U of T Law alumnus Matthew Sullivan publishes first book, The Garden of Flowers and Weeds

Matthew Sullivan (JD/MA 2002) is a graduate of the Faculty of Law joint program with the U of T’s Centre for Criminology & Sociolegal Studies.

Sullivan, ordained as a Zen Master in the Korean tradition of Buddhism, has published his first book The Garden of Flowers and Weeds (Monkfish 2021).

The book is a translation and commentary on one of the classic texts of medieval Zen Buddhism, The Blue Cliff Record.

“Drawing on the core teachings of Zen, my book is about radical acceptance. Accepting the unenlightened self with all its flaws is a profound form of enlightenment,” says Sullivan.

“It's a message well-suited to the age of COVID, since we are all spending a lot more time with ourselves then we are used to.”

Sullivan is a research lawyer for the federal Department of Justice and teaches meditation in Toronto.

Visit the author’s website: www.bluecliffrecord.ca