Cuke Audio Podcast

With Guest Richard Jaffe

Mon, 02 Feb 2026 03:31:44 -0800

Richard Jaffe was a student at the San Francisco Zen Center for years. He went on to become a leading Buddhist scholar who has spent a lot of time in Japan and knows Buddhism and especially Soto Zen there thoroughly in Japanese. He’s a professor of religion at Duke University retiring this or next year. His first book was Neither Monk nor Layman: Clerical Marriage in Modern Japanese Buddhism followed by collections of the writings of D.T. Suzuki. On Duke’s site it says: Richard Jaffe specializes in the study of Buddhism in early modern and modern Japan. In particular he has focused his research and teaching on the transformations that took place in Japanese Buddhist practice in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Jaffe's current research centers on the role of D.T. Suzuki in the globalization of Japanese Buddhism in the twentieth century. He also has questions for me later on in this podcast,

With Guest Shinshu Roberts

Mon, 26 Jan 2026 00:01:25 -0800

Shinshu Roberts was at the SFZC for years and 18 years ago founded the Ocean Gate Zen Center on 41st Avenue in Capitola next to Santa Cruz with her partner Jake Kinst. The website is oceangatezen.org She recently published Meeting the Myriad Things: A Zen Practitioner’s Guide to Dogen’s Genjokoan. She worked for years on the Shunryu Suzuki archives. Hear about that and more in this podcast.

A Conversation with June (Omura) Crow

Mon, 19 Jan 2026 06:01:23 -0800

June Crow began her study and practice of Buddhism in l968 when she met Shunryu Suzuki. She was known as June Omura back then. I, DC, remember her from Tassajara in the early seventies. She met Chogyam Trungpa of the Tibetan Kagyu and Nyingma lineage at Tassajara and became his student and a meditation instructor and teacher with his group. She’s still actively teaching with it today, living in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Trungpa moved his Shambhala center long ago. Hear about this and more in this podcast conversation with June and me.

A Conversation with Helena Bee

Mon, 12 Jan 2026 05:15:09 -0800

Helena Bee has been in charge of online programs for the San Francisco Zen Center for four years. Her practice has been centered at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center since she first went with friends as a guest. This podcast is a conversation rather than an interview.

With Guest Bob Halpern

Sun, 04 Jan 2026 04:01:10 -0800

Bob Halpern began attending session at Sokoji with Shunryu Suzuki in 1965 while living in LA where he helped Taizan Maezumi get his zendo going. He and I were best friends and troublemakers at Tassajara and sometimes in the city. We went over all that thoroughly in a podcast years ago. In this podcast he tells about becoming a Chogyam Trungpa student in 1971 and being his first personal attendant. He brings us up to the present time where he finally calmed down and for twenty years has been running morning and early evening meditation for the Shambhala group in Halifax, Nova Scotia, where Trungpa moved his center to in 1986.

With Guest Gerald Weischede

Sat, 27 Dec 2025 05:29:59 -0800

Gerald Weischede was one of Richard Baker’s first German students. They met in Germany at a workshop or seminar that Baker was giving. Gerald went to Santa Fe to study with Baker when he had his center there and later, with the help of his wife Gisela helped Baker get Crestone Zen Mt. Center going. He was the first director and first shuso. He and Gisela for 20 years have led a Zen community called Lebendiges Zen in Göttingen, Germany. He’s also a psychotherapist and teaches in a university and has published five books. In this podcast he talks about all this and more.

With Guest Bob Britton returning

Sun, 21 Dec 2025 05:50:57 -0800

This is a follow-up podcast with Robert Britton, Bob to me, in which he focuses, using his many decades of applying the Alexander technique to sitting. He was at the SF Zen Center for ten years. He became an Alexander teacher and still is. For 39 years he applied what he’d learned from the Alexander technique at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music helping musicians sit, hold and use their instruments so that they don’t create physical problems. He’s helped many people at Zen Center and beyond in how to sit, stand, walk in a healthy way. Learn about Bob Britton and sitting—and more—in this podcast with him.

With Guest Bob Britton

Sat, 06 Dec 2025 05:24:56 -0800

Robert Britton, Bob to me, was at the SF Zen Center for ten years. He became an Alexander teacher and still is. For 39 years he applied what he’d learned from the Alexander method (if I can call it that) at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music helping musicians sit, hold. and use their instruments so that they don’t create physical problems. He’s helped many people at Zen Center and beyond in how to sit, stand, walk in a healthy way. Learn about it in this podcast with him.

With Guest Kirk Rhoads

Mon, 01 Dec 2025 05:40:39 -0800

Kirk Rhoads spent years at the SF Zen Center then moved to Yaizu Japan where Shunryu Suzuki’s home temple Rinsoin is located. In this podcast he talks about how his path led to Zen, his years at Zen Center and Japan where he became close with Hoitsu and Chitose Suzuki, and his return to America. He also talks about the Kent Rhoads Foundation which he founded in honor of his late brother. The purpose of it is to provide support so that more people can afford to attend Zen retreats and practice periods, a noble goal. See kentrhoadsfoundation.org/

With Guest Mary Mocine

Sat, 22 Nov 2025 00:50:14 -0800

Mary Mocine had visited Tassajara a couple of times but her first practice experience was at a mindfulness retreat with Yvonne Rand at Green Gulch. She was at Zen Center for a number of years and in this podcast she also shares experiences with various teachers and temples in Japan. She had a sitting group in Vallejo for a couple of decades.

With Guest Barton Stone - an encore presentation

Mon, 17 Nov 2025 20:15:48 -0800

Barton Stone joined Shunryu Suzuki for zazen very early on. He's a peace activist, expert carpenter, gardener, poet, and now practices Zen with with the Stone Creek Zen Center in Graton, CA. We'll have the phone chat, read his poems and an old interview. - This is an encore presentation from an August 29, 2020 podcast when Cuke Podcast was only five months old.

With Guest Rick McDaniel

Sat, 08 Nov 2025 18:01:42 -0800

Rick McDaniel has written nine books on Zen, the last of which is to be published by Monkfish title Original Face. He’s done hundreds of interviews with Zen folks all over America and Canada where he lives. His website is titled Richard Bryan McDaniel - Zen Conversations and Profiles and is found at rbmcdaniel.ca. Listen to the podcast and learn how all this came to be.

With guest Taiyo Lipscomb

Sun, 02 Nov 2025 13:11:30 -0800

Taiyo Lipscomb came to the Zen Center in the mid seventies and was there for 23 years, becoming one of the folks who run the place. His story is unique as is he. Listen to the podcast and you’ll see.

With Guest John Liles

Sat, 25 Oct 2025 16:03:35 -0700

John Liles is a long time student of the Atlanta Zen Center. In this podcast we hear about it and its founder Soyu Matsuoka and he tells about an inspiring time he had for a month at Tassajara this recent summer.

Back from Germany

Mon, 20 Oct 2025 17:33:43 -0700

DC talks about the three weeks he and his wife Katrinka spent at Dharma Sangha's Zen Center in the Black Forest, a visit with Vanja Palmers at his home on Mt. Rigi in Switzerland just below Felsentor, the Zen practice center he founded. And more.

Comments on Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts

Sat, 11 Oct 2025 12:26:00 -0700

Every day for many years, we at Cuke Archives have posted daily lecture excerpts. They're all over the place in terms of representing Suzuki's teaching, how much context is missing, or how appealing they are. I comment on all this. - DC

Report from the Black Forest

Mon, 06 Oct 2025 10:14:24 -0700

At Dharma Sangha's Zen Buddhist Center in the Black Forest with Katrinka for three weeks. Talk about spending time with Zentatsu Richard Baker and Tatsudo Nicole Baden and some mundane stuff.

With Guest Barrie Mottishaw

Sat, 27 Sep 2025 04:42:00 -0700

Barrie Mottishaw is a landscape artist who spent years at the Jones Farm on Quadra Island, a Zen community that was started by students at the San Francisco Zen Center. Learn about that and more in this podcast with her.

DC Reading the Preface to Tassajara Stories

Mon, 22 Sep 2025 04:11:28 -0700

Just what it says in the title - DC reads the Preface to Tassajara Stories. Full title - Tassajara Stories: a Sort of Memoire/Oral History of the first Zen Buddhist Monastery in the West--the First Year--1967. Publishing date for the book/audio book/ebook is S3ptember 23, 2025. Go to cuke.com to read reviews and so forth.

With Guest Ted Howell part two

Sun, 14 Sep 2025 07:41:17 -0700

Ted Howell came to the SFZC in the mid-seventies and stuck around a long time. In this podcast, part two of two, he talks about his time at the SF Zen Center and a good deal more..

With Ted Howell - part one

Tue, 09 Sep 2025 05:47:02 -0700

Ted Howell came to the SFZC in the mid-seventies and stuck around a long time. In this podcast, part one of two, he talks about what he's up to these days, his relationship with squirrels and crows, what transpired on his way to Zen Center, his arrival there and the first thing he learned - having to do with footwear. One point of interest is about his early acting training and relationship with Robin Williams.

With Guest Peter Ford - Managing Director of Cuke Archives

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 17:46:15 -0700

Peter Ford started helping with Cuke Archives in 2012, maybe earlier. Not sure. Since the day he started he's been pretty much full time. For a number of years he's been the Managing Director of Cuke Archives. Thanks to Peter I can concentrate on special projects. In the podcast we talk about the work he's done and his way-seeking mind story. Nine bows to Peter for all he's done and continues doing. - dc

With Guest Marsha Angus

Mon, 25 Aug 2025 06:58:11 -0700

Marsha Angus has been a therapist for many in and out of the SFZC realm for decades. She received lay ordination in 1979 from Richard Baker, was shuso at SFZC in 2007 and received lay entrustment in 2010 from Dairyu Michael Wenger. She started practicing at Green Gulch Farm in 1975. She lives in Mill Valley with her partner, Kiku Christina Lehnherr. Listen to the podcast and learn more.

Life in Bali - Independence Day

Mon, 18 Aug 2025 23:47:28 -0700

August 17, 2025, 80th anniversary of Indonesia 's Independence from the Netherlands. Ketut, Kadek, and I attend a sunrise concert of jazz great Indra Lesmana at the beach in front of Bali Beach Hotel and I DC reminisce about when Katrinka and I used to live in that area and free associate some.

With Adam Beck

Sun, 10 Aug 2025 08:37:57 -0700

Adam Beck was living at Tassajara before the SF Zen Center bought it in December of 66 from his parents. He was two at the time. He's an artist now living in San Anselmo. I've known him through the ensuing years so we've got a lot to say to each other and he's got a lot to say about Tassajara, Suzuki, Baker, and more in this podcast. Also at the first I apologize for an errata in the prior Beginner's Mind podcast.

With Meiya Susan Wender

Mon, 04 Aug 2025 01:47:24 -0700

Meiya Wender has practiced at Zen Center since 1972, was ordained as a priest in 1986 (receiving the name Luminous Night, Original Practice, Meiya Honshu), and received Dharma Transmission in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki Roshi from Tenshin Reb Anderson in 2002. She has also trained in traditional Soto Zen forms at Zuioji in Shikoku, Japan. She has held many monastic positions at Tassajara Zen Mountain Center and Green Gulch, including director, ino (head of the zendo), tenzo (head cook), and tanto (head of practice). She has studied the Way of Tea for many years, including a year at the Urasenke Midorikai program in Kyoto, and teaches Tea in Sowing the Moon Teahouse at Green Gulch. - from the SFZC site

On the Rise of Beginner's Mind

Wed, 30 Jul 2025 03:38:30 -0700

DC reads all extant Shunryu Suzuki on Beginner's Mind, discusses the origins and its spread far beyond the sphere of Buddhism.

With Upasama (Roovane Ben Yuhmin) again

Sun, 20 Jul 2025 03:52:26 -0700

Upasama (formerly Reuven be Yuhmin) was a student of Shunryu Suzuki, a great gardener at Tassajara , who's been living in a Theravada monastery near Perth, Australia, for the last twelve years. This is the second podcast with Upasama.

With Guest Diane Renshaw

Sun, 13 Jul 2025 03:41:22 -0700

Diane Renshaw began Zen practice at Tassajara in 1978, received lay ordination in 1993, and has been working with Tassajara on a native plant project for 25 years. Diane lives in the San Francisco Bay Area and is an experienced botanist, birdwatcher, and ecologist. In this podcast we hear about her life as a scientist and a Buddhist--and more.

With Guest Renshin Bunce

Mon, 07 Jul 2025 06:40:10 -0700

Renshin Bunce began practicing with Steve Stucky in 1994. In 2013 she received dharma transmission from him. Her website is renshinbunce.com. Go there for info on her in-person and Zoom sitting groups. She's published three books on Amazon that one can find listed under her name - on Steve Stucky, hospice work, and practicing at Tassajara. Her cuke.com page has links to her many photos or go to flickr.com/photos/renshin. Listen to this podcast to learn lots more.

With Guest Ed Sattizahn

Sun, 29 Jun 2025 19:26:38 -0700

Rinso Ed Sattizahn first came to the SF Zen Center in 1970, had a few memorable experiences with Shunryu Suzuki, and returned in 1972. He lived at Tassajara for years, was VP and president of the SFZC, went into the high tech world for over seventeen years, returned to the SF Bay area, got ordained, co-founded Vimala Sangha in Mill Valley with Lew Richmond, was a co-abbot then center abbot of the SFZC for nine years. In this podcast he talks about that and much more.

With Guest Kelly Chadwick again

Mon, 23 Jun 2025 05:12:06 -0700

Kelly Chadwick talks about a week spent at Tassajara in April trimming and removing trees with a crew from his Spirit Pruners biz in Spokane, WA. He was a podcast guest last year after doing the same at Tassajara. He's got new insights to share about Tassajara where he spent a lot of time growing up. Full disclosure--he's my son. - DC

With Guest Ben Van Overmeire

Mon, 16 Jun 2025 07:27:37 -0700

Ben Van Overmeire is an Assistant Professor of Religious Studies, Duke Kunshan University. His research focuses on the study of Zen Buddhist texts. His teaching interests at Duke Kunshan include ethics and leadership, global China studies, religion and literature. Van Overmeire has a B.A. (cum laude) and M.A. He wrote American Koan: Imagining Zen and Self in Autobiographical Literature. In this podcast we talk about his book (which features my Thank You and OK!) and how his path has taken him from his native Belgium through the US and to China. - dc

With Guest Furyu Nancy Schroeder

Sun, 08 Jun 2025 21:08:07 -0700

Furyu Nancy Schroeder came to the SF Zen Center in the seventies. She was the abbess of Green Gulch Farm from 2014 to 2023

and has been an active supporter of programs for children, people of color, the gay and lesbian community, and the interfaith community. In 2008 she was elected to the Marin Women's Hall of Fame, and in 2010 she was appointed to the Board of the Marin Community Foundation. In addition, she has previously co-led SF Zen Center's Contemplative Caregiver Course. She received Dharma Transmission from Tenshin Reb Anderson in 1999. That's from the SFZC bio on her. In this podcast she talks about how she got into Zen and what's happened since and other stuff.

With Guest Sokaku Kathie Fischer

Sun, 01 Jun 2025 09:14:00 -0700

Sokaku Kathie Fischer began practicing Zen in 1971 with Sojun Mel Weitsman at the Berkeley Zen Center. She was ordained a Zen priest at San Francisco Zen Center in 1980 by Zentatsu Richard Baker, and continued residential practice at Zen Center for 15 more years. She received Dharma transmission from Sojun Weitsman in 2011 while in the midst of her 28-year career as a school teacher in Mill Valley. Since retiring from teaching science to adolescents she has turned her attention to studying and teaching Dharma. Kathie and her husband Norman are parents of adult twin sons and grandparents of three children.. That's the SFZC bio on her. In this podcast we hit on various topics , one of them being Richard Baker. This was recorded soon before Baker's stroke from which he's recovering nicely.

With Guest Jiryu Mark Rutschman-Byler

Sat, 24 May 2025 22:27:12 -0700

Jiryu Mark Rutschman-Byler is the abbot of Green Gulch Farm as a co-abbot of the SF Zen Center. In the podcast he talks about Becoming Yourself, an upcoming book of Shunryu Suzuki lectures that he worked on with Mel Weitsman. First he talks briefly about Nicole Baden and Richard Baker's recent stay at the City Center and Green Gulch and Baker's stroke of a week ago. He reads selections from Becoming Yourself: Teachings on the Zen Way of Life and we talk about that and more. Most enjoyable.

With Guest Barbara Horn

Sun, 18 May 2025 04:26:08 -0700

Barbara Horn came to the SFZC in the mid seventies, practiced Insight Meditation with Jack Kornfield at Barr, Mass., studied cooking with Julia Childs, got a graduate degree in mediation and interfaith chaplaincy. She volunteered for the 911 rescue and recovery effort and founded Calling of the Names - callingofthenames.org. Listen to this podcast and learn more about this energetic and benevolent woman.

Nicole Baden on the Dharma Academy launch event

Tue, 13 May 2025 00:58:56 -0700

Tatsudo Nicole Baden is a Dharma Successor of Zentatsu Baker in the Dharma Sangha Soto Zen Lineage. Last September Richard Baker passed on the abbotship of Dharma Sangha in Germany and the US to Nicole. In this podcast she will be talking about the Launch of the Dharma Academy with a free and open event on the weekend of May 23-25--Engaging the Heart of Wisdom and Pathways for Meeting Uncertainty. Participating dharma teachers include Zentatsu Richard Baker, Joan Halifax, Jiryu Rutschuman-Byler, Valerie Brown, Ryuten Paul Rosenblum, Rahshaana Green, Sarabinh Levy-Brightman, Ravi Welch, Lien Shutt, and Tatsudo Nicole Baden. Learn more about the event and sign up at

https://courses.dharmaacademy.com/launch-event

More About and from Jean Ross

Sun, 04 May 2025 04:54:16 -0700

Jean Ross began studying with Shunryu Suzuki very soon after he arrived in San Francisco. In this podcast, the second of two on her, I read more from her accounts in the Wind Bell publication of the SFZC about her experience studying Zen in Japan in the early sixties - and more. The podcast concludes with a piece I wrote about her for the Wind Bell in 1997.

About Jean Ross

Thu, 24 Apr 2025 19:43:44 -0700

Jean Ross began studying with Shunryu Suzuki very soon after he arrived in San Francisco. In this podcast, the first of two on her, I read from what's in Crooked Cucumber and what she wrote about her experience studying Zen in Japan in the early sixties - at Eiheiji, Sojiji, and more.

With Guest Wendy Pirsig

Sat, 19 Apr 2025 06:56:42 -0700

Wendy Pirsig was for thirty years an archivist and writer featuring extensive web-based history for small Old Berwick Historical Society's Counting House Museum in Maine. She's a student of Myozen Joan Amaral at the Zen Center North Shore in Beverly, Massachusetts. She's done extensive work for Cuke Archives working on verbatim and minimum edit Shunryu Suzuki lectures and carefully scrutinizing DC writings and making sage suggestions. A few years ago she compiled and edited a posthumously published a book of her late husband Robert Pirsig's works: On Quality: An Inquiry Into Excellence: Unpublished and Selected Writings. See more at cuke.com/people/pirsig-wendy including a long piece on her and Robert's six weeks with the SFZC following the murder of her stepson Chris's murder in the neighborhood.

With Guest Laura Burges on Wisdom Stories of Tibet

Sat, 12 Apr 2025 01:35:00 -0700

Ryuko Laura Burges is a lay entrusted Dharma teacher in the Soto Zen tradition, teaches classes and lectures and leads retreats in Northern California. - that's from her SFZC bio. In this, her 3rd podcast, Laura tells a story from her latest book: Wisdom Stories of Tibet: Tales of Magic, Adventure, and Bravery. She also tells a Tassajara story and talks about her book on Recovery.

With Guest Andy Karr

Sat, 05 Apr 2025 17:46:29 -0700

Andy Karr began his formal Buddhist practice in 1971 at the SF Zen Center with Shunryu Suzuki after having devoured Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind many times. In early 1972 he began studying with Chogyam Trungpa. He has written three books, the latest one being Into the Mirror: A Buddhist Journey Through Mind, Matter, and the Nature of Reality. He has been teaching Tibetan Buddhism for years focusing on clearly understanding Mahamudra, Yogachara, Madhyamaka, and so forth. Learn more about him and his teaching at andykarrauthor.com

Neil Needs a Nudge - Tyson on Religion Stuck in the Literal -

Sun, 30 Mar 2025 20:10:28 -0700

Neil Needs a Nudge - Tyson on Religion Stuck in the Literal - The title says it all. I rap on that some more and urge him to talk with me about this topic - not that there wouldn't be a zillion others more qualitied - but I'm asking and could suggest a broader approach so that his audience isn't misled.

Rip Sarah Wormald

Tue, 25 Mar 2025 06:33:08 -0700

Sarah Wormald was a diver who wrote Diving in Indonesia: The Ultimate Guide to the World's Best Dive Spots: Bali, Komodo, Sulawesi, Papua, and more. This podcast is a replay of two podcasts that Sarah did with me. Farewell Sarah. Sorry you died so young--at 44. We will miss you. Love, DC

The 60s ZC and Hippies plus Unusual Stuff

Mon, 24 Mar 2025 02:12:18 -0700

Was it a bunch of hippies who helped Suzuki found Tassajara and who filled the zendo in the city. I look at this briefly. There's a lot more I could say but I decided to think about how to approach the topic better. Then I talk about unusual experience. It ends with a riff on current events.

Are We Part of It or the Whole?

Sun, 16 Mar 2025 07:51:15 -0700

Are We Part of It or the whole or what? Reading two Shunryu Suzuki lecture excerpts and commenting then talking about what I'm going to do when this podcast is loaded.

With Guest Kokyo Henkel

Sun, 09 Mar 2025 00:52:25 -0800

Kokyo (AKA Luminous Owl) Henkel is a Soto Zen priest who came to the SF Zen Center in 1990 and is currently leading a practice period at Green Gulch Farm. He and his wife Shoho Kuebast founded the Bright Window Hermitage on Tassajara Road. Check it out at brightwindowhermitage.weebly.com. In his college years Kokyo was a dedicated Deadhead. Listen to this podcast with him and learn more.

With guest Marta Dabis

Sun, 02 Mar 2025 02:38:51 -0800

Marta Dabis is the founding priest of Jissoji Zen Ann Arbor with a lot of experience in Buddhist chaplaincy. She practiced at the SF Zen Center for some years starting in 2007. She has had teachers in the Suzuki and Katagiri lineages. Hear all about it in this podcast with her.

Shunryu Suzuki's use of "most important" - 2

Mon, 24 Feb 2025 06:48:51 -0800

This is the second podcast reading examples of Shunryu Suzuki's use of the phrase "most important." He often used the phrase "most important.," usually in "the most important point" or "the most important thing." Reading from a page on cuke.com that includes every instance of these words in Suzuki lectures as found in the 2010 transcript collection. There have been additions to the Suzuki lecture archive since then, so this collection should be updated. You can find it at cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/lectures/most-important.htm

On Bob Watkins

Mon, 17 Feb 2025 13:49:13 -0800

Bob Watkins and his wife Sandy arrived at Tassajara not long after we bought it and were there for nine months. We hated to see them go. Bob was the work leader in the first practice period and until he departed. Later he was ordained by Kobun Chino and with Kobun co-founded Hokkyoji in Arroyo Seco above Taos, NM. In this podcast I read a piece I wrote on Bob after he died in 2016. It includes many of his memories of Shunryu Suzuki and Kobun Chino.

With Guest Jesse Wiens Chu

Sun, 09 Feb 2025 02:43:12 -0800

I first met Jesse Wiens Chu at Tassajara about twenty years ago. Now he and his wife Catherine live around the corner. They both have extensive training in Buddhist practice and are NVC teachers - and more. Learn about them and their practice at babatree.org and check out their book Ongo and ongobook.com. Learn about all that and more in this podcast with Jesse. - dc

A Chat with Chat GPT about Religion - rectified version

Mon, 03 Feb 2025 00:22:53 -0800

Getting irritated by the simplistic approach toward "religion" from famous atheists like Neil deGrasse Tyson, I turn to Chat GPT. Not incidentally, I love listening to Tyson when he knows what he's talking about. The first time this podcast went up it got corrupted. This is a rectified version.

Shunryu Suzuki on what's Most Important

Sun, 26 Jan 2025 02:00:59 -0800

Shunryu Suzuki often used the phrase "most important.," usually in "the most important point" or "the most important thing." In this podcsat DC reads from a page that includes every instance of these words in Suzuki lectures as found in the 2010 transcript collection. There have been additions to the Suzuki lecture archive since then, so this collection should be updated. You can find it at cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/lectures/most-important.htm

The Heart Sutra - Eiheiji monks chant and more

Tue, 21 Jan 2025 03:42:36 -0800

Eiheiji monks chant the Heart Sutra. Shunryu Suzuki's basic meaning of the kanji from the Sokoji chant care. I play it for a bed-ridden Japanese man raised Soto-shu in a retirement home.

With Dor Ben-Amotz

Sun, 12 Jan 2025 07:05:26 -0800

Dor Ben-Amotz is a science professor who, in this podcast, talks about his experience teaching a course in Buddhism and Meditation at Bennington College in Bennington, Vermont. He also speaks about how he got into Buddhism and meditation, his time at Green Gulch Farm, and more. Here's a link to the syllabus on the course he taught: https://cuke.com/pdf-2015/Fun_Buddhism_Slides.pdf

Memorial Podcast for Peter Schneider

Mon, 06 Jan 2025 10:10:41 -0800

Peter Schneider began sitting at Sokoji in 1963. He was ordained as a priest by Shunryu Suzuki in 1970 and received transmission from Mel Weitsman. He was at Tassajara for the first years as office manager, then director for a few years, Suzuki's attendant. He and his wife Jane got together there. They lived in Japan many years and on their return to America, founded the Beginner's Mind Zen Center in Northridge, CA, part of LA. Peter, born in 1937, died on January 4, 2025. Go to their cuke page for more and for links to the cuke podcasts with them. cuke.com/people/schneider-jane-peter.htm

The Mystical Theology of Pseudo Dionysius

Mon, 30 Dec 2024 06:14:26 -0800

Pseudo Dionysius was a 5th century Syrian monk who wrote in Greek The Mystical Theology, his most famous work. It's like the Heart Sutra of Christianity, the via negativa, the neti neti (not this not that) of Advaita Vedanta. An appropriate reading for the holiday season.

With Guest Michael Stusser

Fri, 20 Dec 2024 23:38:20 -0800

Michael Stusser founded the Osmosis Day Spa Sanctuary in Freestone CA with it's hot cedar enzyme baths. In this podcast he talks about being an apprentice with master gardener Alan Chadwick and with the head gardener of Myoshinji in Kyoto, meeting Shunryu Suzuki, studying with Kobun Chino and Chogyam Trungpa, gardening for years at the Farallones Institute in Occidental CA and more.

With Guest Dennis Marshall - Encore Presentation

Wed, 18 Dec 2024 07:33:15 -0800

This is an encore presentation of a podcast done in January of 2022 with Dennis Marshall who died this November of 2024 just two days before his 93rd birthday. Listen to yesterday's podcast for DC reading his obit from the Crestone Mt Zen Center and his cuke interview. Dennis Marshall was born in Yorkshire, England 93 years ago. About forty years later he went to a lecture at the City Center of the SFZC and was right away sold on Suzuki and the general communal feeling there. About thirty-three years ago he moved to Crestone, Colorado, and since then had been involved with Richard Baker and Dharma Sangha. See his cuke page at cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/interviews/marshall.html

RIP Dennis Marshall

Tue, 17 Dec 2024 06:45:39 -0800

Dennis Marshall first showed up at the SF Zen Center in 1970. He died in November two days short of 93. In this brief podcast I read the Crestone Mt. ZC news obituary for him and then emails between us that became his Cuke Interview. His January 2022 Cuke Podcast will be presented next, hopefully tomorrow. - dc

Reading Betty Warren's Interview

Sun, 08 Dec 2024 18:26:35 -0800

Betty Warren started practicing with Shunryu Suzuki shortly after he arrived from Japan and continued her practice till she died at 89 in 2006. She was a science teacher, anti-war activist, and vision quester. In this podcast I read an interview I did with her thirty years ago - and more. - dc

Reading from Della Goertz's Notebook

Mon, 02 Dec 2024 15:26:59 -0800

Della Goertz began her practice with Shunryu Suzuki soon after he arrived in America in 1959. Herein we read from a notebook she kept with brief quotes and paraphrases from his talks and her encounters with him. There's a great deal on her at cuke.com/people/goertz.htm.

DC Rap on Refuge

Mon, 25 Nov 2024 04:55:34 -0800

DC Rap on Refuge - like not taking refuge in our hopes and dreams

DC on Visiting

Sun, 17 Nov 2024 08:45:47 -0800

On keeping in touch with those who are ill or isolated. Visiting my monk friend. Visiting a Japanese neighbor now in a convalescent clinic, a touching experience. Visiting Katrinka on the way home and sharing her birthday cake. Chatting with ChaptGPT.

A Memorial Podcast for Gene DeSmidt

Sat, 09 Nov 2024 22:10:19 -0800

Gene DeSmidt was a dear friend of mine and the SF Zen Center who died on October 30th. Gene was a creative builder who left behind a number of sound structures at Tassajara and Green Gulch. He was also a musician who helped me muchly in that realm. He was a great character and a humorous, generous, good-hearted person. Learn more at cuke.com/others/GDS.html and gofundme.com/f/gene-desmidt-needs-your-help. - dc

Don't Worry (Excessively)

Sat, 02 Nov 2024 23:24:47 -0700

DC riffs on not worrying excessively about undocumented immigrants and the ongoing election.

With Guest Susan Ross

Sun, 27 Oct 2024 09:02:09 -0700

Susan Ross is an illustrator and artist who worked on Be Here Now. In this podcast she takes us from her native Ohio to Smith College to Woodstock to New Mexico, to Shunryu Suzuki's funeral with Gary Snyder and David Padwa, to Colorado studying with Trungpa Rinpoche. She's in Mexico now still being an artist, practicing Tibetan Buddhism, and working on turtle rescue. Here website is

susanrosscreative.com.

A Talk on the Sandokai

Sun, 20 Oct 2024 23:37:19 -0700

This podcast is a talk I gave and meeting with the All Beings Zen Sangha in Washington DC. On October 19th. Inryu Ponce-Barger is the teacher of this group and their website is allbeingszen.org. The focus of the group right now and therefore of the talk is the Sandokai, an ancient Chinese Zen poem that is chanted at the SF Zen Center. I talk about being at Tassajara when Shunryu Suzuki lectured on it and studying it with him. There's a page on cuke.com for the Sandokai: cuke.com/Cucumber%20Project/lectures/sandokai.htm - DC

Reading--Silas Hoadley Interview and more

Sun, 13 Oct 2024 23:37:06 -0700

Silas Hoadley began studying with Shunryu Suzuki in 1964. He was highly involved with the founding of Tassajara. Suzuki had Silas giving lectures when Suzuki was ill toward the end of his life. He would have received transmission from Suzuki if Suzuki hadn't died too soon. Silas was a much beloved priest in the SFZC. In this podcast I read a 1994 interview with Silas and a scene with him from the upcoming Tassajara Stories. Check out more about Silas at cuke.com/people/hoadley-silas.htm

A Month with Dharma Sangha Germany

Mon, 07 Oct 2024 07:02:52 -0700

I talk about my recent month spent at Dharma Sangha's ZBZS , their Zen Buddhist center in the Black Forest. The high point of the trip was the passing of the abbotship of Dharma Sangha Germany and America from Zentatsu Richard Baker to Tatsudo Nicole Baden.

With Guest Tozan Alan Senauke - an encore presentation

Sun, 29 Sep 2024 05:42:43 -0700

This is an encore presentation of a May 2023 podcast with Alan Senauke, the abbot of the Berkeley Zen Center. and author of "Turning Words, Transformative Encounters with Buddhist Teachers." He has a long involvement with Buddhist peace work and music. --- The new introduction to this podcast tells about Alan's heart attack, coma, and recovery which has enabled him to return to teaching and lecturing while being confined to bed and wheelchair. Learn more in the intro to the podcast and at caringbridge.org/site/5f8e9c7a-e151-381f-8185-b311c544e39b> and gofundme.com/f/help-hozan-with-essential-home-care. More on Alan at cuke.com/people/senauke-alan.htm.

With Guest Bill Porter (Red PIne) - an Encore Presentation

Sat, 21 Sep 2024 01:01:00 -0700

Bill Porter is a translator and interpreter of Chinese Buddhist and Taoist poetry and texts, with books on Chinese Hermits and travel. His pen name is Red Pine. Learn more about Bill on his Wikipedia page, on cuke.com, and at redpinemovie.com. This podcast is an encore presentation of a talk with Bill Porter from August 8, 2020.

With Guest Vanja Palmers - an Encore Presentation

Sat, 14 Sep 2024 21:29:00 -0700

Vanja Palmers is a Zen teacher who was at the SFZC centers for years, ordained by Richard Baker, transmission from Kobun Chino. He talks about his life, his way-seeking mind story, work with animal rights, and psychedelics, and dangerous hang gliding. He has a center in the Alps near Lucerne named Felsentor and the Ecumenical House of Silence he and Brother David Steindl-rast founded in Austria. This is an encore presentation of a June 2020 podcast.

With Guest Paul Rosenblum - an Encore Presentation

Sat, 07 Sep 2024 01:01:00 -0700

Ryuten Paul Rosenblum was a student of Shunryu Suzuki and is the vice abbot of Johanneshof, Richard Baker's retreat in the Black Forest. He lives half time in Germany and half time in Northern California. His website is ryutenpaulrosenblum.com. This is an encore presentation of a podcast from July 2020.

With Guest Nicole Baden - an Encore Presentation

Sat, 31 Aug 2024 01:01:00 -0700

Tatsudo Nicole Baden is a Dharma Successor of Zentatsu Baker in the Dharma Sangha Soto Zen Lineage. She has been practicing Zen since 2001 and received Dharma Transmission in 2017. She graduated as a psychologist from the University of Oldenburg in 2008. She also trained at the ‘School for Body Mind Centering’ for four years. Since 2009 she has been living and practicing either at the Crestone Mountain Zen Center or at the Zen Buddhist Center Schwarzwald (ZBZS) in Germany. At present, she is Director and a resident teacher at the ZBZS. Early this September Richard Baker will be stepping down and Nicole Baden will be stepping up to be the abbot of Dharma Sangha in Germany and the US. This is an encore presentation of a podcast talk with Nicole that was posted on March 20, 2021.

With Guest Kelly Chadwick

Sat, 24 Aug 2024 01:01:00 -0700

Kelly Bernard Chadwick grew up in and around Tassajara, the SFZC City Center, and Green Gulch Farm. He is my older son. His mother is my first wife, Daya Goldschlag, called Dianne back in 1973 when Kelly was born at Green Gulch Farm. Dianne has a Zen group now in Spokane Washington and Kelly is an arborist in Spokane and has a business there called Spirit Pruners - . In this podcast he talks about his youthful ZC memories but more about his recent experience of Tassajara where he takes a crew in the spring to trim trees. Deep stuff.

Jane and Peter Schneider

Tue, 20 Aug 2024 05:50:00 -0700

Jane and Peter Schneider are the founding teachers of the Beginner's Mind Zen Center in Northridge, a part of greater Los Angeles. They were students of Shunryu Suzuki. This is the third podcast with both of them and the third with Peter. In this podcast we focus on Jane's way-seeking mind story and then branch out to other reminiscences.

With Guest Stephan Bodian

Mon, 12 Aug 2024 05:50:44 -0700

Stephan Bodian runs an annual school for awakening. In this podcast he talks about his spiritual path, his teachers including Shunryu Suzuki, Kobun Chino, Taizan Maezumi, Sogyal, and Jean Klein. He's a marriage and family therapist but mainly a teacher of awakening. His website is stephanbodian.org.

With Guest Frank Kilmer

Tue, 06 Aug 2024 07:46:16 -0700

Frank Kilmer first meditated with Chogyam Trungpa then Dainin Katagiri then Richard Baker. He studied with other Zen and Tibetan teachers. He lives in Santa Fe where he managed Upaya's plant for some years. He's a a great plumber too. He has a lot of juicy tidbits to share from all these years of Buddhist study and practice. Check him out in this podcast.

With Guest Frazer Bradshaw

Sun, 28 Jul 2024 00:40:50 -0700

Frazer Bradshaw was a student at Tassajara in the summers for years, starting off when he was still a student at the SF Art Inst. He'd made some experimental films and at Tassajara he made his first documentary, Tassajara: a Meditative Portrait at Tassajara in the late nineties. It's in his Vimeo section with 209 others and there's a link to it in the film/video section of cuke.com. He went on to make many other films. Check him out at frazerbradshaw.com or his film biz site, or on IMDB. Thanks Tano Maeda for letting me know about Frazer's Tassajara film which he featured in the 2003 (I think it was) Buddhist International Film Festival. Check out what Frazer has to say about Zen practice and film and Tassajara and more in this podcast.

With Suzanne Suarez Hurley

Sun, 21 Jul 2024 22:50:16 -0700

Suzanne Suarez Hurley heard Shunryu Suzuki give lectures in 1969 then joined Steve Gaskin as a founding member of the Farm in Tennessee. In 1975 she practiced with Dainin Katagiri in Minneapolis then headed back to SF to practice at the SF Zen Center with Richard Baker. With Baker's blessing she started a sitting group in Florida where she practiced law defending midwives. Through the years she has continued her connection to Zen and the Farm. She talks about all this and more in her podcast.

With Guest David Weinstein

Sun, 14 Jul 2024 18:55:54 -0700

David Weinstein is the founding teacher of the Rockridge Meditation Community in Oakland, California. (See their Facebook page) He's a teacher in the Pacific Zen Institute and a therapist (check Psychology Today website "Find a therapist.") His spiritual journey started in a bar in Germany. His path led to Nepal, Afghanistan, Iran, India, Korea, Japan, Hawaii, and the Bay Area. Listen to his podcast and hear his story.

With Guest Teresa Rivera

Sun, 07 Jul 2024 23:39:29 -0700

Teresa Rivera started reading books about Eastern religion while living in France. She liked them but they didn't tell her what to do, how to practice. She found what she wss looking for when she started sitting with Taisen Deshimaru's group in France. In 1973 she arrived at the San Francisco Zen Center. Before long she was living at Tassajara She practiced for years at Green Gulch and worked for years at the SFZC's Greens Restaurant all the while raising three kids. She just turned 90 and is living in a retirement home in San Diego. Here about all that and more in this podcast with her.

With Guest Myphon Hunt

Sun, 30 Jun 2024 06:21:18 -0700

Myphon Hunt arrived at the San Francisco Zen Center in the early seventies after five years living at The Farm in Tennessee founded by Steve Gaskin. She's now living at the Enso Village retirement community in Healdsburg north of San Francisco along with other senior Zennies, Vipassana Buddhists, and Quakers. Along the way she spent some time in Dharamsala and Tibet, studying with Joshu Sasaki's group in LA and New Mexico, as well as other pursuits. Hear about that and more in this charming podcast visit with Myphon.

With Guest Tim Ream

Sun, 23 Jun 2024 06:34:47 -0700

Tim Ream came to the SF Zen Center in the nineties. He has continued his Zen practice, alternating between practice periods and periods of environmental activism. He recently published a book Fallen Water: a Novel of Zen and Earth which has an alternate reality Tassajara and the surrounding wilderness as a setting. In this podcast he will talk about the book, his spiritual path and environmental activism and more.

With Guest Cindy Beavon

Sun, 16 Jun 2024 07:59:58 -0700

Cindy Beavon came to the SFZC in 2007 going straight to Tassajara. She practiced at Zen Center until 2011 when she had an upsetting experience that made her feel unwelcome. She went back this year for the work interim and once again loved being there. She's a hospice nurse and a professional rock climber which became a deep and fulfilling practice for her. Hear all about it in this podcast with her.

With Guest Marc Lesser

Sat, 08 Jun 2024 21:00:20 -0700

Marc Lesser came to the SFZC in 1974. After ten years with the ZC and being the director of Tassajara, he got an MBA, continued his Zen practice while working with and founding some noble businesses. He founded ZBA Associates to help companies, notably Google, with mindfulness and emotional intelligence training and consultation. He is co-chair of the SFZC Elders Council, is teacher at Mill Valley Zen (millvalleyzen.com). His latest book of five is Finding Clarity. To learn more check him out at marclesser.net and listen to this podcast with him.

With Guest Jon Bernie

Sun, 02 Jun 2024 09:12:49 -0700

Jon Bernie came to the SF Zen Center in 1973 and practiced there for years. In this podcast he talks about his relationships with Richard Baker, Brother David Steindl Rast, Papaji (Punjaji), Adyashanti, Robert Adams, Mike Murphey of Esalen Inst., psychic Anne Armstrong, and others. He was an Alexander Technique therapist for years and now teaches Inspired Aliveness. His website is inspiredaliveness.com. Here about all this and more on his cuke podcast.

With Guest Amber Hoadley

Sun, 26 May 2024 01:59:45 -0700

Amber Hoadley was the first baby at Tassajara in the Zen era. In this podcast she talks about growing up at Zen Center, mainly Green Gulch, and her parents, Kathy and Silas Hoadley who were a significant presence in Zen Center in those formative days. Amber also talks about her practice path and more. She will be hosting a memorial for Silas on Father's Day, June 16th from 3-7pm, at the Mostly Natives Nursery, 54 B St., Point Reyes Station, California.

With Guest Dan Kaplan

Sat, 18 May 2024 21:30:07 -0700

Dan Kaplan came to the SF Zen Center in the mid seventies and plugged away there for ten years. He still lives in the neighborhood and has been a student of David Weinstein in the Yamada/Aitkin lineage for years. He's a LMFT, Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist. In this podcast he talks about his spiritual and therapist life, Harry Roberts, Lama Govinda, and Vina Yoga too. His website is danielmkaplan.com

With Guest Denis Myo Lahey

Sat, 11 May 2024 06:17:07 -0700

Denis Myo Lahey is the abbot of the Hartford Street Zen Center in San Francisco and has been since 2002. He first came to the SF Zen Center in 1970. Listen to this podcast on the path his life has taken.

With Guest Tom White

Sun, 05 May 2024 16:57:41 -0700

Tom White is a friend of mine from Texas who visited me at Tassajara with his wife before the first practice period on their way to the Philippines to spend a couple of years there in the Peace Corps. While living on Whidbey Island in the NW US, he got involved with the One Drop Zendo founded by Shodo Harada from Sogenji in Japan. Here about all this and more in this podcast.

With Guest Ed Brown

Tue, 30 Apr 2024 19:53:30 -0700

This is the third Cuke podcast with Ed Brown is the author of several books, including The Tassajara Bread Book, Tassajara Cooking, No Recipe: Cooking as Spiritual Practice, and he also edited the book of Suzuki Roshi lectures, Not Always So. He was ordained as a Zen priest by Suzuki Roshi in 1971, he received Dharma Transmission from Mel Weitsman in 1996. Ed is the founder and teacher of the Peaceful Sea Sangha . In this podcast Ed talks about his banishment from teaching, giving lectures, or leading sesshins at Green Gulch and the whole SFZC. He also talks about his prostate cancer, how The Tassajara Bread Book came about, and other subjects. The podcast ends with two brief excerpts from talks he gave at Green Gulch Farm six years ago that contain the words he spoke that offended a person who wrote a letter of complaint that led to Ed's ouster, the straw that broke the camel's back. There's also a surprise at the end of this podcast.

With Guest Susan O'Connell

Sun, 21 Apr 2024 05:49:18 -0700

Zesho Susan O'Connell was ordained and given transmission by Reb Anderson. She was VP and president of the SF Zen Center for ten years. She came up with the idea of the Enso Village retirement community and made it a reality. She had a 25 year career in the film biz before coming to ZC and produced ten ZC related films. She's been instrumental in promoting the ZC digitizing and archiving thousands of ZC lecture recordings. Here what she has to say about a lot of this and more in this podcast.

With Guest Gil Fronsdal

Sun, 14 Apr 2024 02:29:03 -0700

Gil Fronsdal is the senior guiding co-teacher at the Insight Meditation Center (IMC) in Redwood City, California and the Insight Retreat Center in Santa Cruz, California. He started Buddhist practice in 1975 at the San Francisco Zen Center, and has been teaching for IMC since 1990. Gil is an authorized teacher in two traditions: the Insight Meditation lineage of Theravada Buddhism of Southeast Asia, and Japanese Soto Zen. He holds a Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies from Stanford. He is a founder of the Sati Center for Buddhist Studies. He is a husband and the father of two sons .Thanks for that Wikipedia. In this podcast, Gil takes us on his way-seeking mind journey.

With Guest Tai Sheridan

Mon, 08 Apr 2024 01:35:57 -0700

Tai Sheridan showed up at the SFZC in the late sixties. He practiced at Tassajara in 1971 and later at Green Gulch Farm. He was close to Mel Weitsman and the Berkeley Zendo for years. while He's written many books including Buddha in Blue Jeans that are available for free as ebooks. Recently he created a distillation of his writings into five books available from cuke.com for free download. He encourages a donation to Cuke Archives if one is so inclined. To download these new books search for Tai Sheridan on cuke.com or go to the bibliography. To donate just click on the donate button on the home and many other pages of cuke.com and shunryusuzuki.com. Find out more at taisheridan.com and listen to this podcast.

With Guest Ned Hoke

Sun, 31 Mar 2024 02:49:18 -0700

Ned Hoke was on Esalen Inst. staff when Shunryu Suzuki led a two day workshop there in 1968. After that, Ned came to Tassajara in the summers as a student. He's been an acupuncturist for forty years. In this podcast he talks about that, we talk about Bolinas, he tells about bringing Suzuki's headstone up to the hogback.

With Guest Steve Silberman

Sat, 23 Mar 2024 06:52:14 -0700

Steve Silberman came to the SF Zen Center in 1979 and worked with me, DC, at Greens Restaurant.. He's a writer for Wired Magazine. He talks about his bestselling Neurotribes: the Legacy of Autism and the Future of Neurodiversity. He also wrote Skeleton Key A Dictionary for Deadheads.He talks about all this and more in this podcast. He has done his homework.