About Us
The Order of the Boundless Way
The Order of the Boundless Way is a religious order consisting of Zen practitioners who choose to become ordained for the purpose of personal religious affiliation and/or to extend their practice into teaching and/or ministry. The Order was founded to manifest and support independent spiritual practice as expressed in the teachings of Boundless Mind Zen.
Boundless Way practitioners seek to integrate spirituality into their day-to-day lives by way of Zen practice. We recognize that everyday life is Zen practice, and that everyday life is different for everyone. Thus, though we may often practice various disciplines together, members of the Order are primarily independent seekers. Practicing individually as monks, ascetics, wayfarers (dojin) and ministers, we are united by several common beliefs and practices.
Ordination is open to anyone who wishes to learn and practice this universal form of Zen, but there are no requirements in Boundless Mind Zen for practitioners to become members of the religious order. Members of the Order are legally recognized as clergy and are sanctioned to provide all of the services normally associated with this vocation. There is no hierarchy among members and therefore no appointed Dharma Successors.
Teachers of Boundless Mind Zen
As originally established in the Zen tradition, Boundless Mind Zen teachers are recognized as teachers by their students and receive all their authority from this recognition. Through this natural process the teacher's understanding and authority is authentically realized rather than institutionally instated and sanctioned. Fundamental to the philosophy of Boundless Mind Zen is the recognition that teachers themselves are also students of Zen and that the nature and quality of their teaching is derived from their own understanding and practice. As continuing students, they are committed to an openness and fluidity of teaching and practice, and may develop and apply diverse approaches to their methods of teaching.