Shoshin Cynthia Ziegler was first exposed to Soto Zen in the late 1980s and began formal study with her first teacher, Ryotan Cynthia Kear, in 2010 at Great Spirit Sangha in San Francisco. She received lay transmission (Jukai) in 2011 and was ordained as a priest in 2017 at Jikoji Zen Center in Los Gatos, California, her hometown.
She is involved with the Meditation & Recovery Program at San Francisco Zen Center and Hartford Street Zen Center, and she is a former SFZC resident. Her practice is centered on offering meditation instruction and a compassionate heart to those seeking spiritual connection in recovery and freedom from suffering, alongside formal Buddhist study for all.
After moving to Portland, Oregon in 2018, Cynthia began studying with Ensho Peter van der Sterre at Oak Street Sangha. She served as shuso for the Spring 2022 Practice Period and received Dharma Transmission in May 2023. In 2023, she and Endo Kirk Phillips established the Sellwood Soto Zen Sangha, where they find refuge in the vitality of their community.