Al Fusho Rapaport, Roshi
Sensei Al is our guiding teacher, and the Director of Open Mind Zen based in Melbourne, FL. He travels to Naples several times a year to lead retreats and workshops. He has practiced and taught Zen Meditation for 50 years. As President of Open Mind Productions, Sensei produced the landmark Buddhism in America Conferences in Boston, San Diego, Denver and New York City. He studied with Kozan Roshi, Maezumi Roshi, and Genpo Roshi until moving to Florida in 2001, and received Dharma Transmission within the Soto Zen Lineage from Shuzen Sensei in 2008. Sensei is the author of Open Mind Zen: A Guide to Meditation, and editor of Buddhism in America. He is a member of the White Plum Asangha, the American Zen Teachers Association and the Lay Zen Teachers Association.
To learn more about Sensei and the Open Mind Zen School, visit: openmindzen.com
Andy Hoseki Solis, Sensei
Sensei Andy is a founder of Open Mind Zen Naples and a long-time meditation practitioner. Sensei Andy was introduced to meditation in the mid-1970’s through the martial arts, and became a student of Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh in the late 1990’s. Andy was ordained by Thich Nhat Hanh as a member of the Order of Interbeing in 2009.
Andy began koan study with Roshi Al Fusho Rapaport in 2015 and received Dharma Transmission in March of 2020. He is currently the Head Teacher at Open Mind Zen Naples. Roshi Al gave him the Dharma name Hoseki, meaning “Dharma Rock.” He incorporates mindfulness and his Zen practice in all aspects of daily life, as a parent, a civil trial attorney, and as an elected official in Collier County, Florida.