While on a trip in 1971 to the Mojave Desert in California with two friends, Merzel had what he described as an "awakening experience".Big Mind: An Interview with Genpo Roshi Following this, he left his career as a school teacher for a year to live in the mountains alone in a cabin near San Luis Obispo. In 1972Big Mind, Genpo Roshi he met the Japanese-born Zen teacher Taizan Maezumi, and moved to Los Angeles to study under him.
