About David Rynick

I am the son of a Presbyterian minister who went to Japan as a Rotary Club exchange student in high school and was co-captain of the wrestling team and member of the University Senate at Wesleyan University before turning to religion and art as a senior. I spent my twenties looking for God: working in a food co-op, dancing in an improvisational dance company and making stoneware pots as a professional potter.

After receiving my Masters in Liberal Studies from Wesleyan University in 1984, I became part-time art teacher, then, eventually, headmaster of the Hammonasset School in Madison, CT.  In 1991, I moved to Worcester, MA to become the Executive Director of Dynamy, an experientially based internship school for students between high school and college.  I left Dynamy in 2004 to become a full-time life and leadership coach.

My formal Zen training began in 1981 and, in 2011 I was officially recognized as a Zen Master in the Korean Rinzai tradition by my teacher Zen Master George Bomun Bowman. In 2018, I received this same Zen authorization in the Japanese Soto tradition from James Ishmael Ford Roshi. My wife, Melissa Myozen Blacker, Roshi and I have been leading a meditation group since 1991, first in the family room of our home, and now in the Boundless Way Zen Temple where we are currently the Guiding Teachers.

I was a member of the First Unitarian Church here in Worcester from 1992 to 2006. As a member, I played many roles, from President of the congregation to occasional lay preacher. From 2005 to 2018 I worked closely with the national Episcopal House of Bishops as consultant and lead trainer for their peer-coaching program.

Things you would not know by looking at me: I am a licensed Maine Sea Kayak Guide, novice jazz bass player, avid landscape gardener, blogger, tweeter, and devoted grandfather to two lovely grandchildren, Isaiah and Samara who live with their parents in the Greater Boston Area.

Certification & Education Dates:

• Zen Master Transmission, in Soto Zen tradition through James Ishmael Ford, Roshi, 2016
• Zen Priest Ordination in Soto Zen, 2015
• Zen Master Transmission, in Rinzai Zen tradition through Zen Master George Bowman, 2012
• Abbot of Boundless Way Zen, 2010
• Professional Certified Coach (PCC),  International Coach Federation, 2005
• Certified Professional Coactive Coach (CPCC), The Coaches Training Institute, 2004
• Maine Sea Kayak Guide License, 2003
• Master of Liberal Studies, Wesleyan University, 1984
• Bachelor of Arts, Wesleyan University, 1974