Bio
Biography
David Zuniga is the first westerner to be ordained as a priest in the Taego Order, the oldest
lineage of Son (Korean Zen) Buddhism. He was ordained at Sonamsa Temple of Chogye Mountain, located
in the South Cholla province in Sunchun. Sonamsa temple was built in 529 C.E. and is the main temple
of the Taego lineage. When he was ordained, he was given the monastic name Dae-il Sunim. Dae-il in
Korean means Vairochana Buddha (Sanskrit “He Who is Like the Sun”) and Sunim is the name given to all
Son priests. He has completed three practice periods in South Korea.
Professionally, David has worked for several years in various capacities in pediatric and adult end-of-life care
He was one of the first Buddhist practitioners to become a Board Certified Chaplain by the
Association of Professional Chaplains (APC). Currently, he serves on the APC’s Theological Equivalency
Committee for chaplains who are seeking certification.
He earned a Master of Divinity Degree from
Harvard Divinity School, holds a Master of Arts in English Literature and is currently pursuing
a PhD in Clinical Psychology at The Fielding Insitute. He is the former
co-director of the Harvard Buddhist Community, and has published articles on religion and
spirituality, in both the United States and South Korea. He has served on the boards of several
health-care related non-profits. He also facilitates classes, seminars, and meditation groups for the general
community.
In his personal time David enjoys being with his wife and two young daughters. He has a
black belt in Tae Kwon Do and enjoys ultra marathons (races longer than marathon distance) and
playing chess.
