Archives: Authors
Sister Annabel Laity
Sister Annabel Laity was the first Western woman to be ordained as a nun by Thich Nhat Hanh. She is the author of <em>True Virtue: The Journey of an English Buddhist Nun</em>.
Sister Clear Grace
Sister Clear Grace received novice ordination in 2018 as Sister True Moon of Clear Grace in the Plum Village Vietnamese Zen tradition headed by the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh. In 2020, she received higher ordination and carries forward both the Theravada and Mahayana lineages of her preceptor, Venerable Dr. Pannavati Karuna, of whom she was transmitted the name Dayananda. Formerly a successful executive managing corporate operations, key people training and systems development, she now manages her mobile monastery operations and TravelingNunk.org as she continues to provide spiritual guidance and training to lay persons and monastics in her travels across the country.
Oren Jay Sofer
Oren Jay Sofer is a member of the Spirit Rock Teachers Council and author of <em>Say What You Mean: A Mindful Approach to Nonviolent Communication</em>.
Ayesha Ali
Ayesha Ali is a lesbian, femme, crone, mother, teacher, and writer. She is the co-founder of the Heart Refuge Community for People of Color. All of the descriptors are centered around her deepest intention to be free through to practices of the wisdom of the dharma and her ancestors.
Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu
Stephen Murphy-Shigematsu received a doctorate in psychology from Harvard University and trained in traditional medicine in Japan. He designs "heartfulness" learning programs at Stanford University and is the author of eleven books in English and Japanese.
Kristina Pearson
Kristina Pearson is an ordained hospital chaplain and graduate of Upaya Zen Center's chaplaincy program.
Jen Jordan
Jen Jordan was first introduced to Buddhist meditation in 1986 and has training in the Soto and Rinzai Zen and Vipassana traditions. She has spent extended time on retreat in the USA and India. Jen is an insight meditation teacher and hospice nurse practitioner. She is on the Teachers Council of Insight Meditation Community of Washington DC, serves as IMCW Family Program Director, mentor for Jack Kornfield and Tara Brach's online Power of Awareness course, and in-school secular mindfulness teacher with Minds, Inc. Jen is certified in Mindful Schools and .b curricula and is a graduate of the Meditation Teacher Training Institute (MTTI). She has experience in a broad range of contemplative modalities, including Reiki and Kundalini Yoga, and sees these as extensions of her meditative practice. Jen has found parenting her three school-aged children, including a child with a degenerative physical disability, her richest place of practice. She is particularly grateful for the guidance she has received from Thich Nhat Hanh.
Lisa Bennett
Lisa Bennett is a longtime writer who co-authored a book with emotional intelligence expert Daniel Goleman, contributed to <em>The Compassionate Instinct</em>, and edited <em>Women Amplified</em>. Learn more at <a href="http://www.lisabennett.net/">www.lisabennett.net</a>
Alex Kakuyo
Alex Kakuyo is a Buddhist teacher and breathwork facilitator. A former Marine, he served in both Iraq and Afghanistan before finding the Dharma through a series of happy accidents. Alex holds a B.A. in philosophy from Wabash College and his life's work is helping students bridge the gap between the finite and the infinite. Using movement, meditation, and gratitude practices he helps them find inner peace in every moment. Alex is the author of <i><a href="https://www.amazon.com/Perfectly-Ordinary-Buddhist-Teachings-Everyday/dp/167376939X" rel="noopener">Perfectly Ordinary: Buddhist Teachings for Everyday Life.</a></i>
Cary Groner
Cary Groner is a writer, editor, and photographer based in the San Francisco Bay area. His debut novel,<em> Exiles</em>, was a Chicago Tribune “best book of 2011.”
Otto von Busch
Otto von Busch is an associate professor of integrated design at the Parsons School of Design in New York. His projects explore how design, and particularly fashion, can mobilize community capabilities through collaborative craft and social activism.
Joanne Laurence
Rev Jo Laurence received her MA at the Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Graduate Theological Union in Berkeley, California. Rev. Jo is a board certified hospice and palliative care chaplain in Portland, Oregon. She is a long time practitioner of Soto Zen and is ordained in the Sufi lineage of Hazrat Inayat Khan.
Jamie Kimmel
Jamie Kimmel holds an M.A. degree in Buddhist Studies and certificates in Buddhist Chaplaincy and Soto-Zen Buddhist Studies from the Institute of Buddhist Studies, a seminary within the Graduate Theological Union, in Berkeley, CA. He serves as a Staff Chaplain at UCSF Health and acts as a program manager for the San Francisco Night Ministry, helping coordinate a weekly meditation group in San Francisco’s Tenderloin District. He has been a Soto-Zen practitioner for many years.
Trent Thornley
Rev. Trent Thornley holds a masters degree in Buddhist Studies and a certificate in Buddhist Chaplaincy from the Institute of Buddhist Studies, a seminary within the Graduate Theological Union. He is the Executive Director and CPE Educator for the San Francisco Night Ministry (<a href="http://www.sfnightministry.org" rel="noopener">www.sfnightministry.org</a>). He is ordained as a Dharma Leader in the tradition of Anam Thubten, and also as a minister in the Universal Fellowship of Metropolitan Community Churches.
Brent Beavers
Brent Resounding Way Beavers is an ordained Zen practitioner in the lineage of Charlotte Joko Beck and a student of Diane Esshin Rizzetto for 15+ years. Having earned a 2019 Masters in Buddhism from the Institute of Buddhist Studies at the Graduate Theological Union, Brent is currently in the midst of a year-long chaplaincy training (Clinical Pastoral Education) to become a Board Certified Chaplain in healthcare.
Vanessa Zuisei Goddard
Vanessa Zuisei Goddard is a writer and lay Zen teacher based in Panama City, Panama, as well as the guiding teacher for Ocean Mind Sangha, a virtual community of Buddhist practitioners. Her books include, <em>Still Running: The Art of Meditation in Motion</em>, and the children's book <em>Weather Any Storm</em>. She can be found at <a href="https://oceanmindsangha.org" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Oceanmindsangha.org</a>
Rodney Smith
Rodney Smith taught Insight meditation for 35 years before retiring in 2017. He is the author of four books including <a href="https://www.shambhala.com/authors/o-t/rodney-smith.html"><em>Touching the Infinite</em></a>.
Pamela Weiss
Pamela Weiss is the author of the forthcoming book, <em><a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/625192/a-bigger-sky-by-pamela-weiss/9781623174750">A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism</a></em>. She is the first and only layperson in the Suzuki Roshi Soto Zen lineage to receive full Dharma Transmission, and is among the few Buddhist teachers authorized to teach in two traditions. She is currently a member of the Spirit Rock Teacher Council, a guiding teacher at San Francisco Insight, and a visiting teacher at the Brooklyn Zen Center.