Reb Anderson

Reb Anderson moved to San Francisco from Minnesota in 1967 to study Zen Buddhism with Shunryu Suzuki Roshi, who ordained him as a priest in 1970. Since then, Reb has continued to study at San Francisco Zen Center, which includes Beginner's Mind Temple at The City Center (San Francisco), Green Dragon Temple at Green Gulch Farm (near Muir Beach, California), and Zen Mind Temple (Carmel Valley, California). Reb served as abbot from 1986 to 1995 and is now a senior dharma teacher.

He lives with his family and friends at Green Gulch Farm, where he teaches, lectures, and leads practice periods.

"Being Upright is a large and compassionate, thorough and clear book about an important, but sometimes neglected, aspect of Zen—the precepts. Thank you, Reb, for bringing them forward." —Natalie Goldberg, author of Writing Down the Bones and The Great Spring

"An exceptionally thoughtful penetration of the bodhisattva precepts, illuminated by stories of mondo, or dharma combat, between great teachers. Rather than depending on safe generalities and abstractions, the author shows candor and courage by pointing to mistakes and frailties in his own practice—a skillful means of instruction. This excellent book, by one of his foremost disciples, does honor to Shunryu Suzuki and his teachings." —Peter Matthiessen (Muryo Roshi), author of The Snow Leopard and The Nine-Headed Dragon River: Zen Journals, 1969–1982

"The precepts are nothing more or less than the simple manifestation of actual practice: what the mind and heart of Zen look like when engaged with the world. In this clear, luminous, and encouraging book, Reb Anderson investigates and opens each of the precepts until we can see its true face—not a rule, not a guiding concept, but the fragrant flower of awakened life, passed from generation to generation, and now between us." —Jane Hirshfield, author of Nine Gates: Entering the Mind of Poetry and Women in Praise of the Sacred: 43 Centuries of Spiritual Poetry by Women

"I really like this book! It will be very useful to spiritual practitioners, Buddhist and non-Buddhist alike. Reb Anderson has managed to express his subtle and hard-earned wisdom in language that is wonderfully simple, clear, and free of jargon—and impressive feat." —Ty Koontz, former editor of The Laughing Man

"Being Upright is a much-needed book that provides a solid basis for upright practice. Its very language is upright." —David Steindl-Rast, O.S.B., author of A Listening Heart: The Spirituality of Sensuousness