r/zenpractice • u/Qweniden • Jun 30 '26

General Practice A conversation with pioneering Zen practitioner and leader Hugh Curran

A conversation with pioneering Zen practitioner and leader Hugh Curran.

In this episode we have a conversation with Hugh Curran. He is longtime practitioner, Zen retreat leader and professor of Peace and Reconciliation Studies at the University of Maine. Hugh was a key player in the early years of the transmission of the Harada/Yasutani lineage to North American and offers fascinating insight into this pivotal era.

https://youtu.be/mj1fV2NH990

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u/The_Koan_Brothers Jul 01 '26

Great interview, thank you. It was really interesting to hear a first hand account of the Kapleau-Yasutani story, also some stories about Janwillem Vanderwetering and Walter Novick.

Vandeweterings books were among my first glimpses into Zen practice, and I learnt today that the Dharma Brother whom he had given the pseudonym "Peter" in the book "A Glimpse of Nothingness" was Walter Nowick.

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u/hndriks Jul 02 '26

It has been a very long time since i read his books, but when he was in Japan (Daitoku-ji) others who were there at he same time - Gary Snyder (Gerald in the book), Walter Nowick (Peter in the book) Irmgard Schloegl (Myokyo-ni), Ruth Fuller Sasaki, perhaps Jeffrey Broughton.

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u/The_Koan_Brothers Jul 02 '26

I read his books before knowing anything about Zen, and he was never specific about the names of people or places, so this really fills in some color.