Zenshin Ryufu Philip Whalen's literary life spanned more than four decades. He was respected and even reverenced by his literary peers among three generations of poets. He published two major collections, On Bear’s Head (1967) and Overtime : Selected Poems (1999), as well as two novels, and several shorter books of poetry.

He began practicing Buddhism at the San Francsico Zen Center in 1972, and was ordained a monk in 1973.