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 Bonbu Stories [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:56
Bonbu Stories is an Asian American arts collaborative dedicated to using music as a medium for raw storytelling and building connections. Featured on the podcast are Sydney Shiroyama, Miharu Okamura, and Miko Shudo. For…
Paths of Practice with Rev. Gyokei Yokoyama [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:58
Rev. Gyokei Yokoyama is a Soto Zen priest that currently serves as Kokusai Fukyoshi (International Missionary) of Sozenji Buddhist Temple in Montebello, California. Gyokei also serves as the Secretary of Soto Zen Buddhis…
Paths of Practice with Rev. Liên Shutt [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:59
Rev. Liên Shutt is an ordained Soto Zen priest and Dharma teacher in the tradition of Shunryū Suzuki Roshi. Born to a Buddhist family in Vietnam, Rev. Liên trained in the Insight and Zen traditions in the U.S., Thailand,…
Paths of Practice with Rev. Myozan Ian Kilroy [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:07:25
Rev. Myozan Ian Kilroy is a Soto Zen Buddhist priest and a Dharma heir of Taigu Turlur Roshi, in the lineage of Nishijima Roshi and Rempo Niwa Zenji. Rev. Myozan serves the Zen Buddhism Ireland sangha, where he is the fo…
Paths of Practice with Rev. Monshin Paul Naamon [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:12:23
Rev. Monshin Paul Naamon is the abbot and co-founder of the Tendai Buddhist Institute (Jiunzan Tendaiji), an officially recognized branch temple of Enryakuji Temple on Mt. Hiei located in East Chatham, NY. We discuss the…
Paths of Practice with Roshi June Ryushin Tanoue [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:16
Roshi June Ryushin Tanoue is a Zen Buddhist priest and the co-founder of Zen Life & Meditation Center based in Chicago, IL. June Roshi is also a Kumu Hula (Master Teacher of Hula) and the founder of Halau I Ka Pono, the…
Paths of Practice with Wendy Dainin Lau, MD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:52
Wendy Dainin Lau, MD, is an Emergency Medicine and Addiction Medicine physician and an ordained Zen priest that serves the Upaya Zen Center sangha in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Dainin is also the author of Inner Practice of M…
Paths of Practice with Sangen Salo [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:13:19
Sangen Salo is an ordained Zen Buddhist priest and teacher that serves as abbot of Sanneji based in Karjaa, Finland. Sangen sensei is also Sante Poromaa Roshi’s first Dharma heir in the lineage of Roshi Philip Kapleau an…
Paths of Practice with Zenzele Isoke, PhD [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 56:30
Zenzele Isoke, PhD, is a black feminist theorist, urban ethnographer, and political storyteller and serves as an Associate Professor in The Harriet Tubman Department of Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies at the Univers…
Paths of Practice with Gillian Coote, Roshi [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:39
Gillian Coote, Roshi, is a social documentary filmmaker, writer, grandmother and bush regenerator, and serves the Sydney Zen Centre sangha as a senior resident teacher. We talk about camping out during sesshins amongst i…