Our Directors

Louis Komjathy 康思奇 (Xiūjìng 修靜 [Cultivating Stillness]; Wànruì 萬瑞 [Myriad Blessings]; Ph.D.; CSO) is a leading scholar-practitioner of Daoism and an ordained Daoist priest (dàoshì 道士) of the Huàshān 華山 (Mount Hua) lineage of Quánzhēn 全眞 (Complete Perfection) Daoism. He received his Ph.D. in Religious Studies (Boston University; 2005) with an emphasis on Daoism and comparative religious studies. In 2006, Louis lived and trained as a Daoist recluse in Chéngdū, Sìchuān, at which time he received ordination into the Huàshān lineage. Following his ordination, he lived as a visiting Daoist monk in the monasteries of Láoshān 嶗山 (Mount Lao; near Qīngdǎo, Shāndōng) and Huàshān 華山 (Mount Hua; Huàyīn, Shǎnxī).

Louis has published extensively on Daoism, in both article and book-length form, including definitive studies of Quánzhēn Daoism, authoritative introductions to the Daoist tradition more generally, and pioneering studies on a wide variety of innovative topics. His most recent books on Daoism are Entering Stillness: A Guide to Daoist Practice 入靜指南 (with Kate Townsend; Square Inch Press, 2022), Primer for Translating Daoist Literature 道文翻譯入門 (Purple Cloud Press, 2022), the Twentieth Anniversary Edition of Handbooks for Daoist Practice 修道手冊 (Square Inch Press, 2023), Dàodé jīng: A Contextual, Contemplative, and Annotated Bilingual Translation (Square Inch Press, 2023), and Traces of a Daoist Immortal: Chén Tuán 陳摶 of the Western Marchmount (Brill, 2024). He also is the featured Daoist scholar-practitioner in Dream Trippers: Global Daoism and the Predicament of Modern Spirituality (University of Chicago Press, 2017).

Louis Komjathy is the founding Co-director of the Daoist Foundation. He serves as a senior teacher and spiritual director for the Daoist Foundation and its various Daoist associations (dàohuì 道會). He lives and works as an independent scholar-educator and translator in the forested ravines of Ravinia, Illinois. Email 

Kate Townsend 唐鄉恩 (Bàojìng 抱靜 [Embracing Stillness]; Wànqīng 萬清 [Myriad Clarities]; L.Ac.; EAMP; CSO) is a Licensed Acupuncturist / East Asian Medical Practitioner and ordained Daoist priest (dàoshì 道士) of the Huàshān 華山 (Mount Hua) lineage of Quánzhēn 全眞 (Complete Perfection) Daoism. Kate has over thirty-five years of experience in Daoist cultivation, energy-based movement practices, and the healing arts. After decades of training in Daoist cultivation and Yǎngshēng, she received ordination into the Huàshān 華山 (Mount Hua) lineage in Chéngdū, Sìchuān in 2009. At that time, she also received a secondary ordination into the Qīngjìng 清靜 (Clarity-and-Stillness) lineage. 

Over the years, Kate has studied with pre-eminenet Traditional Chinese medical doctors, healers, as well as Daoist scholars, priests and practitioners in the US and abroad. Kate’s training in Chinese medicine and the Daoist arts provides her with a nuanced understanding of the subtle body and women’s energetic cycles in health, healing, and alchemical practices. In turn, she enjoys assisting women on their personal path to health and embodied wellness through Chinese medicine, seasonal attunement and honoring the body’s innate healing capacity. Kate is currently working on developing a Kūndào 坤道 (Women’s Way) program to help foster a better understanding of Daoist practice attentive to the unique dimensions of female embodiment.

With Louis Komjathy, she recently published Entering Stillness: A Guide to Daoist Practice 入靜指南 (Square Inch Press, 2022).

Kate Townsend is the founding Co-director of the Daoist Foundation. She serves as a senior teacher for the Daoist Foundation and maintains a private practice in Chinese medicine, qi-based bodywork, and movement practices through Root Medicine. Email