Rev. Shinmu Tamori Gibson (心無 田守 ギブソン) (fka Jozen) lives to study, nourish, and offer contemplative heart-body-mind practices and spaces rooted in compassionate wellness, anti-oppression and interdependent liberation for all beings through the Buddhadharma.
Shinmu is a Sotō Zen monastic priest ordained on November 12, 2023 by their teacher, Osho Zenju Earthlyn Manuel of the Suzuki Roshi lineage. Honoring the wisdom and compassion of all teachers and future generations, with the ancestors of their Black Japanese heritage, Shinmu highlights their mother – Akimi, and their lay dharma teacher – Monitsu Pamela Weiss.
They began formal meditation practice while living in Japan, joined by Early Buddhism, Theravada practice centering Vipassana and Thai Forest lineages. Shinmu is a graduate of the four-year Insight Meditation Society (IMS) – Insight Retreat Center (IRC) Dharma Teacher Training program. Certifications and embodiment studies in Yoga, Qigong, psychology and emergency medicines supplements the fluidity of this life and clarification of the ennobling truths.
At the peak of his career, former social work professor and founder of War Child Canada, Steven Hick dove into the Dharma full-time in 2005. He has since founded the Ottawa Insight Meditation Community and now teaches insight meditation with an emphasis on reducing the stress in our daily life. He is Director of MBSR Ottawa where he established MBSR teacher training in Manitoba, Newfoundland and Alberta. Steven is the author of numerous books including Mindfulness and Social Work and Mindfulness and the Therapeutic Relationship. He holds a PhD in social work, and is a father and activist. Steven has been practicing meditation and yoga since 1979 with a variety of teachers, including Matthew Flickstein, Adyashanti, Bhagavan Shanmukha and Thich Nhat Hanh.
