Zenju Earthlyn Marselean Manuel (b.1952)- author, visual artist, poet, drummer and ordained Zen Buddhist priest, was born in Los Angeles, California to parents who migrated from Creole Louisiana. Zenju Earthlyn's spiritual writing is steeped in ancient memories of her ancestors and therefore explores the deep inner spiritual journey of our human existence. Her publications are rich with insights into birth and death, transformation, transcendence, and the exploration of other worlds. In essence, she offers the riches of her internal discoveries that can be difficult to put into words. Her work has been endorsed by venerable teachers such as Thich Nhat Hanh, Charles Johnson, and Iyanla Vazant. She holds both a masters and doctorate degree.
Zenju is her Dharma [ordination] name and she was named Earthlyn by her mother weeks after she was born. Her middle name, Marselean, is the Creole name of her paternal grandmother who was a child slave. Manuel is a Haitian Creole last name.
Books: Tell Me Something About Buddhism (Hampton Roads, 2011), The Black Angel Cards (HarperCollins, 1999-out of print-reprint in 2012), Contributing author to Together We are One, by Thich Nhat Hanh, and Dharma, Color, Culture: Western Buddhist Teacher of Color speak.
