Susan Moon

Susan Moon

Susan Moon is a writer and teacher and for many years was the editor of Turning Wheel, the journal of socially engaged Buddhism. She is the author of This Is Getting Old: Zen Thoughts on Aging with Dignity and Humor and The Life and Letters of Tofu Roshi, a humorous book about an imaginary Zen master. She edited Not Turning Away: The Practice of Engaged Buddhism.

Books

Recent Articles

Grandmother Mind

Grandmothers care about others and shed tears for their suffering. That’s why Dogen said having Grandmother Mind is the most important thing of all. Zen teacher Susan Moon contemplates her own journey as a grandmother and her responsibility as an ancestor-to-be.

Broken statue.

I Want to Tell You About Coming Apart and Struggling Through Depression

A moving account by Susan Moon of her journey back from depression, and how her Buddhist practice both helped and hindered her.

Overwhelmed by Emotions?

Author and lay Zen teacher Susan Moon is asked: “Should I stop meditating when emotions begin to overwhelm me?”

Finding Freedom: The Death Row Journey of Jarvis Jay Masters

Susan Moon on the spiritual journey of Jarvis Jay Masters, a Buddhist practitioner on death row in San Quentin prison.

I Thought I Was Alone

I’ve been a Zen practitioner for thirty years. Ten years ago I was in a deep depression. If I sat down to meditate, demons would torment me.

How can I work with strong emotions in meditation?

Susan Moon offers advice on working with the intense emotions that can arise in meditation, one of the most frequently asked questions about challenges on the spiritual path..

From Teishos to Trident Missile Protests

Susan Moon remembers Robert Aitken Roshi’s lifelong commitment to the unified path of Zen and social justice.

This Is Getting Old

Old age forces you to let go of one damn thing after another! But as Susan Moon learns from her mother, it can also be a golden opportunity.

Grandmother Mind

Parents must attend to the nuts and bolts of their children’s care. But grandmothers, says Susan Moon, can pay attention to the continuity of everything in the background—water, air, stories, and love.