Practicing Safe Zen

“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