RYUKO LAURA BURGES, a lay entrusted dharma teacher in the Soto Zen tradition, lectures and leads retreats at practice centers in Northern California. She received monastic training at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center, the first Zen Buddhist Monastery in the United States. A teacher of children for 35 years, she now mentors other teachers and helps bring mindfulness practice into the elementary classroom. Laura co-founded the Sangha in Recovery Program at the San Francisco Zen Center and is the abiding teacher at Lenox House Meditation Group in Oakland. She is the author of Buddhist Stories for Kids: Jataka Tales of Kindness, Friendship, and Forgiveness. She is a fellow at Dorland Mountain Arts Colony, a member of the Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators and is active in the Lay Zen Teachers Association. Laura lives in San Francisco.