Do Not Try to Become a Buddha

“A grounded and refreshing exploration of the awakening path. Myozan reminds us to never separate from the people, landscape, and spiritual imagination. Get this gorgeous book.”–Koshin Paley Ellison, Zen teacher and author of Untangled: Walking the Eightfold Path to Clarity, Courage, and Compassion“Offers a powerful call to honor Zen traditions while holding them up to the light of our particular places and times. Myozan’s embrace of the unique challenges and joys of embodying Zen in Ireland holds wisdom for anyone focused on how to practice Zen now.”–Ben Connelly, Soto Zen priest and author of Inside the Grass Hut: Living Shitou’s Classic Zen Poem

Myozan Ian Kilroy is a Soto Zen Buddhist priest and a Dharma heir of Taigu Turlur Roshi, in the lineage of Nishijima Roshi and Rempo Niwa Zenji. Based in Ireland, he leads the Zen Buddhism Ireland sangha, where he is the founding teacher and abbot at Dublin Zen Centre. Myozan is the founding president of the Irish Buddhist Union and represents Buddhism on the Dublin City Interfaith Forum. He is also a registered teacher with the Soto Zen Buddhist Association.

Myozan works in the school of media at the Technological University Dublin. Before that, he was a journalist for many years, working with the Sunday Tribune, Magill Magazine, the Irish Times, and the Irish Examiner, where he was arts editor. He still contributes regularly to the Irish Times and has contributed to the Ecumenical Review on religious matters.

Active in campaigning for greater religious diversity in Ireland, Myozan advocates for reforming religious education curricula and extending chaplaincy services to other faiths. He has represented Buddhism on national radio and television, in advisory panels for the Taoiseach (Ireland’s prime minister), and in the National Day of Commemoration in Ireland, which remembers all Irish people who have died in past wars.

Originally from Galway, Myozan now lives in Dublin with his wife, Isabelle, their sons, Arthur and Éamonn, and their cat, Rocky Road.