Jogen

Portland, OR

For Jogen, Zen Buddhism is not simply a meditation practice—it is a way of meeting life. Through monastic training, meditation, community, and the ordinary challenges of living alongside others, he has discovered that every moment can become part of the path. His journey reveals a Zen practice grounded in direct experience rather than belief, where transformation comes through consistency, patience, and a willingness to meet whatever arises. For those beginning their own Buddhist path, Jogen offers a simple reminder: don’t chase perfection or awakening. Practice, stay curious, find good teachers and community, and keep showing up. Over time, the distinction between life and practice begins to disappear.

Experience

15-30 Years XP

Tradition

Mahayana

Background

Jogen, raised in a non-religious Jewish family, discovered his first taste of meditation in childhood during taekwondo classes. His family’s observance of Jewish holidays was minimal, with the exception of his grandfather, who secretly practiced meditation. Jogen’s deeper exploration into meditation began after his grandfather’s passing, when he inherited books on yoga, Zen, and a meditation device. Intrigued, he found solace and presence for the first time, alleviating the anxiety he had carried since his father’s death when he was seven.

The early loss deeply impacted his family, creating a sense of sorrow and fragmentation. Jogen’s encounter with Buddhism later in life resonated with him, offering an affirmation of life’s difficulties that he could trust, given his early experiences with impermanence and loss. Enthusiastically embracing meditation, he faced both frustration and exhilaration during his early attempts, often throwing a kitchen timer in frustration. Concurrently, he experimented with psychedelics, finding them helpful in breaking free from fixed states of mind.

As Jogen delved deeper into meditation, attending sitting groups and temples, he became increasingly drawn to retreats. The more he practiced, the more he desired to continue his meditative journey.

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Jogen’s story opens the door to a deeper question: what happens when Buddhist practice stops being something we do and begins to shape the way we actually live?

In the rest of his profile, Jogen reflects on the experiences that have shaped his life in Zen—from intensive meditation and monastic training to the relationships with teachers who have sustained and challenged his practice. His perspective moves beyond meditation as an isolated activity and toward something much more encompassing: a path that unfolds through community and relationships with fellow practitioners, discipline, uncertainty, and the ordinary circumstances of everyday life.

Jogen explores what it means to go deeper in practice, while also recognizing the dangers of turning spiritual development into another goal to achieve. He speaks about committing himself to a lineage deeply enough for its wisdom to unfold over time, the importance of practicing within Sangha, and what prolonged immersion in monastic life can reveal about our habits, relationships, and sense of self.

Perhaps most importantly, his reflections point toward the changes that emerge from years of practice—not necessarily as dramatic spiritual attainments, but as gradual transformations in how we relate to ourselves and others. This becomes especially tangible in his relationship with his mother, where meditation and self-investigation helped resentment gradually give way to understanding, forgiveness, tenderness, and love. Practice becomes less about reaching a particular state and more about learning to carry awareness into the whole of life.

For those exploring Buddhism themselves, Jogen also offers guidance born from his own experience: find trustworthy teachers, practice with others, remain curious, and give the path enough time to work on you.

Register to explore Jogen’s full profile and hear, in his own words, what it means to carry Zen beyond the cushion and into the whole of one’s life.