first appeared in Missouri wine country in the 1990s, wrapped in a robe. He had large hands and a shaved head. Locals didn't know what to make of him. His English was choppy. The Malaysian-born newcomer didn't smile much either in. People are just searching to slow down. Even if you can just meditate five minutes a day or walk more peacefully, you can learn these things there, and you don't have to become a Buddhist.” It's a notion echoed by one of the nuns, Bhikshuni Kōngshí, who says that Buddhism “is not a believing thing. It's a thing that you experience…and if it's good for you, you continue.” ¶ As for Jìrú Shīfù, he sees himself as a reformer, synthesizer, and simplifier of various strains of Buddhism. More than ever, he says, because of the “small machines” (cell phones), people suffer from a “monkey mind”—distracted, fragmentary thoughts. He seeks to help them learn practical skills to address this on a day-to-day basis. He also wants to stay in rural Missouri, which he prefers to big cities such as New York. “I'm a country boy,” he jokes. “The Midwest is more in the spiritual life.”
