Zen Luminaries

Acclaimed Sci-Fi writer and earth advocate Kim Stanley Robinson chats with Jon Joseph about his personal version of Zen practice, the what-ifs of writing alternative history, poetry in the High Sierras, and more. John Tarrant comments. Recorded November 15th, 2023.

A lively conversation with prolific writer and former journalist Pico Iyer about his fascinating life traveling to zones of conflict, his relationship to religion, his friendship and spiritual journeys with the Dalai Lama, and his life in Kamakura, Japan, where he now spends most of his time. Recorded October 30th, 2023.

Author and poet Ocean Vuong talks with Jon Joseph about his writing, his childhood in Vietnam and the US, and his first encounter with Buddhism and its influence on his work. “As an artist, there has to be an allegiance to wonder and awe and mystery, and a willingness to quest beyond truth.”

A longtime Buddhist practitioner, Ruth was ordained in 2010 and is affiliated with the Brooklyn Zen Center and the Everyday Zen Foundation. She currently teaches creative writing at Smith College, where she is the Grace Jarcho Ross 1933 Professor of Humanities in the Department of English Language and Literature. Conversation with Jon Joseph and Ruth Ozeki recorded May 29th, 2023.

My primary work continues to focus on issues related to death and dying, to grief and loss, and on supporting mindful and compassionate care. Through these activities I share the precious gifts offered by my teachers, most especially the hundreds who have allowed me to accompany them in the vulnerable and sacred time of their dying. (Frank Ostaseski) Conversation hosted by Jon Joseph from April 24, 2023.

Zen Luminary Osho Zenju Earthlyn Manuel joins Jon Joseph in a conversation about her life of practice in many traditions, including Zen. They discuss the importance of balancing darkness and light, and Zenju’s oracle cards, teaching names, her continuing work on behalf of children, upbringing in folk medicine, brief participation in plant medicine, and more. Includes readings from her books, The Shamanic Bones of Zen and Opening to Darkness. Recorded March 27, 2023.

Author and essayist Lewis Hyde talks with Jon Joseph about his most recent book, A Primer for Forgetting. To be born is thought of as a forgetting in many cultures around the world. Hyde also explores the creative need for the trickster and unconventional gift economy running parallel to Zen.

Zen Luminary Ruben Habito, a former Jesuit priest, studied Zen in Kamakura with Koun Yamada and there met David Weinstein and Jon Joseph. The three reminisce about their zendo time and the warm, welcoming teacher they found in Yamada. January 30, 2023.

Jon Joseph talks with poet and Chan/Zen scholar David Hinton about his book, Wild Mind, Wild Earth – Our Place in the Sixth Extinction. Hinton writes that we must rekindle our relationship to nature to avoid extinction, tracing Chan/Zen roots to the paleolithic/indigenous and Daoist concepts of ‘not born,’ or ‘no separation’ with the earth. Includes comments from John Tarrant and Allison Atwill.

Jon Joseph talks with scholar and Chan Teacher GuoGu about his book, Silent Illumination, on the literary genius of Zen master Hongzhi, whose teaching evolved during the height of 12th century Chan. GuoGu discusses the subtleties and great freedom inherent in Chan, from its flourishing in the Sung Dynasty to the current day.

Poet, teacher and essayist Naomi Shihab Nye, recorded in conversation with Jon Joseph Roshi in June of 2022.

Jon Joseph Roshi converses with poet and essayist Jane Hirshfield on her many volumes of poetry and essays, her worldview, Buddhist practice, and more. With comments & questions from John Tarrant. Complete session from October 24th, 2022.

Jon Joseph Roshi talks with Joan Sutherland about her new book, Through Forest of Every Color, her evolving thoughts on koans, and her breakout work with John Tarrant and others: bringing koan teaching out of the box of dokusan and into a new western practice of conversations in groups. A rich and lively hour-long conversation with questions and insights from Jon Joseph, John Tarrant, and Allison Atwill. Recorded September 26, 2022.

In a Zen Luminaries Series conversation with Jon Joseph, Ms. Nye reads her prose-poem, Gate A4, and recounts a synchronous meeting at an airport gate while waiting on a delayed flight. Recorded June 27, 2022. 7 minutes.

Poet Naomi Shihab Nye remembers childhood noticing and curiosity about the world—a desire, formed early, to have a big life, still drives her. From a Zen Luminaries Series conversation with Jon Joseph, recorded June 27, 2022. 7 minutes.

Morten Schlütter recounts the scholarly record of Chan practice and organizations in the Song Dynasty.

Jon Joseph in conversation with Morten Schlütter on patronage in Chan Zen.

Zen Luminary Morten Schlutter with Jon Joseph -On Translating Ancient Chinese koans from texts like the Book of Equanimity 2 min