Barbara O’brien has been practicing Zen Buddhism since the 1980s. She works as a journalist, reporting primarily on religion in America. She is the author of The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World, Rethinking Religion: Finding a Place for Religion in a Modern, Tolerant, Progressive, Peaceful and Science-affirming World and has written about Buddhism for many outlets including About.com, The Guardian, Tricycle, and Lion’s Roar. She blogs about whatever is on her mind at her personal blog, The Mahablog (mahablog.com).