Roshi Vimala Muni, John Nemick, has had an interest in Buddhist studies and Zen Practice since 1973, attending Sesshin with the late Katagiri Roshi at the Minnesota Zen Center in 1975. Vimala is a student of Abbot Junpo Denis Kelly, he founded the Green Bay Zen Center (originally ‘Green Tara Sangha’) in Green Bay, Wisconsin in 1995.

He took his “stream enterer’s vows” (Jukai) in 1998 and was ordained as a Priest in the Hollow Bones Rinzai Order in 2003. He received Inka (Senior Teacher) designation in 2012

Active in the local Sangha, Vimala leads the group in Zen meditation twice a week and also meets privately with individuals to deepen their practice. He is a regular contributor to the Green Bay Press Gazette Religion page. Vimala annually teaches a course in Buddhism for the LifeLongLearning Program through U.W. Green Bay and gives presentations to various community and religious organizations on a regular basis. Vimala is a Licensed Psychotherapist in Wisconsin.

Vimala is active in the Mankind Project, serving men to discover their “authentic masculinity” and works with the TRUTH program, bringing opportunities for personal growth to incarcerated men in Wisconsin.

The Buddhist tradition can be summarized in the following: “What is most essential is the practice of mindful awareness.”