Writing into the Void with Ruth Ozeki

Writing into the Void with Ruth Ozeki

Author: Tricycle: The Buddhist Review May 27, 2026 Duration: 55:55
Ruth Ozeki is a novelist, filmmaker, and Zen priest. She recently published her first short story collection, The Typing Lady and Other Fictions. With characteristic wit and grace, Ozeki astutely explores themes of identity, longing, loss, and the clarity that comes with old age. In one story, a couple watches their ambitions roam the woods as ghosts; in another, an aging writer enlists her granddaughter to fake her death as a way of getting out of an upcoming book tour. In this episode of Tricycle Talks, Tricycle’s editor-in-chief, James Shaheen, sits down with Ozeki to discuss what drew her to the form of the short story, how the Buddhist teaching of not-self informs her writing, how writing short stories can be an act of surrender, and the lessons she learned from caring for her mother in the final years of her life. Plus, Ozeki reads a short excerpt from one of the stories in the collection.

In a world full of noise, Tricycle Talks offers a different kind of conversation. This podcast from the team at Tricycle: The Buddhist Review sits down with insightful teachers, authors, and practitioners to explore how ancient wisdom meets modern complexity. Host James Shaheen, the magazine's editor-in-chief, guides these discussions with a curious and grounded presence, often joined by co-host Sharon Salzberg for the "Life As It Is" series, which focuses on integrating practice into daily routines. What you'll hear isn't abstract theory, but tangible reflections on navigating life's big questions-from dealing with anxiety and loss to cultivating compassion and clarity in a distracted age. Each episode feels like a thoughtful dialogue, peeling back layers on meditation, ethics, and what it means to live an examined life. It’s a natural extension of the award-winning work Tricycle is known for, translating the depth of Buddhist thought into accessible, personal audio. Listening to this podcast provides a pause, a moment to reflect alongside voices who have dedicated their lives to the path, offering practical insights that resonate long after the conversation ends.
Author: Language: English Episodes: 100

Tricycle Talks
Podcast Episodes
Remembering Joanna Macy with Jess Serrante [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:33
Jess Serrante is a climate activist, organizer, and longtime facilitator of the Work That Reconnects, a global movement and community created by the late environmental activist Joanna Macy, who passed away in July. Last…
US Poet Laureate Arthur Sze on Translating Loss and Renewal [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 58:47
Arthur Sze is a poet and translator based in Santa Fe, New Mexico, and he was recently named the 25th Poet Laureate of the United States. To celebrate his appointment, we’re visiting a 2024 Tricycle Talks episode with Sz…
US Poet Laureate Ada Limón on the Practice of Startlement [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:02:33
Ada Limón is the twenty-fourth Poet Laureate of the United States and the author of seven books of poetry. Her latest book, Startlement: New and Selected Poems, brings together two decades of her work. In this episode of…
Revisiting the Story of the Buddha’s Life with Donald S. Lopez Jr. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:30
Donald S. Lopez Jr. is the Arthur E. Link Distinguished University Professor of Buddhist and Tibetan Studies at the University of Michigan and a longtime Tricycle contributing editor. In his new book, The Buddha: Biograp…
Traveling in Bardo with Ann Tashi Slater [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:49
In Tibetan Buddhism, the bardo is a between-state. While the term is usually associated with the passage from death to rebirth, it can also refer to the journey from birth to death—as well as the various transitional sta…
Ethical Living in Uncertain Times with Stephen Batchelor [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:04:20
Stephen Batchelor is a writer and longtime Tricycle contributing editor based in southwest France. In his new book, Buddha, Socrates, and Us: Ethical Living in Uncertain Times, he explores how the Buddha and Socrates can…
Learning to Live Fully with Serious Illness with Susan Bauer-Wu [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:41
Living with a serious illness can be an isolating experience, and it can often provoke feelings of anger, anxiety, and fear. As a former oncology nurse, a mindfulness teacher, a clinical researcher, and a retreat facilit…
Writing in Exile with Bhuchung D. Sonam [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:00:42
Bhuchung D. Sonam is an exiled Tibetan writer, poet, translator, and publisher currently based in Dharamshala. His press, TibetWrites, has published more than fifty books by contemporary Tibetan writers. In this episode…
The Work of Not Knowing with Marie Howe [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 57:42
For Marie Howe, poetry is a form of prayer. “It is a way of quieting down to listen to that still, small voice,” she told Tricycle. “It’s about something ineffable that’s trying to find its way through the poem.” Howe is…
A Fearless Heart with Thupten Jinpa [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:11:08
Thupten Jinpa is a Tibetan Buddhist scholar and former monk based in Montreal. Since 1985, he has served as the principal English translator for the Dalai Lama. In his 2015 book, A Fearless Heart: How the Courage to Be C…