about tenneynathansonzen
zen essays by Tenney Nathanson
This substack will feature zen writing I’ve been doing: pieces written originally as essays as well as heavily edited versions of zen talks I’ve given that I hope function well as writing. Most of the pieces will focus at least partly on zen koans, and several will bring in poems that help illuminate the koans. For me that’s one significant way of participating in the continuing unfolding of American zen.
About me: I’m the resident teacher for Desert Rain Zen in Tucson. Desert Rain is part of the Open Source branch of the Pacific Zen School; Open Source was founded by my teacher Joan Sutherland Roshi. I received transmission as an Open Source Roshi in 2023, from both Joan and Sarah Bender Roshi.
btw, you can read pretty much the same material I’ll be posting to this substack over on my “tenneynathanson” website if you prefer, at least for now: it’s at https://tenneynathanson.com/zen-writings.
I’m planning to post here at least one piece per month, and hope to do a little better than that; we’ll see.
No paid subscription option yet.
You can learn more about Desert Rain Zen at https://www.desertrainzen.org/ and more about me at https://tenneynathanson.com/ .
I’m looking forward to seeing what develops here on Substack. I welcome your responses; I’m hoping for an ongoing dialogue.
Tenney
