Jules Shuzen Harris

Jules Shuzen Harris (1939–2023) was a psychotherapist and Zen teacher, founder, and abbot of Soji Zen Center in Lansdowne, Pennsylvania. Based on his decades of experience working with Zen students and psychotherapy clients, he created a powerful method that combines the rigor of Zen practice, psychological insights of early Buddhism, and tools from a contemporary psychotherapeutic method known as "Mind-Body Bridging." He was a dharma heir of Pat Enkyo O'Hara and practiced with many other Zen teachers, including John Daido Loori and Dennis Genpo Merzel. Born in a working-class town outside of Philadelphia, Harris was the first African-American to receive transmission in the Soto Zen tradition. He earned a black belt in the Japanese martial arts of Iaido and Kendo and published a number of articles in Tricycle, Buddhadharma, and Lion's Roar magazines.

GUIDES