Cuke Audio Podcast

With Guest Sokaku Kathie Fischer

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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 -

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.