About

I initially came to Buddhism while searching for a "Secular" Buddhist path.  After following Noah Rasheta's "Secular Buddhism" podcast for a time, I stumbled across Wendy's "Everyday Buddhism" podcast.  I participated in Intro to Buddhism classes with Wendy and also through Josh Ichiyo Lovejoy and Daybreak Oneness.  I enrolled in the Bright Dawn Lay Ministry program in the Fall of 2024 to deepen my study of the Dharma in the tradition of Rev. Gyome and Koyo Kubose.  In May, 2026 I will be inducted as a Bright Dawn Lay Minister and am filled with gratitude for this Sangha.

In 2005 I started mindfulness meditation to alleviate the effects of chronic stress. As my practice continued, I started to wonder about the spiritual origins of the practice. I started learning, at first by reading the works of primarily Western Buddhist practitioners, but also His Holiness the Dalai Lama and Thich Nhat Hanh.  I was a “Book Buddhist” and meditator for about 15 years. In the fall of 2019, newly retired and with lots of time for exploration, I discovered the Everyday Buddhism podcast. This struck me as an entirely new and refreshing presentation of the Dharma. It was a case of “when the student is ready, the teacher will appear”.  I joined the Everyday Buddhism Sangha in 2020 and also took the EB Introduction to Buddhism Course. Since then, I’ve participated in various Buddhist workshops and retreats, read more broadly and deepened my personal practice. I took refuge vows along with fifteen other Everyday Buddhism Sangha members in June of 2024.  This sangha has truly become a precious jewel that I continue to rely on

I'm a semi-retired software engineer with a background in physics who's been interested in Zen Buddhism since my high school and college days. But only when I quit my full-time job did I start practicing in earnest. My primary practice remains Soto Zen and I belong to a Soto group in the Seattle area. But I've been involved with the Everyday Buddhism Sangha since May of 2020.

Back in 2005, I sort of stumbled into the world of Buddhism when I started attending the Wat Satheathek Uticaram temple in Utica, NY with a friend. It was there that I would get my first introduction to the Dharma. Over the years, my studying of Buddhism would come and go, but it wasn't until discovering the Everyday Buddhism Podcast back in 2019 that my practice was revitalized. Eventually I'd take Wendy Shinyo's Intro to Buddhism course and joined her sangha. I would later help co-facilitate the intro course and formally took refuge in June of 2024. In Summer of 2024 I enrolled in the Bright Dawn Center of Oneness Buddhism lay ministry course in order to deepen my understanding of the Kubose family legacy and will be inducted in May of 2026 as a lay minister. 

Wendy Haylett, author, podcast host, sangha leader, Buddhist Sensei, Lay Minister, and spiritual coach conceives and communicates Buddhist and spiritual listening and reading journeys. Wendy has 40+ years as a Buddhist practitioner and 35+ years of coaching experience.

Check out my landing page directing you to my Substack, EverydayBuddhism podcast, and to begin spiritual coaching at: www.everydaybuddhism.com

To begin or continue ongoing monthly Coaching / Spiritual Friendship Sessions, which are 1 hour conversations via Zoom (suggested donation of $10/month*), go to this link:

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*If you wish to begin coaching but cannot afford it, please reach out to me at whaylett@gmail.com to arrange a sliding scale or scholarship.