Timothy Lerch, JDPSN, received inka from Zen Master Seung Sahn in 2001. Lerch PSN was the abbot of the Providence Zen Center in Cumberland RI, the head temple of the Kwan Um School of Zen in America from 2000 to 2006, and has trained extensively in the US and Asia. From 1995 to 1999 he was the resident director of the Kwan Um School center in Seattle. Prior to joining the Kwan Um School he trained in the Japanese and Vietnamese Zen traditions. He was ordained a monk in 1996. After having trained as a monk for 10 years, Lerch Poep Sa Nim returned to lay life in 2006 and is currently a musician and music teacher living in Seattle.