About this item
Highlights
- In a time when abuse at the hands of religious leaders is too common comes this guide to making the most of the Zen tradition while protecting and empowering yourself"This is a thoroughly engaging exploration based on deep knowledge of the tradition as well as contemporary research.
- Author(s): Julie Seido Nelson
- 220 Pages
- Religion + Beliefs, Buddhism
Description
About the Book
"While the liberation that Zen offers is real, it must be engaged with carefully, explains this sensei. Her book is neither a memoir about a single case of abuse nor a bloodless academic study. Nelson reflects on the multiple dangers in Zen, from firsthand experience in Boston-where documented abuse recently took place-integrating her discussion at every step with core Zen teachings"--Book Synopsis
In a time when abuse at the hands of religious leaders is too common comes this guide to making the most of the Zen tradition while protecting and empowering yourself
"This is a thoroughly engaging exploration based on deep knowledge of the tradition as well as contemporary research." -Martine Batchelor, author, Principles of Zen
While the liberation that Zen offers is real, it must be engaged with carefully, explains this sensei. Her book is neither a memoir about a single case of abuse nor a bloodless academic study. Nelson reflects on the multiple dangers in Zen, from firsthand experience in Boston--where documented abuse recently took place--integrating her discussion at every step with core Zen teachings.
"Practicing Safe Zen imparts a lesson we all will have to learn if we want to truly mature in our spiritual practice." --Barry Magid, author, Ending the Pursuit of Happiness
Review Quotes
"Julie Nelson has begun exposing the pitfalls of Zen as a Western Community spiritual practice. Through her own personal experiences and her professional expertise, she illuminates the core problem that may steer Zen practitioners into dangerous territory. In order to do the necessary work of Buddhism-lessening the ego's toxic grip--Zen students need to become vulnerable and allow the Zen teacher to guide them. Yet, in this vulnerable relationship, Zen students may be exploited by their teacher or a community that has succumbed to cult dynamics. In this important work, Julie Nelson points out the underlying problems, how Zen Centers go astray, how practitioners suffer and how to have a healthier practice place." --Grace Schireson, Zen Abbess, president of Shogaku Zen Institute, and author of Naked in the Zendo and Zen Women
"Practicing Safe Zen fills me with gratitude, because here at last, in clear and compelling language, is precisely the book we need for addressing teachers' abuses of power, sex, and money, and for building resilient sanghas that exemplify both compassion and accountability. Julie Seido Nelson's vitally important book should be read by every Zen teacher, board member, and student." --Rev. Steve Kanji Ruhl, MDiv, Zen Buddhist minister, author of Appalacian Zen and The Whole Earth is Medicine
"A must-read manual, born of the author's long personal experience with misconduct, for how to protect yourself and your sangha from abuse of power, beginning with how to approach and engage safely and wisely with the teachings. Nelson identifies the problem of sexual misconduct in Buddhist communities as rooted in more than one factor, including human psychology, institutional structure and the balance of power. This book belongs on the front shelf of every Zen Center." --Willa Blythe Baker, author of The Wakeful Body
"Practicing Safe Zen dives deep into what every sangha member and especially every person of authority in a sangha must keep in mind. Watch out! Be aware of the perils of cultishness, the pitfalls of spiritual bypassing, the poison of thinking you have arrived, the hazard of minimization and much more! This is an important read for anyone immersed in Zen community and practice." --Genjo Marinello, abbot of Chobo-ji and author of Reflections in Awakening and Maturity
"Curious about Zen? Serious about Zen? Either way, read Julie Nelson's edifying and empowering book. It's a vital companion for anyone interested in a Zen path." --Scott Edelstein, author of Sex and the Spiritual Teacher and The User's Guide to Spiritual Teachers
"Practicing Safe Zen imparts a lesson we all will have to learn if we want to truly mature in our spiritual practice. It asks us to face the emotionally difficult reality of our own idealizations and subsequent disillusionment, of our hopes and fantasies surrounding Zen, Zen teachers and enlightenment. Nelson takes us through the history of one Zen community torn apart by scandal and teacher misconduct. Yet she also tells the story of how that community has tried to put itself back together, with shared communal responsibility taking the place of hierarchy, authority and submission. Hers is a Zen that has the potential to outlive--and outgrow--our fantasies of perfectly enlightened, Yoda-like Masters." --Barry Magid, founding teacher of the Ordinary Mind Zendo and the author of Ordinary Mind, Ending the Pursuit of Happiness, and Nothing Is Hidden: The Psychology of Zen Koans
"In Practicing Safe Zen, Julie Nelson is exploring the beauty of Zen practice and teachings as well as the dangers of the practice and the harm that can be