James has walked the? spiritual path for more than fifty years. He's danced with Sufis, studied with Christian mystics, lived in Buddhist monasteries, and eventually was ordained a Zen priest. Later he also ordained as a Unitarian Universalist minister. He has taught in Zen centers and preached from the high pulpits in old New England churches.
James' path has taken him to a life "between" several traditions, bringing him into a nondual spirituality. Trying to unpack what that actually means in his life, and with a tip of the hat to Erasmus, James claims a physiology of faith, a Buddhist brain, a Christian heart, and a rationalist stomach. (For more go here.)
James' spirituality is rooted in the nondual expressions of Zen Buddhism, but is also informed by other nondual traditions, especially Christian mysticism. Practically this has manifested in a professional life as a minister informed as much by Western Christian traditions as Eastern. While at the same time engaged for decades as a Zen student. And now for many more years as a spiritual director deeply focused on the gifts of Zen meditation, retreat, and especially the koan introspection discipline passed on through the Harada-Yasutani lineage.
?James is married to Jan Seymour-Ford. Jan is a retired librarian active in social justice issues. She is also a senior dharma teacher with Empty Moon Zen.
Today Jan & James support Jan's mom's aging in her home, living with her in Tujunga, a neighborhood at the eastern edge of Los Angeles, California.
James has reflected on and written articles, blogs, and books about spirituality. He has lectured at Harvard Divinity School, Meadville Lombard Theological School, and the University of the West. At the same time he has worked in the trenches for social justice.
James served as a UU parish minister for twenty-five years. He is minister-emeritus of the First Unitarian Church of Providence. He was first authorized to teach Zen within the California Diamond Sangha. Later became a co-founder of the Boundless Way Zen network, and was its first school abbot. Today he is guiding teacher of the Empty Moon Zen Sangha and serves within the UU world is a community minister.
James is a member of the Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association (he served as chapter president in both the Mass Bay and Ballou Channing districts). Since 2005 he has been a member of the Fraters of the Wayside Inn, a clergy study group founded as a Lenten retreat by Universalist ministers in 1905.
He is a member of the American Zen Teachers Association, and served on its membership committee for a decade. After many years as a member of the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, but in recent years feeling a growing disconnection between the focus of that organization and his own work, in January 2023, James resigned his membership in the SZBA.
?James was designated a Distinguished Alumnx by his seminary, the Pacific School of Religion, on the 22nd of April, 2023.
Today he lives with his spouse Jan Seymour-Ford, a retired librarian and social justice activist, and Jan's mom in the Tujunga neighborhood of Los Angeles.