About
Trueman Taylor is a Zen Buddhist priest ordained in 2008 at the Rochester Zen Center, where he studies under Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede. He discovered Zen through Philip Kapleau's The Three Pillars of Zen and moved to Rochester for full-time residential training after completing university studies in Canada in 1997. Taylor served as Head of Zendo for over six years before returning to the role of Head Cook in 2024, a position he held previously for nine years. He leads sesshin and offers private instruction.
Teaching focus
Trueman Taylor's teaching focus, drawn from the source profile, sits in the Zen and Mahayana traditions. Several threads come up: steady attention to body and breath; the relationship between ethics and meditation; and short, direct teachings rather than long talks. On talks, the style is closer to thinking-along than presenting. Trueman Taylor works with whatever shows up in the room rather than reading from notes, which is part of why these talks land as conversational instead of scripted. Short pauses, longer sits, and questions that come back to direct experience are usual. Listed specialties on the source profile include silent retreat, advanced practice. The bigger move Trueman Taylor keeps making is back toward attention itself: what's happening, how it's being held, and what gets in the way. That keeps the teaching close to practice rather than drifting into commentary about practice. For talks, schedules, and longer essays, the affiliated organization's page is where the live material lives. Trueman Taylor's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on. Trueman Taylor's sessions tend to keep returning to the body, to breath, and to the felt quality of attention as the steady ground that the rest rests on.
Background
Trueman Taylor teaches in the Zen and Mahayana traditions. The teaching home is Rochester Zen Center. From the teacher's own profile: Like so many practitioners, Ven. Trueman Taylor discovered Zen Buddhism through The Three Pillars of Zen by Roshi Philip Kapleau. After completing his university studies in Canada in 1997, he moved to Rochester, New York, for full-time residential training at the Rochester Zen Center. A student of Roshi Bodhin Kjolhede, Trueman was ordained a Zen Buddhist priest in August 2008. After more than six years of serving as Head of Zendo, devoting most of his time to overseeing training at the Rochester Zen Center, participating and monitoring sesshin, attending to the day-to-day activities of the Center, and working closely with the teachers, Trueman stepped into the role of Head Cook in 2024, a position he previously served in for nine years. With a passion for cooking, he’s thrilled to be back in the kitchen. Trueman continues to monitor and lead sesshin and offer Private Instruction. In a Zen container, what Trueman Taylor offers is steady, mostly silent practice with short pointed teachings. The form is the teaching as much as the words are. Sitting, walking, work practice, and the relationship with a teacher all carry weight. Trueman Taylor's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Trueman Taylor's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Trueman Taylor's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Trueman Taylor's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Trueman Taylor's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography. Trueman Taylor's page on OMP collects the publicly available bio, the listed affiliations, and any talks tracked through the source archive, and is meant as a directory entry rather than an authorized biography.
Lineage
Trueman Taylor teaches as a monastic teacher in the Zen and Mahayana traditions. The institutional home, per the source listing, is Rochester Zen Center, and that's where most of the public teaching schedule and any retreat offerings will be posted. The Zen lineage frame here, where stated, is what authorizes a teacher to lead practice, and the source page usually names the dharma teacher or root teacher when relevant.
What to expect
On a class or retreat with Trueman Taylor, the basic shape is short instruction, longer sittings, and some Q&A. Retreats are part of the offering, usually a few days to a week, mostly silent. The container is shaped by Rochester Zen Center, so format details, fees, and access policies follow that organization's norms. Expect plenty of silence, less talking-at-you than you might think, and an emphasis on letting the practice do its work rather than chasing experiences. For exact dates, registration, and any sliding-scale or scholarship information, There's usually a short Q&A window and, on retreats, optional teacher interviews where students can bring specific questions about their practice.
