Eli Jaxon-Bear
Eli Jaxon-Bear was born in 1947 in Brooklyn, New York, under the name Elliot Jay Zeldow. His eighteen-year spiritual journey began in 1971, while he was on the run from the FBI during the Vietnam War. In 1978, Kalu Rinpoche entrusted him with the leadership of his Dharma center in Marin County, California. In 1982, he was presented with a Zen teaching staff at the Chosho-ji Zen Temple in Japan. His journey and his search came to an end when he traveled to India and met his final teacher there, Sri H.W.L. Poonja. Eli lives with his wife, Gangaji, in Ashland, Oregon. Eli currently meets with people all over the world and teaches through the Leela Foundation, an organization dedicated to supporting world peace and freedom through universal self-realization.
