Norman Fischer

Norman Fischer will lead a workshop based on his book Training in Compassion: Zen Teachings on the Practice of Lojong. The theme of the afternoon is training the heart to reduce self-centeredness and increase compassion. We will practice guided meditations, contemplate teachings, and engage in discussion and imaginative exercises designed to bring the material home to the particularity of our lives today. Point Reyes Books offers 10% off this book to participants. Presented by Point Reyes Books and Black Mountain Circle.

About Norman Fischer: Fischer holds an MFA from the University of Iowa Writer’s Workshop and a masters from the Graduate Theological Union at the University of California at Berkeley. He has been a Zen Buddhist priest for nearly 30 years, serving as abbot for the San Francisco Zen Center from 1995-2000. Founder and teacher of the Everyday Zen Foundation, he is one of the most highly respected Zen teachers in America, regularly leading Zen Buddhist retreats and events. He periodically leads creative writing workshops and gives poetry readings and has taught at Harvard, Yale, Brown, and Stanford universities.

About Black Mountain Circle: Black Mountain Circle is a California nonprofit organization created by Point Reyes Books to explore the relationships between the arts, spirit, story, and place. The Circle serves as the fiscal sponsor of the literary journal the West Marin Review, the bi-annual Geography of Hope Conference, and an expanded set of programs hosted at the Point Reyes Presbyterian Church and elsewhere, including author events, retreats, films, book groups, and writing workshops for youths and adults.