Steve Kanji Ruhl
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  • Home
  • About
  • Books
  • Zen Training
  • Spiritual Guidance & Ministry
  • Special Events & Workshops
  • Contact
  • Videos & Podcasts
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​Zen Buddhist Minister
Award-Winning Author
Dharma Teacher

Spiritual Guide
Educator

​Steve Kanji Ruhl is an ordained Zen Buddhist minister, lay dharma teacher, and writer. He is committed to serving as a mentor to help guide individuals to experiencing their own innate wisdom and compassion, and in group practice he encourages sharing that fosters dialogue, deep listening, and a process of collective awakening.
Schedule a session today
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GET BOOKS

Coming in Spring 2026!
The Whole Earth
​​is Medicine: Using Science and Zen Spirituality to Heal the Bodymind


"Exactly what is needed."
(Dr.  Jeffrey Rediger, MD, author
of 
Cured: The Life-Changing Science
of Spontaneous Healing
)
***

"Eloquent prose."
(Dr. Lissa Rankin, MD, author
of 
Sacred Medicine)
***

"Intimate honesty...balanced, informed, and inspired."
(Paula Arai, PhD, author of A Little Book
of Zen Healing
)
*** 

"Astounding Zen perspicacity...raw authenticity."
(Mary Ryan, PhD,  adjunct prof. of medical anthropology, UMass)
***

"Vitally important."
​(Dr. Wendy Keiyaku Leffel, MD, physician and Zen practitioner)

​Out Now:
Appalachian Zen:
Journeys in Search of True Home,
from the American Heartland
to the Buddha Dharma


GOLD PRIZE WINNER,
"SPIRITUALITY/MEMOIR" CATEGORY,
2023 NAUTILUS BOOK AWARDS


​"Brilliant and lyrical...an important commentary on American Zen"
(
Lion's Roar)
***

"Amazing and intense"
(Sumi Loundon Kim)
***
"Destined to become a classic among spiritual memoirs"
(Willa Blythe Baker)
***
"Exceedingly intelligent and full of lucid insights"

(Kirkus Reviews)
***
"A powerful synthesis of American Zen philosophy and cultural analysis" (
Publisher's Weekly)

ALSO OUT NOW:
Enlightened Contemporaries:
Saint Francis, Dogen, and Rumi:
Three Great Mystics
of the 13th Century
and Why They Matter Today
​
 is " a treasure and inspiration for our time" (Roshi Joan Halifax); "superbly written, stirring" (Roshi Eve Myonen Marko); "fascinating" (Dr. Anne Monius, Harvard University); "a book to be treasured" (Rabbi Rami Shapiro); "insightful....excellent" (Publishers Weekly).
​--

Paintings of Rice Cakes Satisfy Hunger:
​Poems

"A mature work by an important American Buddhist poet. Lyrical, tough, and illuminating...."  (Leslie Staub)

The Constant Yes of Things:
Selected Poems, 1973-2018

Customer reviews: "A stunning poetic landscape, exquisitely crafted"; "breathtaking"; "a truly original voice, poignant, fresh, and inspiring."
LEARN MORE ABOUT KANJI'S BOOKS AND BUY THEM HERE
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​GET PERSONAL
​ZEN TRAINING
AND SPIRITUAL
GUIDANCE

Kanji trains Zen students to "be clear, be kind, be present" through koan practice, precepts work, and meditation practice offered through his Touch the Earth online sangha. He serves as a guide who helps people discover their own innate wisdom and compassion.  

​
   Kanji also offers one-on-one spiritual counseling for individuals looking to deepen their spiritual lives. A longtime adviser for the Yale Buddhist Student Community at Yale University, and the Buddhist Spiritual Life Adviser at Deerfield Academy, as well as a former core faculty member in the Spiritual Guidance program at The Rowe Center, Kanji has supported many people through difficult times in their lives. 
​

   A Zen Buddhist minister ordained through the Zen Peacemaker Order, and authorized as a Dharma Holder and Preceptor in the White Plum Asanga, Kanji has 30 years' experience of Zen training and practice in Japan and in the United States.

   
​A core faculty member and dean of students for the Shogaku Zen Institute, Kanji also ordains qualified Zen Dharma Holders with Master of Divinity degrees to serve as Zen Buddhist ministers in the Touch the Earth Order of Zen Ministry.



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LEARN MORE ABOUT KANJI HERE
SCHEDULE A SESSION
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GET WORKSHOPS
​ AND PUBLIC DHARMA TEACHINGS

Kanji is an ordained Zen Buddhist minister with a Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University.


  He has been a guest speaker or workshop facilitator at Yale Divinity School, the Omega Institute, Harvard's Center for World Religions, the International Conference on Socially Engaged Buddhism, Deerfield Academy, The Rowe Center, Harvard Divinity School, Grace Farms, Evergreen State College, the Chaplaincy Institute of Maine, and elsewhere.


​ Kanji also has been interviewed in Tricycle: The Buddhist Review and in EnlightenNext magazine; on the "Called to Be Multiple" and "Everyday Buddhism" podcasts; on 11:11 Talk Radio, streamed globally; and in numerous video interviews, including the "No BS Spiritual Book Club" and the "Mindrolling" series of the Ram Dass Foundation. (To listen and watch, open the "more..." tab above and click on "Videos & Podcasts.")
​

   His magazine articles have been published in Tricycle, Parabola, and elsewhere.


​ A lively, compelling, and lucid presenter, Kanji engages audiences on a personal level, speaking not only from intellectual knowledge and spiritual experience but from his heart, addressing a wide variety of topics related to Buddhist philosophy, history, and practices as they relate to 21st-century American lives.


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Schedule Kanji for a Speaking Event
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A LIFE WORTH LIVING: A CONVERSATION AT YALE

See More Videos Featuring Kanji or Listen to Podcasts Here
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