November 5, 2021
In this episode, Wendy speaks with author, Zen priest and Buddhist teacher, Zenju Earthlyn Manuel. Zenju’s work highlights how the various facets of our identity can become “fertilizer” for growth on the path of spiritual and personal development. This conversation covers many topics, including:
- growing up in the Christian church, and the questions it raised for her;
- her unusual path into Buddhism;
- how to work with your identity while moving beyond the self;
- the truth of interdependence and cause & effect;
- two truths (relative vs. absolute) in relation to identity;
- bringing together spirituality and social justice;
- the central importance of embodiment;
- integration with nature;
- how contemplative science should proceed;
- and the dance between delusion and enlightenment.
Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, PhD (she/her), is an author, poet, ordained Zen Buddhist priest, teacher, artist, and drum medicine woman. The essence of all her transmissions come together in her teachings including these books, The Shamanic Bones of Zen: Revealing the Ancestral and Mystical Heart of A Sacred Tradition, The Deepest Peace: Contemplations From A Season of Stillness, Sanctuary: A Meditation on Home, Homelessness, and Belonging, and The Way of Tenderness: Awakening Through Race, Sexuality, and Gender.
Resources
- Book: The Way of Tenderness: Awakening Through Race, Sexuality, and Gender
- Essay: The Wisdom in My Bones, (Buddhadharma, 2015)
- Teachings from Zenju
- Retreats and Events with Zenju
View or download a transcript of this episode
Podcast extra: Zenju speaks about being a Zen priest, and the deep meaning behind her rakusu (5 min)