Paths of Practice with Josan Janis Cooke Newman

Paths of Practice with Josan Janis Cooke Newman

Author: Vincent Moore October 2, 2024 Duration: 44:55

Josan Janis Cooke Newman is the author of the memoir, The Russian Word for Snow, and two novels: Mary; Mrs. A. Lincoln and A Master Plan for Rescue. Janis also teaches creative writing, offering courses like Writing and Mindfulness: Cultivating a Daily Practice through the San Francisco Zen Center, and founded Lit Camp, a writer's conference that takes place at the Esalen Institute. Janis also founded Creative Caffeine Daily, an online writing community.

We talk about memoir writing and Zen, being a ‘baby Buddhist,’ the joyful experience of sewing a rakusu, the impact of taking lay ordination precepts, viewing mornings as a creative, liminal space, and approaching haikus as a Zen writing practice.


Vincent Moore hosts Paths of Practice: Conversations on Journeys into Buddhism, a space where personal stories take center stage. Each episode is built around a simple, profound question: what does it actually look like to live with Buddhist teachings? You’ll hear from people whose lives have been shaped by this path, from long-time monastics and dedicated lay practitioners to those who have just felt a curious pull toward mindfulness and compassion. The conversations avoid dry theory, focusing instead on the messy, human, and often surprising realities of integrating practice into daily life-through family, work, doubt, and discovery. This podcast operates on the belief that there are as many ways to walk this road as there are people walking it, gently exploring that diversity one honest conversation at a time. It’s less about providing answers and more about sharing the map-making process itself, offering companionship and insight for anyone interested in the varied terrain of spiritual life.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Paths of Practice: Conversations on Journeys into Buddhism
Podcast Episodes
Paths of Practice with Bhante Sanāthāvihārī Bhikkhu [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:30
Bhante Sanāthāvihārī is a Mexican-American Theravāda monk at the Sarathchandra Buddhist Center in North Hollywood, a Sri Lankan center. He is a student of the late Dr. Bhante Madawela Puññaji, and the founder of Casa De…
Paths of Practice with Stephen Mugen Snyder, Roshi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:46
Stephen Mugen Snyder, Roshi began practicing daily meditation in 1976. Since then, he has studied Buddhism extensively—investigating and engaging in Zen, Tibetan, Theravada, and Western non-dual traditions. He was author…
Paths of Practice with Damiano Seiryū Finizio [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:41
Damiano Finizio was born in Italy in 1992. He began practicing traditional Japanese martial arts in 2012, where he met the Buddhist monk Seiun, who transformed his curiosity for Eastern disciplines and philosophies into…
Paths of Practice with Venerable Robina Courtin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:33
Ordained since the late 1970s, Ven. Robina has worked full time since then for Lama Thubten Yeshe and Lama Zopa Rinpoche’s Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT). Over the years she has served a…
Paths of Practice with Sinclair Shinryu Thomson, PhD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:35
Sinclair Shinryu Thomson is the abbot of the Village Zendo in New York City. He received Denkai, or full priest ordination, from Enkyo O’Hara Roshi in August 2007, dharma transmission in December 2009, and Inka in Januar…
Paths of Practice with Naomi Matlow [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:01
Naomi Matlow is a writer and educator specializing in integrating mindfulness and meditation into the lives of those that struggle with busy minds. She recently published her Mindfulness Studies Masters thesis from Lesle…
Paths of Practice with Phoenix Song [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:42
*Disclaimer: this episode features brief mention of self-harm.Phoenix Song is a queer, nonbinary Korean American adoptee teacher, performer, writer, and healer featured in SF Magazine’s Best of the Bay for yoga music. Ph…
Paths of Practice with Vickie Chang, PhD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:33
The daughter of Chinese immigrants born and raised in the SF Bay Area, Dr. Vickie Chang first encountered the dharma through the doorway of mindfulness meditation in 2008. She graduated from the Spirit Rock Dedicated Pra…
Paths of Practice with Venerable Clear Grace Dayananda [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:02
Venerable Clear Grace Dayananda is a Buddhist Monk who received novice ordination in 2018 as Sister True Moon of Clear Grace in the Plum Village Vietnamese Zen tradition headed by the Venerable Thich Nhat Hanh. In 2020,…
Paths of Practice with Ram Appalaraju [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:34
Ram Appalaraju has served on the boards of nonprofit organizations for over eight years after retiring from the high-tech industry where he worked for 35 years. Ram has been studying Buddhism under Gil Fronsdal and is cu…