Member Spotlight: Jūken Zach Fehst

Name: Jūken Zach Fehst (he/him)

Occupation: English teacher

How did you discover Clouds? Renkyo Heather and I moved to Saint Paul in 2021, and I did an internet search for Zen centers near me! 

If your life was the title of a book or movie, what would it be called?

Multitudes

Why do you practice zazen and mindfulness?

Because I can’t imagine going back to my life before encountering and internalizing this practice. For me this path offers the wisest, most compassionate, and most expansively free way to be in the world.

What excites you?

Human potential. Downhill skiing. Music. 

Where are some places you feel at home in the Twin Cities?

The miles of bike trails that thread through everywhere. My parents’ house in Columbia Heights where I lived in high school. Clouds in Water! 

If you had to recommend one dharma book, what would it be? 

Opening the Hand of Thought by Kosho Uchiyama

Anything on your bucket list?

I’ve had such a full life, every day is gravy.

What are you listening to right now?

At this moment, the Current’s top 89 songs of 2024 countdown, hoping my top ten picks rank way up there!

Do you have any favorite words of inspiration – a quote, song lyric, poem, or something else that supports you? 

“How can anyone say what happens, even if each of us dips a pen a hundred million times into ink?” - Rumi

Summer or winter?

Both. As a teacher, summer’s wide-openness can’t be beat—but I love the no-nonsense clarity of winter. 

Tea or coffee?

Both. Green tea and matcha for the week, Turkish or Moroccan-style spiced coffee as a weekend treat. 

Evening with a book or a night on the town?

Both. After I get one, I’m usually ready for the other. 

What or who is nourishing you most right now?

Staying up late and sleeping late during this winter break from teaching.

What are you most looking forward to at Clouds in 2025?

I’m excited about our second annual Sit-a-thon! It was so much fun last year, and I find it such a great community-builder. 

Any Twin Cities community organizations or efforts you’d like to highlight?

Interfaith Action is one that I’m just getting to know more about through the Bridge Group at Clouds, and I’m super impressed. They’re about it. 

Anything else you’d like to add to help us get to know you better?

I’m on the path to becoming a Zen priest, working with Sosan here at Clouds and Ben Connelly at MZMC. I was accepted as a hospital chaplain intern for this coming summer, and am really looking forward to seeing how the experience will challenge and change me.