Dr. Jay Forrest
Jay N. Forrest is a Neoplatonic Buddhist philosopher who has spent the last forty years studying religion, philosophy, and contemplative practice. He completed undergraduate studies at Central Bible College and Berean College and earned his Doctor of Ministry degree from Trinity Evangelical Christian University. Forrest has undertaken advanced and postdoctoral study in Buddhism through programs at Harvard University, Princeton University, the University of Virginia, Naropa University, Columbia University, and Universiteit Leiden. He is a certified meditation teacher, an ordained Humanist minister, and the author of over a dozen books on Buddhist philosophy, contemplative practice, and metaphysics.
Forrest’s early academic work was conducted within Christian institutions, but his philosophical development ultimately led him beyond doctrinal religion. After more than two decades of ministry and formal theological study, he left Christianity on April 11, 2011 and embraced Buddhism. He subsequently took the Three Refuges and the Five Precepts with Bhikkhu Samahita, later undertaking the Eight Precepts with Bhikkhu Saccananda as an anagārika committed to minimalist, contemplative living. Forrest joined the Albuquerque Insight Meditation Center and began a sustained engagement with the Early Buddhist Texts and the foundations of Buddhist philosophy.
Forrest has received extensive hands‑on training in both Zen and Vipassanā meditation. His Zen instruction was under Rev. Brian C. Taylor, and his Vipassanā training was undertaken at the Albuquerque Insight Meditation Center with teachers such as Brian Lesage. He received direct, practical instruction in Insight Meditation from Sally Armstrong of Spirit Rock Meditation Center. Forrest also earned a diploma in Buddhist meditation from Aura Wellness Center. He practices in the Mahasi Sayadaw tradition, is affiliated with the Albuquerque Insight Meditation Center, and is a member of the International Zen Association, the Buddhist Society, the Spiritual Naturalist Society, and the International Society for Philosophers.