Joan Sutherland

Joan Sutherland

Joan Sutherland, Roshi, is a founder of the Pacific Zen School (a contemporary koan school), as well as the founding teacher of The Open Source, a network that includes sanghas in Colorado, Arizona, and the Bay Area. Now retired from working directly with students, her teachings continue through Cloud Dragon, an online source for her writings and talks. She is the author of Vimalakirti & the Awakened Heart and Acequias and Gates: Miscellaneous Writings on Miscellaneous Koans.

Books

Recent Articles

Seasons of Awakening

Joan Sutherland shares why we must learn to trust the ebbs and flows of awakening — agreeing to all of its seasons and tides.

Woman floating over the earth.

This Floating World

Zen teacher Joan Sutherland on life's dreamlike nature and why it should be embraced.

Everything Is Enlightenment

Enlightenment is everywhere we look, says Joan Sutherland — we can choose to notice it, but at the same time, we can also trust that it will find us, wherever we are.

Pagoda in the mist.

Koans for Troubled Times

How do we as Buddhists meet the challenges of our time? Joan Sutherland says an answer lies in the teachings of two great Chan masters.

Here at the End of the World

Grief is how we love in the face of loss, wrote Joan Sutherland in the Fall 2019 issue of Buddhadharma. Now, in this new time of so much loss, her teaching on coming to terms with grief feels especially relevant.

The Whole Way

Is Buddhism a transcendent path to enlightenment or a practical aid to everyday life? The Way cannot be divided like that, Joan Sutherland tells us. LIke the water system of the high desert, it flows in every direction and is found wherever we decide to tap into it.

Dharma Gates, Joan Sutherland, Meditation, Shambhala Sun, Lion's Roar, Buddhism

Through the Dharma Gate

The location of the gate — the forms of meditation — is fixed and known, but what will happen there can never be known ahead of time. Joan Sutherland on the place where form and formlessness meet.

Women in Buddhism Buddhadharma Joan Sutherland

Our Path Is Limitless and Vast

While women may feel constrained by Buddhist institutions, the dharma itself poses no such limitations, says Joan Sutherland.

Buddhadharma - Summer '11 Joan Sutherland Zen habits awareness

Gaining Perspective on Habitual Patterns

When you’re caught in your habitual patterns, says Joan Sutherland, try not to fixate on your reactions. Instead cultivate awareness of everything that is happening in the moment.

Hidden No More

Joan Sutherland reviews "Zen Women: Beyond Tea-Ladies, Iron Maidens, and Macho Masters", by Grace Schireson.

What is Dokusan?

Dokusan is defined by Joan Sutherland.