Richard Bryan McDaniel’s Cypress Trees in the Garden continues the history of North American Zen which he began in Zen Masters of America. The earlier book described the pioneers who established Zen practice in North America; this new book focuses on the heirs and successors of those teachers and the challenges they faced. Between March 2013 and September 2014, McDaniel traveled from San Francisco to Portland, Maine, from Montreal to Albuquerque, interviewing 75 prominent Zen teachers and their senior students. Interviews with thirty-seven teachers from a variety of lineages are included in the book. 

Richard Bryan McDaniel taught at the University of New Brunswick and Saint Thomas University before starting a 27-year career in International Development and Fair Trade. He is the creator of the YMCA Peace Medallion. A long time Zen practitioner, he is also the author of Zen Masters of China, Zen Masters of Japan, and Zen Masters of America.

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