Gareth Young - Zen Buddhist Priest

Gareth Young - Zen Buddhist Priest

After a successful academic and business career, Gareth Young left the corporate world in early 2006. He taught himself to build websites, built a diverse consulting business, and published his first novel. Along the way he became an ordained Zen Buddhist Priest and joined the board of the Interfaith Alliance of Metro Atlanta.

In early 2011 Gareth was one of a group who started up an independent Buddhist group called the Red Clay Sangha. While remaining closely aligned with his Soto Zen heritage, this new group is also very open to other traditions and to inviting other teachers to visit. Above all, though, they are intentional about building community through personal ties among members as well as conducive to an expanding role in Interfaith, which includes participation in weekly contemplative meetings, monthly educational and advocacy meetings through the Faith Alliance of Metro Atlanta, and regular intensive opportunities for interested people to experience first-hand the faith practices of others.

Gareth is one of the contributing authors of  Sacred Space: Explore the Sacred Spaces of Five World Religions; has a blog at interfaithandspirituality.blogspot.com; and is also the author of two spiritual novels The Grace of Guilt and An Unexamined Life.