Author’s Notes
Names
Bibliographic Citations
Acknowledgments
Introduction
Chapter 1. The Journey Begins
Chapter 2. A Family Tragedy
Chapter 3. A New Life
Chapter 4. Abundant Inspiration
Chapter 5. Maturing Practice
Chapter 6. Autumn Light
Chapter 7. Tassajara
Chapter 8. Learning the Ropes
Chapter 9. Full Immersion
Chapter 10. Community as Mirror
Chapter 11. The Mirror Cracks
Chapter 12. Sangha Encounters
Chapter 13. Rope’s End
Chapter 14. Save the Body
Chapter 15. Study the Self
Chapter 16. Fifty Years in Zen
Glossary of Terms
Bibliography
About the Author
Edwina Norton has practiced Soto Zen Buddhism in California, Japan, and Washington state for fifty years. As an ordained Zen priest, she supports new and continuing lay practice students at Red Cedar Zen Community in Bellingham, Washington.
Over many years of Zen practice I have come to feel that Buddhist
enlightenment is nothing more or less than being a normal
functioning person, capable of living a full human life right to
the end. It turns out that this simple normal thing is actually
rare; and that it takes some doing. In Autumn Light: My Fifty Years
in Zen, Edie Norton, Zen priest, shows us her long life of enduring
what time and the world will do to you, and how, through the simple
process of paying honest attention to what happens, while
maintaining the disciplined practice of sitting in the silence of
the purely present moment, an ordinary person can come to great
wisdom and compassion. Especially moving is Edie’s detailed
description (by far the longest part of her story, though it
occupies only three months of her life) of her monastic training
period at Tassajara Zen monastery, a place I know very well; it is
the best and most thorough description of what happens there that I
have ever read. I am so moved by this book. I know you will be too.
Thank you Edie!
*Norman Fischer, poet, author, Zen priest, former co-abbot, San
Francisco Zen Center*
Amongst the multitude of spiritual biographies, Norton's stands out
for its realism, subtlety, and depth. With the perspective of eight
decades on the planet and her work with several generations of Zen
teachers over the last four, Norton shows us how to enter into a
deep relationship with our lives and conditioning and come out the
other side with wisdom and grace. This journey is neither easy nor
simple, but it's inspiringly, and challengingly, real. Highly
recommended for all of us as we become ready to engage in the real
work of growing up.
*Nomon Tim Burnett, Guiding Teacher, Red Cedar Zen Community,
Bellingham, Washington*
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