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Practicing Safe Zen: Navigating the Pitfalls on the Road to Liberation
A Spirituality & Practice “Best Spiritual Book of 2025”
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.
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.
“This is a thoroughly engaging exploration based on deep knowledge of the tradition as well as contemporary research.” —Martine Batchelor, author, Principles of Zen
“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
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.
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.
“This is a thoroughly engaging exploration based on deep knowledge of the tradition as well as contemporary research.” —Martine Batchelor, author, Principles of Zen
“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
September 29, 2026
This is a very important and necessary book. As the author herself points out, it is unlikely to be the first book anyone reads about Zen, but it should be the second.
At this point in western Zen, particularly in America, there have been too many scandals involving experienced teachers that suggest some aspects of how Zen is organised and the kind of training our teachers receive.
I say this as a Zen teacher myself who was given a fairly traditional training in ceremony, Soto Zen history and tradition, sitting practice and scriptural studies, with very little input on the pitfalls of working with students and how structures and power imbalances can play out in reality. This is not to criticise my teacher as he also had this kind of training, as do many others.
This book asks important questions about Zen in the west, where it currently is, the pitfalls that Zen teachers can fall into, and what can be done about some of the issues that clearly remain. Julie Nelson writes about serious issues that arose at her own Zen centre and how her experience of those led her to insights on the kind of problems that are likely to arise in western Zen sanghas and how to improve how we do things. It is also a guide for Zen students and aspiring Zen students on what to look for in a functional and ethical Zen community and teacher and what might be warning signs that something is not quite right.
The book is certainly not saying that western Zen is rotten and we should not practice with others, but that we can and should do better.
Every Soto Zen teacher in the west should read this book, and every student too. There is much wisdom here and while reading about the kind of things that can go wrong is understandably far less appealing than learning about Zen practice itself, it may save a great deal of problems down the line.
At this point in western Zen, particularly in America, there have been too many scandals involving experienced teachers that suggest some aspects of how Zen is organised and the kind of training our teachers receive.
I say this as a Zen teacher myself who was given a fairly traditional training in ceremony, Soto Zen history and tradition, sitting practice and scriptural studies, with very little input on the pitfalls of working with students and how structures and power imbalances can play out in reality. This is not to criticise my teacher as he also had this kind of training, as do many others.
This book asks important questions about Zen in the west, where it currently is, the pitfalls that Zen teachers can fall into, and what can be done about some of the issues that clearly remain. Julie Nelson writes about serious issues that arose at her own Zen centre and how her experience of those led her to insights on the kind of problems that are likely to arise in western Zen sanghas and how to improve how we do things. It is also a guide for Zen students and aspiring Zen students on what to look for in a functional and ethical Zen community and teacher and what might be warning signs that something is not quite right.
The book is certainly not saying that western Zen is rotten and we should not practice with others, but that we can and should do better.
Every Soto Zen teacher in the west should read this book, and every student too. There is much wisdom here and while reading about the kind of things that can go wrong is understandably far less appealing than learning about Zen practice itself, it may save a great deal of problems down the line.
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