Sinclair Shinryu Thomson is the abbot of the Village Zendo in New York City. He received Denkai, or full priest ordination, from Enkyo O’Hara Roshi in August 2007, dharma transmission in December 2009, and Inka in January 2021. He has been affiliated with the Village Zendo since 1998. He is a also member of the Phajjsi Qollut Jalsu Zen Center in La Paz, Bolivia, which he co-founded in 1992. Shinryu teaches Latin American History at New York University and is the author of books on Native American politics, colonialism, and revolution in the Andes.

We discussed how Shinryu Roshi began a meditation practice after picking up a copy of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind as a teenager, living and researching in Bolivia and founding the Phajjsi Qollut Jalsu Zen Center in La Paz, the richness of zazen in living rooms with small sitting groups, “Manhattan” as practice, and the importance of listening to your self and working with the ingredients that you have.