Seeing One Thing Through: The Zen Life and Teachings of Sojun Mel Weitsman

A young painter, coming of age in San Francisco’s bohemian 1950s, meets his teacher—Shunryu Suzuki, a pivotal figure in Buddhist America—and dedicates his life to continuing Suzuki Roshi’s teachings

Seeing One Thing Through begins with a series of autobiographical memories and reflections going back to Sojun Mel Weitsman’s boyhood in Southern California, his coming of age as an artist and a seeker in the vibrant San Francisco of the 1950s, and his encounter with Zen in one remarkable teacher, Shunryu Suzuki Roshi. From that moment, and for nearly sixty years after, Weitsman’s life took the direct path of Zen—as a student, as a teacher, and as one of the first generations of American Zen masters. The larger portion of the book is a collection of Weitsman’s edited talks, his articulation of “ordinary mind,” and his strong belief that Zen as a way of life is available to all.