The author of Zen Gleanings is Eden Kevin Heffernan, a Zen priest at Richmond Zen and a conservation ecologist based in Richmond, Virginia. This site is mostly focused on books, ideas and other media about Zen and Buddhism that I find interesting and supportive of practice, but I may also share works of art, science, philosophy and any other dewdrops that may reflect the moon.

An underlying question here on Zen Gleanings is “Can we live with integrity, dignity and humor amid inexorable change, our yearning for freedom and identity within a net of interdependence, and our human habit of preferring fantasy over the present moment?” Or, put another way, “How do we find Buddha’s Middle Way between mindless consumerism and fundamentalist ideology? And, “Is it O.K. to binge watch an entire TV series on Netflix from time to time?”

I’ve practiced Zen for more than 25years. In 1997, I took formal Zen Buddhist vows. I have served as lay leader of Richmond Zen at Ekoji Buddhist Sangha since 1999. Mostly this means I set out cushions for each meeting and send out email reminders to our sangha to come sit on these cushions. Otherwise, my sangha ignores me. Unless, of course, there are no cushions or reminders.

Since 1993, Josho Phelan Sensei, abbess of the Chapel Hill Zen Center has guided and informed my practice. I have also had the opportunity to learn from many wonderful Zen and other Buddhist teachers. I wish I could remember more of what they’ve taught me. In 2018, I was ordained by Josho into the Suzuki Roshi lineage of Soto Zen.

As the Buddhist campus minister at University of Richmond, I have one teaching for the whole campus: “Do less, be more.” So far, the administration hasn’t caught wind of this subversive activity.

From 2007 to 2011, I taught an upper level undergraduate class on Zen Buddhism at Virginia Commonwealth University. Because I am a radical traditionalist, students’ written assignments were to be completed with a brush pen. One assignment was to write a Zen “death poem,” which forced students to contemplate their own mortality. Despite all this, the class was always full.

I am a certified yoga instructor (RYT 200). I offer a class in a highly secure government building where I lead underpaid and overworked colleagues–who toil for benefit of all beings–to do almost nothing for a few minutes a week and enjoy it.

As a conservation ecologist, I work with many others to understand and protect Virginia’s biological diversity. The failures of my profession are reported daily, commonly referred to as “the Sixth Great Extinction.” Our successes will be taken for granted or claimed by politicians to be the work of Providence, not science and thoughtful regulation. All I’ll say here is “Remember the Cuyahoga!” (Full disclosure: the Cuyahoga River watershed was my childhood home. Do an Internet search for “rivers that caught on fire.”)

Views and opinions expressed on Zen Gleanings are my own karma. Despite the best efforts of excellent parents and teachers, a loving partner, and wise friends, I am a slow learner. My foremost hope for this site is that it may help us all lighten up a bit. Thank you for your kind attention.

Zen Gleanings participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program that provides a means for sites to earn commissions by linking to Amazon. So, whenever you buy a book on Amazon from a link on here, I get a small percentage of its sale price. These funds contribute almost nothing to the costs of producing and maintaining Zen Gleanings. Thank you! Links are also provided to World Cat, a website that will provide book publication details and help you find a library that has the title of interest.