Conversations with North American Zen Teachers
Martine Taikai Palmiter
Joyful Mind Zen Community, Rockville, Maryland There are factions in the US currently resisting the concept of political “wokeness,” in the sense of being “awakened” to racial or gender injustices inherent in societal structures. But for Martine Palmiter spiritual and the political “awakening” are intertwined. “I was raised American Baptist, and I actually loved going…
Joan Halifax
Upaya Zen Center – I have a spiel I use before starting an interview. I assure the person interviewed that I am less interested in what they say than in what they intended to say and that I recognize there may be a difference between the two. Therefore, I will send them a transcript of…
Sara Jisho Siebert
Zen Fields, Ames, Iowa – Sara Jisho Siebert is a Soto Zen priest who teaches at Zen Fields in Ames, Iowa. Her back story is striking. “When I was fourteen, a number of people in my life experienced sexual violence and talked to me about it. My mom is a great listener, and I guess…
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Richard Bryan McDaniel 