James Ishmael Ford
| James Ishmael Ford | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
July 17, 1948 Oakland, California |
| Education | BA, Sonoma State University; MDiv and MA, Pacific School of Religion |
| Occupation | Zen Buddhist priest and Unitarian Universalist minister |
| Spouse(s) | Jan Seymour-Ford |
James Ishmael Ford (Zeno Myoun, Roshi) is an American Zen Buddhist priest and Unitarian Universalist minister. He was born in Oakland, California on July 17, 1948. He earned a BA in psychology from Sonoma State University, as well as an MDiv and an MA in the Philosophy of Religion, both from the Pacific School of Religion.
Ford began his Zen studies in 1968 at the Berkeley Zen Center under the direction of Mel Weitsman, later Weitsman, Roshi. He was ordained unsui and received Dharma transmission from the late Jiyu Kennett Roshi. After leaving Kennett Roshi's Shasta Abbey and for a brief time exploring other religious traditions including the Episcopal Church, the western Gnostic tradition and Inayat Khan Sufism, Ford pursued Zen koan introspection for nearly twenty years with the Sanbo Kyodan derived Harada-Yasutani Zen master Dr John Tarrant, with whom he completed formal training and from whom he received Inka Shomei in 2005.
Ford also began to be seriously involved in Unitarian Universalism at about the same time he began his work with Tarrant Roshi. After completing theological studies he became a Unitarian Universalist minister, serving Unitarian Universalist congregations in Wisconsin and Arizona before becoming senior minister of the First Unitarian Society in Newton, MA in 2000. In May 2008 First Unitarian Church of Providence, RI called him to its pulpit; he began his ministry there in the summer of that year. He retired from the ministry in July 2016, but continues to work on an interim basis.
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