Laura Burges

Ryuko Laura Burges, a lay entrusted dharma teacher in the Soto Zen tradition, teaches classes, lectures, and leads retreats in Northern California. She received monastic training at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, the first Zen Buddhist monastery in the United States. A teacher of children for 35 years, she has also mentored aspiring teachers. Laura co-founded the Sangha in Recovery Program at the San Francisco Zen Center and is the abiding teacher at Lenox House Meditation Group in Oakland. Shambhala Publications will be offering her Buddhist children’s book, to be released in December, "Buddhist Stories for Kids: Jataka Tales of Kindness, Friendship, and Forgiveness." A second book, "Zen for Kids: 50+ Mindful Activities and Stories to Shine Loving Kindness in the World," will be coming out in the Spring of 2023. Laura’s book for adults, "The Zen Way of Recovery: An Illuminated Path Out of the Darkness of Addiction," will also be published by Shambhala in 2023. Laura is a Fellow at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony and has been an adjunct Professor of Education at University of the Pacific and Holy Names University in California.