because once you take it from one form of print to the other form, it does change. It does develop to a different nuance.
Ekai: Interesting. So at this stage, you've actually taken on a few years of pretty serious training in Zen. I think you know a lot about teaching meditation. You are comfortable with the Jun Po Roshi’s Dharma, which is Mondo Zen, and you're a certified Mondo Zen Facilitator. What are you looking forward to in this next phase after ordination?
Zen Ko: Creating a community, creating circles where I can reach out and be of service.
Ekai: Nice. I think you'll find more success in a way because you'll have the designation as a priest. It's not that you're wearing a rakusu, it's an energetic thing. What do you see as the value of Zen in modern in life at this stage? What does it offer?
Zen Ko: It offers a new perspective on daily life. It creates space to just really look at what's important in our lives.
Ekai: How does Jun Po Roshi’s Mondo flavor this?
Zen Ko: It's the stepping stone that that keeps us on that path. It really gets to the nitty gritty fast.
Ekai: I like that. What I hear in that is that it makes it relevant in a way that the classical Zen is not, which is a bit closer to classical music. Mondo Zen really is about now. It's what you said, the rubber hits the road.
Zen Ko: Sometimes it might be a hard truth, but it's something that we need to look at.
Ekai: Right, so then it allows you to show up with your wonderful skills. To hold the space for folks as they inquire. What do you love about meditation?
Zen Ko: The clarity, the stillness of mind. It’s comforting. If you can be with that stillness and that silence, then there's a lot of comfort that comes.
Ekai: Do you find that it's healing for folks?
Zen Ko: Oh, definitely healing with it. It’s a crazy world out there that we need to deal with. So if we can face that with eyes wide open, that helps.
Ekai: You can really feel your orientation toward being in the relations side of Buddhism. The Mahayana attends to being in service of everyone. It's about our relationships. You're being of service, and you receive, and so there's a level lovely reciprocity in the way that you're describing.
Zen Ko: Yeah, that's wonderful.
Ekai: This is exciting. I appreciate you taking the time to check in and to share a little bit about yourself. I look forward to the ordination later this month.
Zen Ko: Thank you. I appreciate it.
Ekai: You're very welcome.