CHQ Mystic Heart – Dhara Kowal, Zen Buddhism Meditation Practice

Sensei Dhara Kowal- Kowal is Dharma Successor to Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede, who sanctioned her as a Zen teacher in 2022 and gave her Dharma Transmission in 2025. As a resident teacher and priest (ordained in 2023), she serves as Co-Director of the Rochester Zen Center, in partnership with Sensei John Pulleyn. In the preceding years, she joined the Center’s staff in 2019. She served as both Head of Zendo at Chapin Mill, the Center’s country retreat facility, and Manager of the Sangha Programs Office, which coordinates educational and social programming. Born and raised in Staten Island, New York, Dhara-sensei first learned about Zen practice while training in martial arts. She joined the Center in 1998 and was a local Sangha member for some 20 years prior to joining staff. During that time, she committed herself to attending as many sesshins as possible and serving the Center as a volunteer, including Editor of Zen Bow for 14 years. She also had a successful career in academia as an… View Source