With a Zen practice that began in 1993, Anshi Daigi Zachary Smith brings more than three decades of lived experience to his teaching. He took jukai in 1995, served as Shuso, or Head Student, in 2007, was ordained as a Zen priest in 2014, and received Dharma Transmission on April 17, 2019, all under former abbot and Senior Dharma Teacher Ryushin Paul Haller. Today, he directs North Mountain Zendo, a zazenkai sitting group in North Beach, where practitioners gather for shared stillness, discipline, and insight.
His path reflects both devotion and a refreshingly human spirit. Alongside Zen, Zachary is a husband, father of four, engineer, musician, bike enthusiast, and an avid but self-described mediocre poet. His background brings an uncommon breadth of life experience to the retreat setting, offering a grounded presence that resonates with modern practitioners. He is also known for an unusual chapter in Zen history: interrupting a residential practice period to tour with a rock band.