Steve Kanji Ruhl received his Master of Divinity degree from Harvard University and his B.A. in Religious Studies with high honors from Pennsylvania State University. An ordained Zen Buddhist minister, Reverend Kanji has served as a Buddhist adviser at Yale University and is a core faculty member in the Shogaku Zen Institute and in the multi-faith Spiritual Guidance Certificate Training Program at the Rowe Center in Massachusetts. He also works in private practice one-on-one with spiritual guidance clients. Reverend Kanji has been a guest speaker or workshop facilitator at Harvard’s Center for World Religions, Yale Divinity School, Harvard Divinity School, the International Conference on Socially Engaged Buddhism, the Omega Institute, and elsewhere. He is a contributing author to the book The Arts of Contemplative Care: Pioneering Voices in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Pastoral Work and author of The Constant Yes of Things: Selected Poems 1973-2018. Visit www.stevekanjiruhl.com
""A beautiful, rich, and vivid weaving of the experiences of awakening by three great mystics and teachers, this book is a treasure and inspiration for our time."" --Roshi Joan Halifax, Abbot, Upaya Zen Center ""The gift of Steve Kanji Ruhl's Enlightened Contemporaries: Francis, Dōgen, and Rūmī is its ability to bring these awakened masters to life in a manner that allows them to speak Truth without the trappings of power. This is a book to be treasured."" --Rabbi Rami Shapiro, author of Perennial Wisdom for the Spiritually Independent ""In the 13th century three great mystics awakened to their True Nature, or God. Steve Kanji Ruhl shows how their inward journey, pursued with devotion, transformed their world and continues to inspire ours in this superbly written, stirring book."" --Roshi Eve Myonen Marko, founding teacher, Zen Peacemaker Order, and author of The Book of Householder Koans ""Steve Kanji Ruhl writes beautifully, and Enlightened Contemporaries is a fascinating study. This is sure to be a well received and much appreciated comparative study of Dōgen, Francis, and Rūmī."" --Dr. Anne Monius, Professor of South Asian Religions at Harvard University