Kogen Seido Jamie Howell was raised in Sao Paulo, Brazil and Lubbock, Texas. He came to California in 1967 and began his zen practice with Joshu Sasaki Roshi in 1979, After four years of study with Sasaki Roshi, Jamie came to the San Francisco Zen Center and began studying Dairyu Michael Wenger. He was Shusho in 2005 and given Lay Entrustment in 2011. He has since studied with Monja Coen in Sao Paulo and Rachel Mansfield Howlett in Santa Rosa and has taught at the San Francisco Zen Center, Dragon's Leap Hermitage and extensively on zoom.
Jamie lives in Noe Valley with his wife of 54 years, Heidi and his 16 year old dog, Mala. His three daughters, two son-in-laws, and three grandchildren live nearby.