Meru Doug Szper Roshi
Wisconsin Still Point Zen Center
Meru Doug Szper, an Actuary by training, is currently President of Quasar Systems, Inc., a developer of software for the Life Insurance industry. He received his BS in Math at Purdue in 1970, and his MS in Math at MIT 1973. He is a Fellow of the Society of Actuaries and a Member of the American Academy of Actuaries. Starting in 2009, he took on a part-time position teaching Physics at Lakeland College in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. He was initiated into the ManKind Project at Camp Anokijig Wisconsin in March of 1999. He also attended a “Warrior-Monk” retreat in December 1998, “Path to Spirit” in March 2002, and “Taking It Lightly” in August 2007.
In his practice, he is actively supporting others through his work in 12-step programs, outreach to men in prison through participation in the TRUTH Project, leading a Buddhist Studies group in Kettle Moraine Correctional Institution, and staffing Vet’s Journey Home.
He attended his first Hollow Bones in June 2002 at Sonoma Mountain Zen Center, took lay ordination in June of 2003, and Priest Ordination in May, 2004, at the Christine Center in Wisconsin. His other interests include singing, geocaching, mathematics, and physics.
This spring he and his wife, Penney, bought a tractor, brush-hog, and tiller to begin restoring the land for some Organic Gardening as part of their “Sacred Stewardship.” Doug Szper currently lives at Still Point Zen Center in Random Lake, Wisconsin.
When asked if he had a short message he would like to pass on to the community at large, he replied: “Sit down. Shut up!”