Dear Everyday Zen sangha and friends,

The Summer 2009 issue Buddhadharma magazine features a wonderful article by Norman entitled “Why We Need a Plan B ,” in which he points to the heart of the Everyday Zen philosophy in his discussion of why it’s important to be flexible when teaching dharma in the West. And to illustrate Plan B in action, his most recent weblog posting from the Abbot's Journal is a fascinating description of the meeting he attended to help design a Mindfulness training program for the U.S. Army.

Also, newly posted here on the site, are two new essays in the Teachings section. “Why I Have to Write ” is a funny and moving defense of the writing habit, originally published in Shambhala Sun magazine. And Norman’s review of The Collected Poems of Philip Whalen is an intimate look at Whalen’s life work. “So any educated Western Buddhist needs to know this book,” he writes. “A life’s work between two covers, document of a mind in motion, Buddha Nature as screed, it tells the story of all of us who are trying to find a way to be what and as we are, as Buddhists.”

And finally, in another tribute to an old friend, Norman writes of his teacher Sojun Mel Weitsman, on the occasion of Mel's 80th birthday, celebrating the steadiness and devotion of Mel’s practice over the decades.