Archives: Authors
Scott Darnell
Scott Darnell is serving a life sentence in Lawrence Correctional Center, Sumner, Illinois. He has been incarcerated for more than 30 years. He has written several articles for this newsletter and for various Buddhist magazines. His essay called “Meeting Myself in the Cell House” was included in Best Buddhist Writing of 2005. With the assistance of volunteers from Inside Dharma and Shinzo Zen Meditation Center in St. Louis, MO, Scott participated in a Jukai ceremony at his institution and received a rakasu.
Bryant Terry
Bryant Terry is a chef, educator, and author renowned for his activism to create a healthy, just, and sustainable food system. Bryant’s fourth book, <a href="http://www.randomhouse.com/book/225436/afro-vegan-by-bryant-terry"><em>Afro Vegan</em></a> was published by Ten Speed Press/Random House April 2014. Just 2 months after publication, <em>Afro-Vegan</em> was named by <a href="http://www.amazon.com/b/ref=sr_aj?node=5522571011&ajr=0">Amazon.com</a> one of the best cookbooks of 2014. In December it was nominated for an NAACP Image Award in the Outstanding Literary Work category. He lives in Oakland, CA with his wife, Jidan Koon, and their two daughters.
Shunryu Suzuki Roshi
Shunryu Suzuki (1904–1971) was one of the most influential spiritual teachers of the 20th century and a founding father of Zen in America. A Japanese Sōtō Zen priest, he taught in the U.S. from 1959 until his death, and founded the San Francisco Zen Center and Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. His book Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind is considered a modern Buddhist classic, translated into over 35 languages. Suzuki’s warmth, humor, and simplicity helped make Zen practice accessible to Western students and left a lasting imprint on American Buddhism.
James Ishmael Ford
James Ishmael Ford is a senior guiding teacher of Boundless Way Zen and the author of several books including <i>Zen Master WHO?</i> and <i>If You're Lucky, Your Heart Will Break.</i>
Lin Jensen
Lin Jensen is the author of several books, including Bad Dog! A Memoir of Love, Beauty, and Redemption in Dark Places and Together Under One Roof: Making a Home of the Buddha’s Household. He lives in Chico, CA.
Jean Smith
Jean Smith is the author/editor of numerous successful books on Buddhism, including 365 Zen, A Beginner’s Guide to Insight Meditation, and Breath Sweeps Mind. A longtime associate of the Insight Meditation Society, she is the head of the executive board of the Mountain Retreat Center, in Taos, New Mexico, where she lives.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel
is a Soto Zen priest, author, and poet. A dharma heir of the late Zenkei Blanche Hartman in the Shunryu Suzuki Roshi lineage, her practice is also influenced by Native American and African indigenous traditions. Her most recent book is <em>Opening to Darkness</em> (Sounds True, 2023).
Heidi Bourne
Heidi Bourne is a meditation teacher in the Insight Meditation tradition and is the founder and guiding teacher of Pacific Mindfulness. She has been teaching groups and individuals since 2005 in both public and private settings offering courses, retreats and professional programs. Heidi holds certification in mindfulness facilitation from UCLA, teaches regularly at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and is a member of the International Mindfulness Teachers Association. She can be reached anytime at <a href="https://pacificmindfulness.com" target="_blank" rel="noopener">pacificmindfulness.com</a>.
Vivien Shotwell
Vivien Shotwell is the author of the historical novel <a href="http://vivienshotwell.com/">Vienna Nocturne</a> (Random House, 2014). She lives and writes in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Ty Phillips
Former big city bouncer turned pacifist and Buddhist, Ty Phillips is the co-founder of <a href="http://www.thetattooedbuddha.com/" title="The Tattooed Buddha">The Tattooed Buddha</a> and a freelance author whose writing has been featured in The Good Men Project, Patheos, Elephant Journal, Rebelle, BeliefNet, and The Petoskey News. He is a long term Buddhist and a lineage holder, as well as a father to three amazing girls and a tiny dog named Fuzz.