Featured Contributors

Patrick Nagatani

Throughout his forty-year career, Patrick Nagatani’s inventive photography pushed the limits of his field. Themes of magical realism and Japanese heritage were pillars of his work and stand out in his series “Tape/estries” (1982–2015), featured on the cover and in “The Spirit of Impermanence.” These intricate compositions were created by applying thousands of pieces of cut masking tape to chromogenic photographs, an arduous but meditative process. “I want magic in my life and work,” Nagatani said. “The Zen of the material and process moves me to a spiritual happiness.” He continued to integrate healing practices into his photography while living with colon cancer, which took his life in 2017.

Adrienne Lê

Before he became one of the world’s most influential Buddhist teachers, Thich Nhat Hanh was shaped by the context in which he was born and raised: 20th-century Vietnam. In “Becoming Thay,” Columbia University PhD candidate Adrienne Minh-Châu Lê unpacks Nhat Hanh’s complex history, a topic relevant to both her doctoral studies and personal life as a Buddhist. Born in North Carolina to Vietnamese refugees, Lê spent her childhood in monasteries founded by Thich Nhat Hanh. “The Plum Village community is like family to me,” Lê told Tricycle. Outside of her PhD work, she enjoys creating music and volunteering as a board member for the Thich Nhat Hanh Foundation.

Katy Butler 

Buddhist journalist Katy Butler is well-known for tackling hard-hitting topics. Since her early days as a reporter at the San Francisco Chronicle, she has written stories on the AIDS epidemic, urban gentrification, and sexual abuse in American Buddhist communities. Her work on medical reform gained international acclaim and inspired two books: Knocking on Heaven’s Door and The Art of Dying Well. In her essay for this issue, “Not Empty, Not Full,” Butler explores her lifelong struggle with food addiction and the Zen practices that helped bring relief. Of her path to recovery, she writes, “I have bloomed in the 12-Step sangha the way a paper flower blooms in a glass of water.”

Peter Coyote 

Peter Coyote has lived many lives. Born Robert Peter Cohon, Coyote grew up with a passion for storytelling. During his college years, Coyote protested the Cuban Missile Crisis, ingested peyote, and joined a traveling mime troupe. Coyote’s postgraduate roving lifestyle led him to Gary Snyder, who inspired him to study Buddhism. Forty years later, while negotiating a successful acting career, Coyote ordained as a Zen priest. In his essay for this issue, “Welcome to Delusionville,” he examines nonself, a concept that has fascinated him since his earliest psychedelic experiences. Reflecting on his varied career, Coyote mused that “Buddhism is far more radical, by far the most radical thing that I have ever been involved in.”