PZI in the Media
Interviews
March 2025: Mindrolling Podcast – Qualities of Spirit and Soul with Zen Teacher John Tarrant
Recognizing the beauty in being human, host Raghu and John Tarrant discuss incorporating the qualities of both soul and spirit into our lives.
March 2025: Stories by Joe Podcast – John Tarrant: Zen Wisdom
What happens when we stop searching for answers and embrace the mystery instead? Host Joe Geidel speaks with Zen teacher and author John Tarrant about the power of koans, the role of meditation, and the practice of living authentically.
February 2025: Sounds of SAND Podcast – Mythic Dharma: John Tarrant
Exploring the story of the Buddha’s awakening through a mythic lens with Buddhist writer and teacher, John Tarrant. We touch into topics like Zen koan, grief, death, art, and how this timeless parable of the Buddha’s story still resonates for thousands of years.
December 2021: Cuke Audio Podcast – With Guest John Tarrant
March 2021: Wisdom Podcast – John Tarrant Roshi: Koans, Uncertainty, and Insight
Host Daniel Aitken speaks with Zen teacher John Tarrant Roshi about one of John’s favorite topics: Zen koans.
November 2020: Love4Live – John Tarrant: Step by Step in the Dark
John is a leading voice in the study and teaching of Zen koans, ancient stories which are used to draw us closer to life and to liberation. In this lively conversation, he and Jason discuss taking steps in the dark and the discovery that our lives aren’t wrong.
September 2016: Garrison Institute – On Creativity and Contemplative Practice An Interview with John Tarrant
Zen teacher John Tarrant recently taught a retreat at the Garrison Institute on koans—teaching stories traditionally reserved for advanced Zen students—and creativity. Before the retreat started, Tarrant spoke with Garrison Institute Retreats Director Jane Kolleeny about how creative pursuits can support our contemplative practices.
June 2016: Explore Spirituality Podcast – Playing with Koans with John Tarrant
Rabbi Rami talks to John Tarrant who clarifies the deeper meaning and uses of a koan, including lightening up your perspective. An interview with Tarrant appears in the May/June 2016 issue of Spirituality & Health magazine.
Fall 1999: Thinking Allowed with Jeffery Mishlove – Interview with John Tarrant
Part 1 of a 1999 Jeffrey Mishlove interview of John Tarrant on his first book: The Light Inside the Dark. Insight on the Soul and the Spirit.
Articles
December 2024: Buddhistdoor Global – John Tarrant’s “The Story of the Buddha” – A Buddhacharita for our times by Nachaya Campbell-Allen
A review of John Tarrant’s latest book, The Story of the Buddha.
June 2024: Lion’s Roar Magazine – “Death Is Nothing to Fear” by John Tarrant
As you age, death creeps closer. John Tarrant on how face mortality and truly live.
April 2024: Lion’s Roar Magazine – “5 Buddhists on How the Buddha Nourishes Their Life”
How does the Buddha nourish your life and practice? Five Buddhists contemplate this question.
May 2022: Lion’s Roar Magazine – “How to Practice Zen Koans” by John Tarrant
John Tarrant demystifies Zen koan practice. Yes, it’s paradoxical, poetic, and totally personal. And so is life.
September 2021: Lion’s Roar Magazine – “Where, Oh Where Will I Go?” by John Tarrant
“When the body has dissolved into the four elements, where will you go?” asks the koan called Doushuai’s Third Barrier. Vastness into vastness, concludes Zen teacher John Tarrant.
July 2021: Lion’s Roar Magazine – “One Day, My Child, All This Will Be Yours” by John Tarrant
Zen teacher John Tarrant on Climate Change, the Australian Fires, and the Magic of the Primeval Forest.
Winter 2009: Tricycle: The Buddhist Review – In the Wild Places by John Tarrant
A Zen teacher wanders into the heart of his father’s final days.
July 2007: Lion’s Roar Magazine – “Sudden Awakening” by John Tarrant
Sudden awakening can come gradually, almost imperceptibly, or in a sudden, life-altering flash. When will it happen to you and what—donkey, broom, or morning star—will trigger it?
“When the body has dissolved into the four elements, where will you go?” asks the koan called Doushuai’s Third Barrier. Vastness into vastness, concludes Zen teacher John Tarrant.
Webinars
April 2020: Garrison Institute – The Paths in the Underworld with John Tarrant
The Garrison Institute welcomed John Tarrant to the virtual sanctuary for a live koan seminar.