Ryuko Laura Burges is a lay entrusted dharma teacher in the Soto Zen tradition, teaching and leading retreats in California. She received monastic training at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center. A longtime educator, Laura co-founded the Meditation in Recovery programs at San Francisco Zen Center. She has been featured in Tricycle Magazine and Buddhadharma and her books include Wisdom Stories of Tibet (2025), the first volume in a three-part series that will also feature wisdom stories from India and Japan. Other titles from Shambhala Publications are The Zen Way of Recovery: An Illuminated Path Out of the Darkness of Addiction (2023), Zen for Kids (2023), and Buddhist Stories for Kids (2022). All of her books began at Dorland!