Our Dharma Teachers

Matt Shinkai Kane, M.A., studied Zen in Japan for over seven years, and received permission to teach as a Zen master (Roshi) from Shinzan Roshi in 2016. In 2014 he founded the Blue Cliff Zen Center in Eugene, Oregon, and is the lead teacher there. He currently lives in an east-Eugene apartment rather than within a celibate monastic setting.

Shinkai has taught yoga for over 7 years to a variety of groups including kids, elementary school teachers, university students, people who are vision or hearing impaired, and elderly folks. His teaching style integrates this experience and emphasizes being grounded and awake.

eith Fuso Alker was first introduced to meditation and the Dharma in 1971 by his instructor of Chinese martial arts. He is a trained Buddhist Kalyana Mitra Chaplain and helps to train new Buddhist chaplains. Occasionally assists with Buddhist funerals for those without sangha support. He leads a regular Mindfulness Meditation group for seniors in the University of the Third Age (U3A). Keith has a history of 50 years practice in martial arts, Tai Chi and Qigong. He is a retired Chartered Engineer with experience of managing large projects and multi-disciplinary teams. Keith found the Dharma to be an invaluable foundation when dealing with people and circumstances throughout the whole of his professional career. Keith met Zen Master Daizan Skinner in 2011 and is now an active member of his Rinzai Zen group at the Yugagyo Dojo in Camberwell. He is a qualified Zenways teacher of Mindfulness Meditation. Keith became a lineage teacher of Rinzai Zen in 2017 and continues to develop under Daizan Roshi’s guidance.

Seán was first introduced to a formal Mindfulness and Meditation practice in 2009. Since then he maintained a regular daily practice and was drawn to sharing the benefits he had experienced with others. He began doing this with work colleagues in 2011 and became fully qualified through the Zenways Meditation and Mindfulness Teacher Training programme with Daizan Roshi in 2012.

“The immersive nature of the teacher training was fantastic. It was a pivotal point in my life. I am truly grateful to have become a part of the Zenways family under Daizan’s guidance.” Seán has been continually teaching mindfulness ever since and has gone on to do advanced level Meditation and Mindfulness course with Daizan and to qualify as a teacher trainer.

He shares the Meditation and Mindfulness in a variety of settings such as hospices, large corporations and even out in woodlands. His passion is making the benefits available as easily and widely as possible by encouraging and supporting students to develop a mindful approach to living.

“Passing on these practices so students can experience the benefits is hugely rewarding. Perhaps the only thing more rewarding is helping others become teachers themselves.”

Daizan has this to say of Seán:
“Since he came on Zenways meditation and mindfulness teacher training, I’ve seen a Sean blossom into a first rate teacher of this work. Equally at home in a company boardroom or a forest Sean draws on humour, creativity and a deep personal practice together with a broad range of life experiences to meet his students in a place where they can share non-judgemental presence. I whole-heartedly recommend Sean and his work.”

Riccardo Shunzan has been practising meditation since 2008. He trained to become a meditation and mindfulness teacher at the end of 2018 and started studying Zen under the guidance of Daizan Roshi the following year when he also joined the Zen teacher training programme. Since then, he has been running regular meditation and mindfulness sessions and courses. Riccardo has always been very fond of sports and competed in both cycling and running for many years. After leaving the world of competition, he cycled in many solo tours around Europe. Now, he loves taking his meditation out on his bike or out on the road whilst running or walking. In May 2023, Riccardo became a Junior Zen teacher receiving permission to teach by Daizan Roshi. He continues studying and practising with Daizan and all the Zenways Sangha.

Meeting Shinzan Miyamae Roshi is like meeting a Zen master from the golden age. Openly critical of the institutionalisation and routinisation of much of modern Zen and emphatic on the importance of genuine insight, he has charted an unorthodox course. Born in 1935 in Niigata, Japan, he graduated from Doshisha University with a degree in Economics. In his twenties he failed in three business ventures, experiencing great hardships. Contemplating suicide, he was by chance transformed upon meeting a Zen nun. He was 31. He was ordained a Zen monk by Mitsui Daishin Roshi who sent him to train at Shogenji monastery with his own master, the formidable Kajiura Itsugai Roshi. Shogenji, known as the devil’s dojo, had the reputation of being the strictest training monastery in Japan. It was founded in the mountains of Gifu-ken on the spot where Zen ancestor Kanzan Egan (1277-1360) in his post-monastery training worked as a cow herder by day and sat zazen on a precipice by night. Recognising his understanding, Itsugai Roshi wished Shinzan to succeed him at Shogenji. Shinzan Roshi instead went on to study at Kokutaiji in the north of Japan. The resident teacher, Inaba Shinden Roshi, requested Shinzan to become the next Zen Master of Kokutaiji. After completing his koan study, Shinzan Roshi took the unusual step of visiting every Zen Master in Japan seeking to test and deepen his insight. Later he restored Gyokuryuji, the hermitage of the great Zen master Bankei. He has become known for protesting against institutional abuses and Zen teachers without insight. He parted ways with the Myoshinji branch of Rinzai Zen over excess charging for funerals and focussed on working with lay practitioners. Shinzan Roshi went on to found Zendo Kai (Zenways), a primarily lay-based Zen organisation dedicated to fostering true awakening in the modern world. He has taught in the US, Canada and Europe and has written two books in Japanese, one about true Buddhism and one about finding happiness.