User:Dianaschnuth/Rinsen

Jay Christopher Weik (Chikyo Rinsen) is an American Aikido Sensei, a jazz musician and educator, and co-founder of both the Toledo Zen Center and the Drinking Gourd Dharma Circle.

Jay was born in Toledo, Ohio on January 1st, 1969. He holds the rank of yondan (4th Degree Black Belt) from Bill Gleason Shihan, a Bachelors of Music in professional music from Berklee College of Music, as well as a Masters of Music in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory of Music.

Aikido
Jay began Martial Arts studies in 1977, and in 1987 began the practice of Aikido with Bill Gleason Shihan at Shobu Aikido of Boston. He moved to Toledo in 2001 to found Shobu Aikido of Ohio, where he is currently dojocho, and in 2006 he was awarded the rank of yondan (4th Degree Black Belt). In 2005 he began co-leading intensive Shobu Okugyo retreats with Gleason sensei which focus on Kotodama and Aiki principle. Jay appears extensively in Gleason Shihan's 2001 video, Aikido and Japanese Sword, as well as his 2009 book, Aikido and Words of Power.

Jazz
In 1977, Jay began studying the guitar, and in 1987 he won the Jim Hall Jazz Masters Award and relocated to Boston. After graduating from Berklee College of Music in 1990, he went on to earn a Masters Degree with academic honors in Jazz Studies from the New England Conservatory in 1992, and has studied extensively with Jerry Bergonzi, Mick Goodrick and Charlie Banacos. He was a Boston-based studio guitarist and worked with producer Miguel Pessoa. Jay has taught music at several New England area colleges, as well as having a full private guitar lesson studio. He is the internationally-published author of two Mel Bay Books, 'Daily Dexterity Studies for the Guitarist' and 'Daily Sight Reading Studies for the Guitarist.' He is a recording artist and composer, is featured on "One Way Ticket" on the Dharma Communications label, and has concertized with Jazz legends Gary Peacock, John Hendricks, and Gunnar Mossblad. In 2006, he began teaching Jazz Guitar at the University of Toledo, and in 2007 he performed and recorded John Coltrane's opus "A Love Supreme" with John Hendricks and the University of Toledo Jazz Faculty, and this performance received a positive review by noted jazz scholar and critic Ashley Kahn. He also plays the Shakuhachi (Japanese Bamboo Flute), which he has studied with Michael Chikuzen Gould Sensei. He performs with the Toledo Jazz Orchestra, and is a frequent highlight at Murphy's Jazz Club in downtown Toledo.

Zen Buddhism
Jay began his Zen studies in 1987 at Zen Mountain Monastery with John Daido Loori Roshi. In 1998, he receved the sixteen Buddhist precepts and the Dharma name Chikyo. In 2001, he moved to Toledo and co-founded the Toledo Zen Meditation Group with his wife Karen Weik. In 2004, he continued his Zen study with Bonnie Myotai Treace Sensei, Daido Roshi's first dharma heir, and the Toledo Zen Meditation Group evolved into the Toledo Zen Center. In 2007, Myotai Sensei acknowledged him as Shuso (head monk) for the winter training period, and his Dharma Talks began being podcast as "The Drinking Gourd Podcast." In 2008, he received the Dharma name Rinsen and founded the Drinking Gourd Dharma Circle, a non-profit organization that evolved from interest in supporting the podcasts and connecting its listeners with Jay and each other. In addition, he has also studied with Fr. Kevin Hunt Sensei, OCSO since 2006, and in 2009 he became a shoken student of James Ishmael Ford Roshi, who is the primary center of gravity for his continued study of the Dharma today.

Jay has been on featured the cover of both the Toledo Blade and the Toledo City Paper, is active with the Multifaith Council of Northwest Ohio, as well as Equality Ohio, and can be seen on video via his YouTube channel. He has been happily married to Karen Weik (Zuihan Do'on) since 1996, and is the proud father and primary homeschool guide to Isabella Weik (Nyo'i) who was born in 2000.