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Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple
The Guiding Teacher is responsible for guiding the sangha's spiritual practice. A skillful one helps us find our path with compassionate wisdom.
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Since 2005, Koho Vince Anila has served as Still Point's Guiding Teacher and Executive Director. A native of Detroit, Koho practiced for a number of years at the Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor with Ven. Haju Sunim and P’arang Geri Larkin, before helping found Still Point as its first Board President and one of its first seminary students. Koho was ordained a Dharma Teacher by P’arang Geri Larkin in 2003, and is also a psychotherapist in private practice (http://newpathpsych.com).
To email the Guiding Teacher, visit the Contact Us page.
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Abbot
The Abbot assists the Guiding Teacher in caring for the sangha.
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After many years of meditation practice, Anzen Melanie Davenport entered the seminary in 2005 and was ordained in 2009. As a temple elder, she has served Still Point wearing many hats, including temple cook, board member, and de facto resident Dharma teacher. She was formally installed as Abbot in 2014.
With an extensive background as an artist, writer and working in the health care industry for 15+ years, Anzen holds a Masters in Clinical Social Work and spends her daylight hours working as a psychotherapist (bokettocenter.com)
Dharma Teachers​
Jeong Gak Eric L. Wilkins returned to Detroit in 2011 after living for over twenty-five years in San Diego, California. Around the same time, he reentered college at WCCCD and ended that educational journey with a Master’s degree from Wayne State University’s School of Social Work in 2016. He is currently a clinical psychotherapist in private practice.
In 2015, he successfully completed Still Point’s seminary and currently facilitates the temple’s One Sangha Training Program.
Just before returning to Detroit, he was released from a California state prison and has maintained his freedom from substance addiction, which was the central reason for becoming incarcerated. These justice-impacted experiences also drive his diligent engagement in Zen Buddhist and secular prison outreach volunteering efforts.
Kwan Ung Bill Boyle has been involved with Buddhism for over 30 years. He studied Theravadin, Tibetan, and Zen traditions and had a long-time, on-again, off-again meditation practice. After committing fully to practicing in the Zen tradition, he entered seminary at Still Point and was ordained in 2019.
Kwan Ung worked for over 30 years as a teacher, athletic coach, and administrator at all levels of K-12 public education. He currently serves as a consultant, coach, and facilitator for schools, nonprofits, and the private sector, specializing in the areas of restorative practices, equity literacy, and mindfulness. He is the founder and president of Transformative Engagement Solutions, a consulting company that supports organizations in growing equitable, trauma-informed, restorative communities (https://www.transformativeengagements.com/). He is also an instructor for the International Institute for Restorative Practices and a certified restorative practitioner.
He is happily married to his partner Julie, and together they have 2 children, Conor (married to Kelsey) and Lauren.
Hwa Son Josh Plucinski joined the Still Point Sangha in 2010 after a few years of solitary practice. He ultimately entered the seminary and was ordained in 2015. Hwa Son has served Still Point as a Dharma Teacher and board member. As a teacher, Hwa Son places an emphasis on family life and deep dives into the historical Sutras.
A husband twice over, father, widower, stepfather, and runner, he has worked as a Manager at a law firm for 15+ years.
Twenty-plus years ago, between his first and second child, Jeong Chun Roberto Berry, an attorney working in Texas in the automotive industry, asked himself, “What will I pass on to my children?” He remembered reading a Zen book somewhere that suggested a different and very original way to think about the small and large things in life. At the time, Zen Buddhism seemed fringe to him, but he had the notion that he had to look into it, at least to avoid having regrets later. He sought a Buddhist temple, found one in New Mexico, and started practicing in the Japanese tradition of Soto Zen. In 2011, he moved to Detroit and joined Still Point, where after taking the Precepts (where he received the Dharma name of Jeong Chun), he entered Still Point’s seminary and was ordained in 2017.
The Founding Teacher
Still Point Zen Buddhist Temple's Founding Teacher was P'arang Geri Larkin, who was ordained on July 2, 1995, following her training in the Maitreya Buddhist Seminary. P'arang's teacher was Ven. Samu Sunim, a Korean Zen master who started several temples in North America, including the Zen Buddhist Temple in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where P'arang was a Dharma teacher.
P'arang is the author of several Dharma books, including:
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