Reverend Ocean-of-Wisdom Sakya (Thich Hai Tri) is a Buddhist Priest in the Dhyana tradition. (Thien, Ch’an, Zen, Son.)  Rev. Wisdom (a shortened version of his name) has studied and practiced Buddhism since 1988 and has studied in the Vipassana, Tibetan, Zen, Ch’an, Pure Land and Thien (Vietnamese Zen) traditions.  Previously a Buddhist Monk he changed his ordination to Buddhist Priest to better meet the needs of the American Public.  He received Dharma Transmission from Venerable Master Thich Tri Hoang of the Thien Lam Te school, and has studied with Venerables John Daido Loori, His Holiness the Dalai Lama (from whom he received Bodhicitta Vows), Geshe Michael Roach, S.N. Goenkaji, Thich Nhat Hahn, and other lesser known but just as compassionate teachers.  In 2002 he became Abbot of the Middle-Way Meditation Center and established the Middle-Way Peace Order; an order geared towards peace and the development of Western Buddhism.

              Rev. Wisdom has taught at theological schools (Including Auburn Theological Seminary), hospitals and many universities both here and in Asia.  He is the author of numerous articles and has led retreats and meditation at the Hai An Pagoda, the Shaolin Temple of the U.S., Chuang Yen Monastery, SUNY Stony Brook, UCONN, WestConn, Mahayana Temple, Godstow Retreat Center, Yale and at a variety of interfaith gatherings.  He is one of the first two Buddhist Clergy trained as a member of the American Red Cross’s Spiritual Air Incident Response team (SAIR).  He is currently working on a book geared towards helping Western Dharma practitioners navigate through the many faces of Buddhism in the US.