A Practice of Peacemaking

This talk was given on June 8, 2025 by Katto Laura Phillips at Clouds in Water Zen Center.

Katto (she/her) started practicing Zen at Clouds in Water in 1997. After a few years, she stepped away to focus on her new family and explore other spiritual traditions. She eventually returned to Zen with renewed enthusiasm and became a member of Zen Bridge, a meditation community in Stillwater. She later re-engaged with Clouds, receiving jukai in 2014. In 2022 she was ordained as a priest by Sosan Theresa Flynn. In 2023, she entered the role of sensei at Zen Bridge after having been a member there for 17 years. She is a psychotherapist emeritus and draws on her 20 years of trauma-related work as she explores ways for people to build nurturing, respectful ways of connecting with vulnerability, authenticity, and curiosity.