Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

Osho Zenju Earthlyn Manuel is a poet, author, ordained Zen priest and medicine woman of the drum. She was born and raised in Los Angeles, the middle daughter of parents who both migrated from rural Louisiana. Zenju is a dharma name, and Osho is a title meaning Zen teacher.

She is the dharma heir of Buddha and the late Zenkei Blanche Hartman in the Shunryu Suzuki Roshi lineage through the San Francisco Zen Center. She was Shuso (head student) with Kiku Christina Lehnherr Roshi, and her Dharma Transmission was completed by Osho Shosan Victoria Austin. Before entering Zen in 2001, she practiced in the Nichiren/Soka Gakkai tradition for 15 years, and she began again as a beginner on the path.

Her practice is influenced by Native American and African indigenous traditions. She took part in ceremony with Ifá diviners from Dahomey, Africa, and briefly studied Yoruba. She was raised in the Church of Christ and loved the mystic teachings on Christ's path well into adulthood. She holds a Ph.D. and worked for decades as a social science researcher and as a development director for non-profit organizations serving women and girls, cultural arts and mental health.

Her book Opening to Darkness: Eight Gateways for Being with the Absence of Light in Unsettling Times explores darkness as a cosmic landscape for transformation. It roots her teaching in indigenous earth-based wisdom, her Buddhist practice and her lived experience. She also compiled Blanche Hartman's Seeds for a Boundless Life: Zen Teachings from the Heart. She describes her transmissions as coming through her words and books, and she invites people to come close to the Earth and discover peace.