Academy of Zen and the Ways

Mission

The Academy of Zen and the Ways provides instruction in Zen and the Ways as a practical application to life, leading to an energetic, insightful and meaningful existence.

Purely intellectual understanding is nothing more than an activity of the mind and conversely physical activity without any form of insight, is nothing more than physical exercise.  All activities (Ways) of the Academy are practiced with common mind/body principles in such a way that in the end one may realize that any activity can in fact be Zen.

To train in Zen is to center one’s body, breath and mind, and to exist at this time and at this place, as one would be when engaged in any activity with total involvement, yet total unattachment.  It is to be totally focused, and at the same time, totally unattached, free to see things not as we would want them to be, but simply “As Is”.

Like raw iron ore thrown repeatedly into fire and water, until a flawless sword is made, the value of training in any discipline as a way of life, lies in the refinement of oneself.  The mission of the Academy of Zen and the Ways is to bring this spirit of training into our daily lives through training in Zen, the Martial Arts and the Fine Arts (Zen-Ken-Sho).

The Academy of Zen and the Ways was established by the Institute of Zen Studies in 1998 to honor Dr. Daisetz (D.T.) Suzuki and Mr. Trevor Leggett for their lifelong commitment to bringing about a better understanding between East and West.  Both men saw that Zen was the unifying principle that could bring about this understanding which the Academy brings to the world through its foundation program and educational system which is based on Chozen-ji Zen.