About Dr. Lucy Xiao
Born and raised in Guangzhou, China, Lucy was immersed in the rich tapestry of Eastern traditions from an early age. Though she has spent many years in the United States, her Chinese heritage remains a deep source of inspiration and connection.
She began practicing at the San Francisco Zen Center in 2000, was ordained as a Zen priest in 2010, and served as Shuso (head monk) at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center in 2014. Her training spans both China and the U.S., where she has been fortunate to study with esteemed Zen masters, including her Dharma Transmission teacher, Ryushin Paul Haller, and her Dharma grandfather, Sojun Mel Weitsman Roshi.
As both a Zen priest and a Doctor of Acupuncture and Oriental Medicine, Lucy’s spiritual and healing paths are deeply intertwined, enriching her understanding of life’s interconnected nature. She teaches at the San Francisco Zen Center and serves as the guiding teacher for Harmony Zen, a practice group based in San Francisco, as well as Chu Xin, a meditation group in China’s Guangdong Greater Bay Area.
If you study with her and wish to follow Chinese customs, you may call her "lǎo shī", a term commonly used in China to address a teacher.
In midlife I came to cherish the Way,
and at old age I found a home near Zhongnan.
I go to the mountain alone anytime the urge strikes,
and delight in the marvels of things.
Walking along the stream till it ends, I sit and watch the clouds rise.
If by chance I meet an old woodsman,
we talk and laugh, forgetting to go home.
- "Retreat at Mt. Zhongnan", Wang Wei (Tang Dynasty)
中歲頗好道，晚家南山陲。
興來每獨往，勝事空自知。
行到水窮處，坐看雲起時。
偶然值林叟，談笑無還期。
- 《終南別業》, 王維 (唐)
