North Burn

I was born "Milo North Burn" in San Francisco, California. My journey into studying suffering and its causes was sparked by an identity crisis in my teens when I came to the realization that I am gay. This exploration became all-consuming and led me to withdraw from society. I struggled to articulate this existential quest to others, except by saying that I was "following the jewel in my heart."

When I encountered my first Dharma teacher, I immediately sensed that he also recognized this jewel and had discovered a way to express it. It was later revealed to me that the archetype representing Bodhicitta—the awakened and awakening heart—is the jewel in the lotus of the heart. The challenges I faced in my late teens and early 20s led me to live as a hermit for two years and subsequently embark on an intensive Vipassana retreat for a significant part of a year. Along this path, the lotus in my own heart blossomed, initiating me into a way of life dedicated to the awakening of all beings.

For the past fifteen years, I have devoted myself full-time to practice, primarily in Insight Meditation and Soto Zen schools, as well as other immersive settings. Collectively, I have spent approximately five years in monastic communities, two years in silent intensive retreats, and several years in solitude and self-directed study. While I have had profound encounters with a diverse range of exceptional teachers, I have particularly benefited from the guidance of Joseph Goldstein, Greg Scharf, Leslie James, and Tenshin Reb Anderson Roshi.

Over the years, several spiritual elders encouraged me to teach. In 2016, I guided a monthlong retreat, and later that same year, I co-founded the Dharma Dome, a sanctuary for peace workers, at Standing Rock. After leaving monastic life in 2019, I was invited to Dharmagiri Hermitage in South Africa, where I served as the Resident Teacher, offering guidance for both the community and retreat programs.

Upon my return to the Pacific Northwest during the pandemic, I underwent a period of soul-searching, during which I clarified my aspiration to teach extended annual retreats. I also embraced my middle name, "North." This led to the birth of Boundless Refuge, and we successfully held our first three-month retreat in 2022, followed by a second and third retreat in 2023 and 2024.

I reside in both San Francisco and the San Juan Islands, and a significant portion of my time is spent visiting spiritual communities. I sustain myself entirely through dana (generosity). When I am not teaching or organizing retreats, I devote substantial energy to meditation practice, engaging with spiritual mentors, and continuing my study of various spiritual modalities and traditions.

Peter Xuramitra Park

Hi, my name is Mitra. I received my lay ordination name, Xūramitra ("heroic friend"), through Shinzen Young and Soryu Forall.

I often share that my spiritual journey began in the confusion of childhood. As the child of immigrant Korean parents, I felt pulled between the values of my American schooling and my Korean home life. Both felt incomplete, so I spent a lifetime seeking what is true and good beyond the boundaries of culture or ideology. This pursuit began through study, reflection, and inquiry. I completed a Master's degree at American University, focusing on bridging East and West, with a thesis that synthesized Existentialism and Buddhist philosophy. After graduate school, feeling lost and having abandoned my dream of academia, I traveled the country in a van for two years.

In college, I had my first glimpses of deep practice through the study of Tai Chi Quan and a 10-day Vipassana course. However, dedicating myself full-time to a spiritual path still felt like a privilege reserved for others. In my late 20s, after repeatedly failing to find happiness in city life, I committed to a monastic path. 

For seven years, I lived full-time at the Monastic Academy (MAPLE) in Vermont, where I undertook countless meditation hours and other practices. I was the first resident to complete a three-month solitary retreat in a cabin, and afterward, I became the first to be promoted to teacher, conducting one-on-one interviews with students. I taught several week-long retreats, co-taught with Shinzen Young, and completed three winter retreats. In my last three years at MAPLE, I also served as Executive Director, overseeing construction, fundraising, and more.

After stepping down from my roles at MAPLE, I spent a year designing and building a cabin. Upon its completion, I left Vermont and moved to Asheville, North Carolina. A few friends and I started a dharma house collective where we practice together, cook for each other, and support one another in our spiritual and life vows.

Currently, I stay involved in a variety of projects. I am a facilitator on the Relateful platform, an Aletheia-trained Unfolding coach, and a core member of Madrona Meditation, a startup focused on integrating mindfulness and psychotherapy techniques. Recently, I've been exploring Contact Improv (CI) as a new modality for personal growth. You can reach me at peterxpark.com.