Kirk Phillips

Kirk Phillips began formal meditation practice in 1987 after meeting Issan Dorsey at the Hartford Street Zen Center and Maitri Hospice during the height of the AIDS epidemic in San Francisco. He was a student at Hartford Street Zen Center and later practiced at Russian River Zendo in Guerneville, California, where he received priest ordination from Darlene Cohen in 2009.

Kirk worked as a Nurse Practitioner for 23 years in the Adult Primary Care Clinic at Kaiser San Francisco, followed by 12 years in the Department of Surgery, retiring from clinical practice in 2021. He currently teaches science classes in a nursing school in Portland, Oregon.

In 2023, Kirk received Dharma transmission from Peter van der Sterre at Oak Street Zendo and co-founded the Sellwood Soto Zen Meditation Group with Reverend Cynthia Ziegler. His ongoing practice is supported by zazen, 12-step recovery, and the aspiration to embody an awakened heart. “My path has always been shaped by the intertwining of meditation, caregiving, and recovery. What continues to sustain me is the intimacy of zazen and the wholeheartedness it invites.”