Paths of Practice with Sensei José Shinzan Palma

Paths of Practice with Sensei José Shinzan Palma

Author: Vincent Moore April 9, 2025 Duration: 1:03:09

Sensei José Shinzan Palma was born in Veracruz, Mexico. He is an ordained Zen priest and the Dharma successor of Roshi Joan Jiko Halifax. He met Korean Zen teacher, Ven. Samu Sunim in Mexico City in 1996, and then trained in the Buddhist Maitreya Seminary while living in the Toronto Zen Buddhist Temple where he stayed until 2005. He was ordained as a Zen Buddhist priest by Ven. Samu Sunim in 2004.

Shinzan arrived at Upaya Zen Center in 2006 where he lived and trained for over 8 years as a resident and student of Roshi Joan. He received Dharma transmission from Roshi in Jan 2015 before relocating to San Diego, CA.

He is the founder of the Open Gate Zen Collective in San Diego, CA; Co-teaches teen retreats in the US for IBME, and is a guest teacher at Upaya Zen Center in New Mexico, Zen Groups in México City, and Bogotá, Colombia.

His vision is to continue to mentor and teach young men and women and to create a Zen Hispanic community in the USA and Mexico. For more information, go to: www.joseshinzanpalma.org.

We talked about the founding of the Open Gate Zen Collective, differences in what's emphasized within sanghas in Mexico and Colombia as well as the United States, the beauty of buttes and viewing nature as part of contemplation practice, training with Ven. Samu Sunim, teenage mindfulness workshops and healing your inner teenager, and the importance of following and trusting your heart while navigating the unknown.


Vincent Moore hosts Paths of Practice: Conversations on Journeys into Buddhism, a space where personal stories take center stage. Each episode is built around a simple, profound question: what does it actually look like to live with Buddhist teachings? You’ll hear from people whose lives have been shaped by this path, from long-time monastics and dedicated lay practitioners to those who have just felt a curious pull toward mindfulness and compassion. The conversations avoid dry theory, focusing instead on the messy, human, and often surprising realities of integrating practice into daily life-through family, work, doubt, and discovery. This podcast operates on the belief that there are as many ways to walk this road as there are people walking it, gently exploring that diversity one honest conversation at a time. It’s less about providing answers and more about sharing the map-making process itself, offering companionship and insight for anyone interested in the varied terrain of spiritual life.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Paths of Practice: Conversations on Journeys into Buddhism
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