In this 2024 conversation with Justine Willis Toms, actor and Zen priest Peter Coyote tells us that Buddha was a revolutionary who left us with a map of how to effectively live our lives with skillful means. He gave us wise words for effective living through the Four Noble Truths, The Eightfold Path, and the Thirteen Precepts. Coyote expands on the concept of "life is suffering" to mean life's afflictions cannot be avoided. Stuff happens. However, we can contain our response to those afflictions through our meditation practice. He also encourages us to be active in the world and to contribute to the good while being aware of the unintentional negative consequences of our actions. He encourages us to acknowledge the darker side of our nature so that through that awareness we might better contain it. He holds that ultimately Buddhism can help us towards better ways of living together that are sustainable, democratic, and include justice for all.
Peter Coyote is a master of many crafts, including being an award-winning actor, improv teacher, author, director, screenwriter, and narrator who has worked with some of the world's most distinguished filmmakers, including Ken Burns. He has won several Emmys for his narration and was ordained as a Zen priest in 2011. His books include:
- The Rainman's Third Cure: An Irregular Education (Counterpoint 1998/2015)
- Sleeping Where I Fall: A Chronicle (Counterpoint 2015)
- Zen in the Vernacular: Things As It Is (Inner Traditions 2024)
Interview Date: 5/3/2024 Tags: Peter Coyote, Gary Snyder, San Francisco Zen Center, David Brazier, David Harris, eight-fold path, 8-fold path, Zen Mates Fuketsu, James Carse, injustice, slavery, Buddhism, Meditation, Personal Transformation, Social Change/Politics
