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Practicing Safe Zen: Navigating the Pitfalls on the Road to Liberation
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
“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
220 pages, Paperback
Published June 10, 2025
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
December 19, 2025
Practicing Safe Zen: Navigating the Pitfalls on the Road to Liberation is a courageous, grounded, and deeply necessary contribution to contemporary spiritual literature.
Drawing on lived experience, scholarship, and a clear eyed understanding of Zen tradition, Julie Seido Nelson addresses a subject too often avoided: how harm can occur within spiritual communities and how practitioners can protect themselves without abandoning the liberative heart of Zen.
What distinguishes this book is its balance. It neither sensationalizes abuse nor minimizes it. Instead, Nelson weaves ethical clarity, compassion, and core Zen teachings into a framework that empowers readers to engage practice with discernment and maturity. The writing is accessible without being simplistic, rigorous without being cold, and anchored in the lived realities of modern sanghas.
Practicing Safe Zen is essential reading for both newcomers and long-term practitioners. It invites a wiser, safer, and more honest relationship with spiritual authority one that ultimately strengthens, rather than diminishes, the path to liberation.
Drawing on lived experience, scholarship, and a clear eyed understanding of Zen tradition, Julie Seido Nelson addresses a subject too often avoided: how harm can occur within spiritual communities and how practitioners can protect themselves without abandoning the liberative heart of Zen.
What distinguishes this book is its balance. It neither sensationalizes abuse nor minimizes it. Instead, Nelson weaves ethical clarity, compassion, and core Zen teachings into a framework that empowers readers to engage practice with discernment and maturity. The writing is accessible without being simplistic, rigorous without being cold, and anchored in the lived realities of modern sanghas.
Practicing Safe Zen is essential reading for both newcomers and long-term practitioners. It invites a wiser, safer, and more honest relationship with spiritual authority one that ultimately strengthens, rather than diminishes, the path to liberation.
August 13, 2025
While I'm broadly in agreement that abuse of teaching authority is a big problem in Zen, I am uncomfortable with the account presented in "Practicing Safe Zen." I know a lot about the details of the situations the author describes, as I was an active member of this Zen organization for 16 years - 7 of them as Treasurer. Fortunately for me, I moved out of state just as things started to fall apart. I know most of the people involved in the conflicts, but I was uninvolved in them. I watched these distressing incidents from afar.
I found "Practicing Safe Zen" to be an unfair accounting of what happened. It withholds important facts from the reader. It assumes malicious motives when there are other reasonable interpretations. It engages in faulty analysis. Worst of all, what is proposed in the book, rather than creating safety, seems likely to produce harm.
I have published a detailed critique of the book under the title "The Danger of Practicing Safe Zen." It may be found on my Substack, "Ataraxia or Bust."
I found "Practicing Safe Zen" to be an unfair accounting of what happened. It withholds important facts from the reader. It assumes malicious motives when there are other reasonable interpretations. It engages in faulty analysis. Worst of all, what is proposed in the book, rather than creating safety, seems likely to produce harm.
I have published a detailed critique of the book under the title "The Danger of Practicing Safe Zen." It may be found on my Substack, "Ataraxia or Bust."
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews