Joan Sutherland reads from a manuscript with the working title "The Birds of Awakening", 2021.

1 The Birds of Awakening , Invitation

Tina Carlson reads Joan Sutherland's essay "We Too". It was originally published  in Little Birds on February 25, 2020.

Tina Carlson is a poet living in Santa Fe, NM. She has two published books of poetry: Ground, Wind, This Body (UNM Press, 2017) and, in collaboration with Stella Reed and Katherine DiBella Seluja, We Are Meant To Carry Water ( 3: A Taos Press, 2019).

We Too

Women in Zen
Harbor Sangha, San Francisco, CA, April 12, 1997

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Dancing With The Jade Woman, Part 1

Springs Mountain Sangha ~ Colorado Springs, CO
Fall 2006

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Dream Body I

Springs Mountain Sangha ~ Colorado Springs, CO
October 8, 2006

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Dream Body II

Originally published on Little Birds our Patreon site on February 10, 2022

Dream Stories, 1 : The Great Dream Dreams a Dream Named Siddhartha

San Francisco Zen Center, November 25, 2006.

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Koans For Troubled Times, 1

Koans For Troubled Times, 2

The koan tradition arises from a generous vision : awakening as part of the shared work of the world, encouraged by many voices in conversations lit with a recognizable glow. Here are some of the relationships that make up our shared work : with each other, the tradition, the natural world, images and metaphors, and ourselves.

The Practice of Relationship 1, Sangha Way

The Practice of Relationship 4, Image and Metaphor

Cerro Gordo Temple, Santa Fe, NM. 
March 6, 2008

Responsiveness, 1

Cerro Gordo Temple, Santa Fe, NM. March 13, 2008

Responsiveness, 2

One of the streams that flowed into Chan and the koans was the mythology of pre-Buddhist, pre-Confucian China. Here are some notes on ancient Chinese ideas of meditation and awakening, based on Stephen Karcher's work on the Yijing (Book of Change). 

Cerro Gordo Temple, Santa Fe, NM, June 2008

Yijing, 1

One of the streams that flowed into Chan and the koans was the mythology of pre-Buddhist, pre-Confucian China. Here are some notes on ancient Chinese ideas of meditation and awakening, based on Stephen Karcher's work on the Yijing (Book of Changes)

Yijing, 2

At the start of a life with koans, we're in relationship with a Secret Lover, that whispered commentary on things that's always with us. Over time our allegiance shifts and we're more often slipping between the roles of Guest and Host, offering and receiving with others, with the vastness itself.

Desert Rain Retreat, Tucson, AZ. February 2010

Secret Lover, Guest, and Host

Mountain Cloud Zen Center, Santa Fe, NM. July 15, 2004

A Growing Allegiance to Awakening

This talk was given at the Radiant light –What Zen women carry into the world. It was held at Benediktushof in Holzkirchen, Germany on August 28-31, 2025. The organizers were Linda Myoki Ryugo Lehrhaupt Roshi, Susanne Jushin Dittrich Sensei, Gudrun Yushin Abrecht Sensei, and Martina Kaisei Siegwardt Sensei. Joan's talk was translated in real time by Ursula Jishin Popp Sensei.

Endarkenment and Lunar Dharma

An abridged version of this talk is published in Tricycle (Fall 2025) under the same title.

How 'The Blue Cliff Record' Came to Be

Originally published in Tricycle: The Buddhis Review, Fall 2025

Koan Commentary, Blue Cliff Record Koan 3

Joan Sutherland, Roshi
The self can feel like a fragmentary conglomeration of body, soul, spirit, heart, and mind : at best, a conversation; at worst, conflict. But each part has its own wisdom, and together this constellation of viewpoints can provide strength and the creativity to navigate difficult times. These talks explore some foundational buddhist philosophy and psychology in a fresh and accessible way, including a kindly rehabilitation of the much-maligned but essential self.

Self and Soul, Cerro Gordo Temple

Self and Soul, 2

The self can feel like a fragmentary conglomeration of body, soul, spirit, heart, and mind : at best, a conversation; at worst, conflict. But each part has its own wisdom, and together this constellation of viewpoints can provide strength and the creativity to navigate difficult times. These talks explore some foundational buddhist philosophy and psychology in a fresh and accessible way, including a kindly rehabilitation of the much-maligned but essential self.

For more resources:
www.clouddragondharmaworks.org
www.patreon.com/clouddragon

Self and Soul, Cerro Gordo

Self and Soul, Koan 1

The self can feel like a fragmentary conglomeration of body, soul, spirit, heart, and mind : at best, a conversation; at worst, conflict. But each part has its own wisdom, and together this constellation of viewpoints can provide strength and the creativity to navigate difficult times. These talks explore some foundational buddhist philosophy and psychology in a fresh and accessible way, including a kindly rehabilitation of the much-maligned but essential self.

Self and Soul (Colorado Springs, CO)

Self and Soul I (CO)

Mountain Cloud Zen Center, Santa Fe, NM, with Q and A

For more resources:
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joansutherlanddharmaworks.org

Teisho 2007

Wuzhou and Manjushri  1

Jennifer Woodhull reads "Field Notes on Endarkenment, 1" by Joan Sutherland. You can read the original post from July 30, 2020 at Little Birds : Miscellaneous Writing by Joan Sutherland at www.patreon.com/clouddragon

Jennifer Woodhull lives in Colorado Springs, where she teaches Dharma and serves as a volunteer chaplain in the state prison system. Her favorite cartoonist is MK Brown, although Edward Gorey comes a close second.

Field Notes on Endarkenment, 1

Jennifer Woodhull reads "Field Notes on Endarkenment, 2" by Joan Sutherland. You can read the original post from August 7, 2020 at Little Birds : Miscellaneous Writing by Joan Sutherland at www.patreon.com/clouddragon

Jennifer Woodhull lives in Colorado Springs, where she teaches Dharma and serves as a volunteer chaplain in the state prison system. Her favorite cartoonist is MK Brown, although Edward Gorey comes a close second.

Field Notes on Endarkenment, 2

Jennifer Woodhull reads "Field Notes on Endarkenment, 3" by Joan Sutherland. You can read the original post from August 12, 2020 at Little Birds : Miscellaneous Writing by Joan Sutherland at www.patreon.com/clouddragon

Jennifer Woodhull lives in Colorado Springs, where she teaches Dharma and serves as a volunteer chaplain in the state prison system. Her favorite cartoonist is MK Brown, although Edward Gorey comes a close second.

Field Notes On Endarkenment, 3

Jennifer Woodhull reads "Field Notes on Endarkenment, 1" by Joan Sutherland. You can read the original post from August 20, 2020 at Little Birds : Miscellaneous Writing by Joan Sutherland at www.patreon.com/clouddragon

Jennifer Woodhull lives in Colorado Springs, where she teaches Dharma and serves as a volunteer chaplain in the state prison system. Her favorite cartoonist is MK Brown, although Edward Gorey comes a close second.

Field Notes on Endarkenment, 4

Jennifer Woodhull reads "Field Notes on Endarkenment, 5" by Joan Sutherland. You can read the original post from September 9, 2020 at Little Birds : Miscellaneous Writing by Joan Sutherland at www.patreon.com/clouddragon

Jennifer Woodhull lives in Colorado Springs, where she teaches Dharma and serves as a volunteer chaplain in the state prison system. Her favorite cartoonist is MK Brown, although Edward Gorey comes a close second.

Field Notes on Endarkenment, 5

Joan Sutherland's essay "Field Notes on Endarkenment, 6" from November 19, 2020, is read by Jennifer Woodhull. 

Jennifer Woodhull lives in Colorado Springs, where she teaches Dharma and serves as a volunteer chaplain in the state prison system. Her favorite cartoonist is MK Brown, although Edward Gorey comes a close second.

Cloud Dragon : The Joan Sutherland Dharma Works

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