Zen teacher Joan Sutherland on life’s dreamlike nature and why it should be embraced.
About Joan Sutherland
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.
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.
Is Buddhism a Religion?
Is Buddhism a religion, psychology, or way of life? Our three experts, Charles Prebish, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche, and Joan Sutherland, join the debate.
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.
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.
Through the Dharma Gate
Photo by David Gabriel Fischer.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.
Our Path Is Limitless and Vast
Photo by Anne Arden MacDonald.While women may feel constrained by Buddhist institutions, the dharma itself poses no such limitations, says Joan Sutherland.
Gaining Perspective on Habitual Patterns
Buddha, 2007. by Noppadon PutipinWhen 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.