Teacher
Sensei José Shinzan Palma
Sensei Shinzan was born in Veracruz, Mexico. He is an ordained Zen priest and Dharma successor of Joan Jiko Halifax, roshi. In 1996, he met Korean Zen teacher, Ven. Samu Sunim, in Mexico City and trained in the Buddhist Maitreya Seminar while living at Toronto Zen Buddhist Temple until 2005. He was ordained as a Zen Buddhist priest by Sunim in 2004.
Shinzan arrived at Upaya Zen Center in 2006 where he lived and trained for over eight years as a resident and student of Halifax. He received Dharma transmission from Halifax in January 2015 before relocating to San Diego, California.
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, New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, 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.
Assistant Teacher
Hoshi Gregg Dojin Henning
Gregg Dojin Henning (b. August 13, 1959) was born and raised in the Santa Ynez Valley of California. He served in the United States Navy as a medic and later worked for over thirty years as a licensed vocational nurse. Alongside his healthcare career, Gregg has been a professional drummer for more than forty years.
Dojin began Zen practice in 1993 at the Zen Center San Diego, where he practiced for seven years with Charlotte Joko Beck, Elizabeth Hamilton, and Ezra Bayda. He has also practiced for over thirty years with Insight Meditation teacher Gita Morena.
His Zen training has included practice at Sweetwater Zen Center under the guidance of Roshi Ann Seisen Sanders. For the past ten years, Dojin has practiced at Open Gate Zen Collective with Jose Shinzan Palma, Sensei.
Gregg was recently recognized as a Hoshi (Assistant teacher) and continues to share the Dharma grounded in ordinary life, long-term practice, and compassionate presence.