Rick McDaniel

Sojun Mel Weitsman

During my meeting with the abbots at the San Francisco Zen Center in 2013 – during the very first interview I conducted – all three were wearing rakusus, the bib-like garment which represents the Buddha’s patch-work robe. Steve Stücky wore his over the traditional brown robes of a monk, Blanche Hartman over black, and MelContinue reading “Sojun Mel Weitsman”

Zenkei Blanche Hartman

This is the story Blanche Hartman told me about how she first became engaged in Zen practice: “One day in 1969 I was at the house of my best friend, and we were just having coffee. She had a headache, and it was so bad she asked me, ‘Could you see that?’ I said, ‘What?’Continue reading “Zenkei Blanche Hartman”

Myogen Steve Stücky

I begin this new blog during the Covid-19 crisis, a time when many people are in self-imposed quarantine, air travel between countries has been virtually suspended, and there is fear that the medical system is inadequately prepared to respond to the situation. The crisis brings to mind the basic Buddhist teaching regarding the Three CharacteristicsContinue reading “Myogen Steve Stücky”