Philippe Goldin, Ph.D. brings scientific expertise and deep spiritual knowledge to the subjects of mindfulness, meditation, and cognitive science. Goldin spent 6 years in India and Nepal studying serving as an interpreter for Tibetan Buddhist lamas before he returned to the U.S. to complete a Ph.D. and train as a clinical psychologist and neuroscientist.
He is currently working in the Stanford Psychophysiology Laboratory and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and his clinical research focuses on cognitive-affective mechanisms in adults with anxiety disorders, the effects of mindfulness meditation, cognitive-behavioral therapy and aerobic exercise on brain-behavior, and training children in mindfulness skills to reduce anxiety and enhance compassion and self-esteem.
Ryushin Paul Haller, a Soto Zen roshi, has been Abbot of the San Francisco Zen Center since 2003. A native of Belfast, Ireland, Haller spent time in Russia, Afghanistan, and Japan before he was ordained as a Buddhist monk in Thailand.
He entered Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in 1974 and was ordained as a priest in 1980. Haller received shiho from Sojun Mel Weitsman in 1993, giving him authority to teach. Since 2000 he has been a teacher at the Black Mountain Zen Centre in Northern Ireland.
