Dr. Larry Ward
Founder of The Lotus Institute, Senior Zen Dharma Teacher, Ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh, PhD Religious Studies with Buddhism Emphasis His teaching, called, “Deep Buddhism,” is interdisciplinary, integrating Buddhist teachings with neuroscience, trauma/resiliency work, indigenous wisdom and social imagination. His aim is to energize the Bodhisattva ideal through embodied Buddhist practice that supports the healing and transformation of societal karma at the deepest levels of body and mind.
About this Teacher
The assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. changed Larry’s life calling him into community service, spiritual growth and planetary peacemaking. Over the next twenty-five years, he lived and worked in over twenty countries serving efforts toward local community renewal, organizational change and community development through the Ecumenical Institute / Institute of Cultural Affairs. He became an ordained minister in 1972.
Larry’s introduction to Buddhist practice began in Calcutta, India in 1977 but it was not until 1991 when Larry met Thich That Hanh that this practice became the center of his life and service. He was ordained as a lay minister in Thay’s Plum Village Tradition in 1994 and a Dharma teacher in 2000.
Larry has a PhD in Religious Studies with a Buddhism emphasis. His work focused on the intersection of mindfulness and neuroscience. He is a knowledgeable, charismatic and inspirational teacher, offering insights with personal stories and resounding clarity that express his dharma name, “True Great Sound.”