Ven. Dr. Songdo Prajna,
FMZO - Abbot, Buddhist Chaplaincy
BDU - Dean of Buddhist Chaplaincy and Professor of Buddhist Studies
Ven. Dr. Songdo Prajna, (Rev. Dr. Tim Langdell,) is originally from Oxford, England, and has resided in the Pasadena area of Southern California since around 1990. He is ordained as a Brahmajala Priest with Five Mountain Zen Order. He has been practicing Zen since his late teens, having been introduced to Zen through the writings of the likes of Alan Watts, DT Suzuki and Christmas Humphries, and the teaching of the British Zen Master Douglas Harding. Additionally, he has maintained a parallel practice in the Christian faith, becoming a Third Order Franciscan when he was in his early 20s. Growing up as an Anglican, he transferred to the Episcopal faith in 1990, and then eventually became ordained as an Ecumenical (independent from Rome, liberal) Catholic Priest. Further, he also took precepts in the Soto Zen lineage of Maezumi Roshi (White Plum Sangha), receiving the Dharma name Tetsudo at the Zen Center of Los Angeles which he first attended in 1973. He is married with two children, a daughter who is an Episcopal Priest and a son who is a specialist in both medieval and modern literature. His wife is a university professor of English, a Sufi and an author of various books on poetry.
Ven. Songdo is a Board Certified Palliative, Hospice and Pediatric Chaplain, being certified both as a Christian and Buddhist chaplain; he ministers to patients in the greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas of Southern California. He holds a Doctorate in Psychology from University College London as well as an M.Div. from Claremont School of Theology. He continues to be very active in both Zen and Christian practice, and remains passionate about the parallels between Buddha's teachings and the Wisdom teachings of Jesus. He is currently the head priest at a liberal, inclusive independent Catholic Church in Hollywood, CA, and is the abbot of a new Five Mountain Zen Order community he is currently establishing at the same location, known simply as Still Center. Ven. Songdo is a teacher and an author, and maintains various websites and blogs such as www.christbuddha.org, www.stillcenter.org and www.kids-rights.org.
Ven. Songdo is a Board Certified Palliative, Hospice and Pediatric Chaplain, being certified both as a Christian and Buddhist chaplain; he ministers to patients in the greater Los Angeles and Orange County areas of Southern California. He holds a Doctorate in Psychology from University College London as well as an M.Div. from Claremont School of Theology. He continues to be very active in both Zen and Christian practice, and remains passionate about the parallels between Buddha's teachings and the Wisdom teachings of Jesus. He is currently the head priest at a liberal, inclusive independent Catholic Church in Hollywood, CA, and is the abbot of a new Five Mountain Zen Order community he is currently establishing at the same location, known simply as Still Center. Ven. Songdo is a teacher and an author, and maintains various websites and blogs such as www.christbuddha.org, www.stillcenter.org and www.kids-rights.org.
