David Chadwick Memorial Page
Post on Cuke Archives Daily - February 24, 2026
(email to add to this memorial)
Founder and Poobah of Cuke Archives
1945 - 2026
Funeral Ceremony for David at Green Gulch Farm, April 12, 2026
Service and Reception, March 1, 2026, Sanur, Bali
Articles/Obituaries
David Chadwick, a Longtime Supporter of the San Francisco Zen Center, Has Died, by Joan Duncan Oliver, Tricycle
Obituary by Gaetano Kazuo Maida, executive director of the Buddhist Film Foundation
Recalling Zen historian David Chadwick, by James Ford, Patheos
David Chadwick, chronicler of San Francisco Zen Center Community, has died, by Rod Meade Sperry, Lion’s Roar
Memorial Day & David Chadwick by Andrea Martin on Minnesota Zen Meditation Center’s blog
From Email Responses
As David’s sister, I have a lifetime of wonderful memories of him. Our home in Texas was filled with laughter, often due to his funny and quirky and offbeat sense of humor. Over the years, we sometimes lived far apart from one another, but we always kept in touch. David was big-hearted and open-minded, and we had many conversations about our shared ideas and philosophies. I deeply admired his devotion to Suzuki Roshi and the practice of Zen, which changed his life and led to so much reflection and happiness. David’s urge to express himself and honor Suzuki Roshi resulted in books which gave me and others hours of pleasurable reading as well as serious teachings to contemplate. I know how much he enjoyed his years of living in Bali, and as someone who loved people he managed to keep in touch with so many. From all the tributes, it is evident how many lives he touched in positive ways. I am fortunate to have had such a loving and interesting brother and I miss him dearly.
Susan Chadwick
David
An Obituary for David Chadwick
It is about the hardest thing, to write an obituary for a lifetime friend. Dear David, this is for you:
You were just looking at me, from that chair across the room. Now you are gone. Both, gone and not gone! Somehow still here, working, laughing.
David, you actually listened to Suzuki Shunryu Roshi. You listened and you were able to hear him, his teachings, the ways in which he changed our lives.
And it was you, who got so many others to listen to him deeply. You are one of the Founders of the ‘Suzuki Roshi Lineage’. You are one of the Founders of the ‘San Francisco Zen Center’. And you are one of the Founders of the ‘Dharma Sangha’, Crestone Mountain Zen Center and the Zen Buddhist Center Schwarzwald (in Germany).
You are the author of ‘Crooked Cucumber’, the biographical lineage of Suzuki Roshi in Japan and in the United States.
And since Suzuki Roshi died, you have put a huge effort in developing this community, and making everyone feel connected.
It’s the way to create a lineage. You gave us a way to continue with him.
David, I really wanted you to stay alive. Now, you are gone. David Chadwick gave so much to everyone who knew him.
‘Crooked Cucumber’. ‘Tassajara Stories’. I will read them all again.
Your friend,
Zentatsu
There is that old adage, that when the student is ready, the master appears. David’s life and his dedication to keeping Shunryu Suzuki’s legacy alive, brings to mind that perhaps we need to add to this spiritual notion...
Just maybe, it is when the master is ready, that the student appears... I suspect Suzuki would have enjoyed seeing the flowering of his work, the seeds being spread wide and far, by the stories that David regaled us with.
Go well David, may the ferryman see you safely, to that other shore...
—Rajan Gupta
I am sorry David Chadwick was sick and died. He brought a whole world to life.I knew David only through his writing about SFZC and Suzuki Roshi. He knew many of the people I met there when I briefly lived in the neighborhood in 1970/1971. I cherished David's loving spirit that came through in his writing and illuminated the people he wrote about. His interviews of members added depth and fullness to the remarkable history of SFZC and the ardent young people who co-created it with their beloved Roshi.
With sadness and joined palms,
Regan Foiles Urbanick
Dear Dear David, the true abbot of the zen failure sangha… —Loring Vogel
"...the Blessed One arose from the samadhi of profound illumination and said to the mighty Avalokiteshvara, "Well done, well done..."
--From the extended Prajna Paramita Sutra
Well done, my friend, well done. 🙏—
Philip Benezra
It is with great sadness that we share with you that our beloved author and friend, David Chadwick, died yesterday, after a battle with cancer. All of us at Monkfish worked with David with pride and delight, publishing his Tassajara Stories in the fall of last year. And then, just a few months ago, we finalized the text for the follow-up volume, which will appear on our fall 2026 list. (With David’s blessing we changed the title just last week, and you will see it soon wherever you purchase books.)
David was a brilliant, gentle soul, a most dedicated promulgator of the life and teachings of his great teacher, Shunryu Suzuki.
We like to think that these two books of David’s are now our way of promoting the life and teachings of David, as well. His life and story fills them, too.
—
Sent to Monkfish readers by David’s editor, Jon Sweeney
“Alright, enough of that…”
That phrase is likely familiar to anyone who knew or listened to David Chadwick. It was his way of snapping back to the present moment after having gone off on a tangent of some kind. Frequently followed by “Now, where were we?” When David would expound upon his understanding of some teaching, have an insight to offer, or wander off on some story, he would often suddenly wrap it up with “Alright, enough of that…” and move on. —Ted Howell
david and i had a long talk about a month ago. i brought up his cancer and he said the drs. etc are very good here and he wants to keep writing. he told me about his time in the civil rights movement and i hope that small book will come out. i loved david and he called me at odd hours—he figured how to call for free. he was very happy that over time i assigned his books to my writing students and he was honored as a writer. and he was a great one, kept a whole era and practice alive with detail. i was stunned when i heard he died. of course, i knew that’s where he was heading but he didn’t write all his books yet! i feel lost without him and had no idea he was holding that space across the sea in my psyche. i kept thinking and talking to him in my head, ok, david, so you died. now come back. enough. cut it out. but he didn’t and he won’t. what a wonderful one he was. and so much of our era. —Natalie Goldberg
I met David through email in early 2008 when he approached me to help him publish a novel he had written for the NaNoWriMo competition. I was not much more than a hobbyist in the publishing world but he took a chance on me and I have always been incredibly grateful for that. "To Find the Girl from Perth" has been one of my favorite novels to read and certainly one of the proudest accomplishments in my brief publishing adventure.
David and I kept in touch over the years. Two or three times a year either he or I would reach out and then a flurry of emails would follow between us until our curiosity about the other’s life was satisfied. I only met him in person once, as he was traveling through Oklahoma City in 2013, and that I didn’t have more time is a regret I’m afraid I’ll have for the rest of my life. I always dreamed of flying out one day to spend some quality time with him. His door was always open, he would say, and I believed him.
He was a kind, loving, generous man and I will miss him very much.
Paul Speir
The principal thing I treasured about David Chadwick was his iconoclastic approach to Zen. You have to be an iconoclast, to write a biography of your teacher, when your teacher has asked that no biography be written. I found that approach refreshing. In his own way, David was taking the aim that Kobun Chino Otogawa demonstrated:
As a master of Zen archery, Kobun was asked to teach a course at the Esalen Institute in Big Sur, California. The target was set up on a beautiful grassy area on the edge of a cliff overlooking the Pacific Ocean. Kobun took his bow, notched the arrow, took careful aim, and shot. The arrow sailed high over the target, went past the railing, beyond the cliff, only to plunge into the ocean far below. Kobun looked happily at the shocked students and shouted, "Bull’s eye!!" (attributed to Joan Halifax Roshi, on the Kobun page on terebess.hu.)
Kobun sometimes spoke of his “guerilla army”. David had to be a general. A great loss, to us all;
Mark Foote
David entered my life in high school in Fort Worth, Texas. The adventures we shared in our youth still influence my life today. David set me on the path I am still on. He was a wonderful friend for whom I will always be grateful.
—Frank Simons
To say that David was quirky is only one of the many attributes he held. Back in the early Zen Center days (I’m talking about the 60’s now) he told me that he was getting ready for a ZC wedding by eating large quantities of white rice. This would expand his stomach so he could really do justice to all the food he planned to eat there. —Alan Yehudah Winter
This week before I begin on the next chapters of Dhammapada, I have more bad news to report to you: the death of David Chadwick, who was one of the earliest students of Suzuki Roshi, and one of the first priests ordained by Suzuki Roshi at Zen Center. David was the tireless keeper of Suzuki Roshi’s memory and archive, and the author of many wonderful books including his deeply researched and lively biography of Suzuki Roshi, Crooked Cucumber. David was a really colorful and wonderful person; anyone who met him will never forget him and his crooked impish smile, his Texas accent, and expansive way of speaking. His contribution to the dharma and to our lineage family is immense, and he will always be remembered. We heard of David’s cancer diagnosis not long ago, and we thought he would be able to go on longer, so were a little shocked when we heard that he had suddenly died. —Norman Fischer
For all the dharma gates you’ve opened, for your willingness to change your life for the sake of your intentions, for all the laughs lighting the path, for the World Suicide Club, for welcoming my son into your band, for your persistence in the early days of Cuke.com. I thought we had more time. Happy trails, my friend! 🌲🌲 —Barton Stone
David’s seemingly irreverence in residential/monastic practice lent a balance to the rigidity and over seriousness that it can sometimes become.
David had the heart--was the heart-- of our community.
I feel so grateful for each of his books and learned so much from them--What a gift!
Deep, deep bows to you, David. —Josho Pat Phelan
I picked David up from the hospital after a harrowing heart surgery to open up more than one fully blocked artery. He said, “My heart has been so bad lately that I’ve only been eating rice and steamed vegetables for months. Now that the arteries are open again, how about we go get a cheeseburger?” —Brookelynn Morris
David always loomed large for me as a thread of continuity from Suzuki Roshi to the rest of us. David’s devotion to practice realization, his lifelong commitment to connecting with all those who were touched by Suzuki Roshi, and his everydayness and openness to all, touched me greatly. We will all miss him greatly. —Tracy Frank Cramer
Though I lost touch with him in recent years, have fond memories of interactions with David earlier....
That booming Texas tinged voice, his easy going quietly confident, nonconformist yet diplomatic way is some of what I remember.
Loved his bio on Suzuki Roshi, what a masterpiece. Honestly I liked it more than Zen Mind, which I do love. Showed how Roshi lived his teaching and his beautiful joyous, upright being.
Sentimentally, I hope David is visiting Roshi right now. Not that far fetched that he saw Roshi as he was departing. —Anonymous
I have yet to visit Tassajara but picture it vividly through David’s accounts. He once wrote of walking through the mountains singing the 1965 song by Richard and Mimi Farina that kind of conveyed his Boddhisatva outlook, and now I can just hear him in the woods singing, "If somehow you could pack up your sorrows, And give them all to me, You would lose them, I know how to use them, Give them all to me." David’s archival work, life and writing all have encouraged my Zen practice. It was a pleasure to help out in recent years with editing that involved close listening to Suzuki audio files. —Baikyo Wendy Pirsig
Never made it out to San Francisco to practice, but have been nurtured by all of the teaching flowing out through the various teachers who have grown from the original group of students in those early days. Being so close to the source, you might be less aware of how deeply nourishing and inspiring the variety of teachings has been to someone thousands of miles away. Fortunately Philip Kapleau came to Harvard during my senior year, exposing me to genuine practice and fulfilling my adolescent hope for something outside of books. Fortunately I was able to cancel other plans and move to Rochester to practice in a strong sangha and under his guidance. But I found balance to the intensity and relentless push for enlightenment in the writings of both Suzuki Roshi and the subsequent teachings of his senior students. David’s books were part of this and the Cuke archives have also been helpful. We have and are living in fortunate times. Gratefully, Geoff Lister, Rochester, NY
I saw your post about David this morning.
I put this together. Hope you are doing ok.
https://www.shambhala.com/remembering-david-chadwick/ PDF
Nikko Odiseos, Shambhala Publications, President
I am so sorry and grieved to hear of our loss of David. He actually personally demonstrated the Zen Way, day by day, by doing his very best at he saw to do.
Suzuki Roshi would have been amazed at what his fine words over time have produced within many of our hearts. I bow deeply in gratitude for all we have inherited and all that you Peter, David, and others, have done to keep this important legacy of the beginnings of American Zen documented and alive for future generations to read about and maybe comprehend.
Suzuki Roshi entered my life in 1971 after my stint in the Air Force during the Vietnam War. I carried "Beginner’s Mind" around with me for many years in my backpack. The cover boards were warped and stained, but I only parted with it when I had the opportunity to pass it on to a special person who I thought would truly benefit in 2019. I can still see that exact book in my mind’s eye now. That book, and subsequent studies in practice, changed my life.
Steve Ferguson
I know there are a lot of unfinished projects. I hope you can be instrumental in continuing the work of Cuke Archives. Please keep me on the list of people who want to be kept in the loop and provide support. I hope some of David’s unfinished works will be published in the future.
Blessings, Ted Howell
As a relative newcomer to Zen, I’ve greatly appreciated everything that David has done to welcome me into the extended and historical sangha. Thinking about a few highlights, the daily emails are particularly valuable, and it is intriguing how often they directly address a challenge that I’m facing. It has sometimes seemed like David was "channeling" Suzuki Roshi directly to me. I’ve read Crooked Cucumber several times and devoured Tassajara Stories (and related small books) and Thank You and OK! I’ve also greatly appreciated the archives, and find that the original transcripts of Suzuki Roshi’s talks often speak to me more clearly than the edited versions that make it into books. David has been an important part of my practice and I will miss him greatly, even though we never met in person.
David Hahn
I knew David during my time at San Francisco Zen Center and beyond. He was friend, funny, wise, beyond talented in songwriting, and writing in general, and most of all , Kind. I learned of his passing just last night, sooner than I expected to hear about it. I am a long time member of Pacific Zen Institute and an email went out from John Tarrant I believe forwarding information he had learned from SFZC. David was a good friend to Pacific Zen Institute as well, living for some time with Katrinka, his wife, in a barn on John Tarrant’s property. He redid the insides to be a home. I recall once having a conversation with him about a student of Trungpa Rimpoche who got upset when anyone would call Trungpa an alcoholic. In those days, I told David I thought the guy bordered on being delusional. David’s reply to me was that he was a ‘connoisseur of delusions.’ Though striking me as funny, it also made a big difference in my practice because he was, of course right. We need not get rid of our delusions, but become very well acqauainted with them and notice when we are living them out. It’s how we get in the way our Light shining forth.
I think the last time I saw David was when he came to the Pacific Zen Institute meeting of the Luminary Series and was interviewed by Jon Joseph, about Tassajara Stories and his life. Ed Brown was there as well and was asked to comment at different times. I knew Katrinka when she came to PZI and have tried to stay in touch with her as well as David over the years. They were both lucky to have found each other. They made each other happy.
I’ll miss David, and today, I’ll light more than one stick of incense in his memory. I love you, David.
Dan Kaplan
My ineloquent response to hearing of David Chadwick’s death — he will, of course, live on forever in his archives and publications but right now I am just missing him, the best listener to all of us z-enners whether reason/season/or forevers…and of course, much else besides. He was so happy in Bali and yet managed to stay in touch with us.
J.J. Wilson
David and I crossed paths in Japan in 1989, he was living “outside the gate” with Elin and his baby boy. I was living in Kyoto and studying with Harada Roshi at Sogenji. I remember him vividly from that time.
David recently spoke at our zen and tea session at water moon dojo, I can send the link to his video: https://sites.google.com/view/watermoonzendo/zen-tea#h.kvqvre8goz1n.
He will be missed. What a character!
Thank you
Sokei
I’m devastated to know that David is no longer with us. I had not known that he was ill, he didn’t mention it back in October when we did the blog interview.
I feel like I’ve lost a family member. David and I were not close and never met in person, but I treasure my correspondence with him over the years. I consider him one of my Zen teachers; he gave me valuable guidance when I was making plans to stay at Tassajara. I love his writing style and sense of humor. I’m glad to have known someone who enjoyed Firesign Theater as much as I do. —John Liles
David was the Zen person I went to with my simple-minded Zen practice questions. Forty-five years ago I asked David how do I know when an at-home mediation session is over? (When the alarm clock says it’s time.) And two years later I asked David what do I do when I encounter words of Suzuki Roshi’s that I don’t understand? (Forget about them.) David helped me move on in a clear and direct way. —Leonard Koren
~He will be greatly missed~ Godfrey and Izumi
I was about to correct some issues with the fund raiser for my friend David Chadwick when I learned that he died last night.
His spirit remains woven into the fabric of my life and I am grateful for every moment we shared-Happy Trails my friend……..
Gregory Johnson
Facebook and Instagram Responses
So damn sad.
David was one of the finest and sanest of all who came out of the early SF Zen Center days. I loved knowing we were still sharing this world together... and will miss forever his humor, irreverence, and lovely wisdom.
David always reminded me of Hotei... the happy wandering monk with the big sack of treasures for the children and for all us kids at heart.
And I know, I know.
But still......
—Stephen Hannah
David’s account of his own time with Suzuki Roshi gave me the courage (I might say the gall) to attempt my own practice. —Mary Wilson
Holding Suzuki Roshi as an actual human and not merely a evolved enlightened being for me kept real blood in the veins of the purpose and process of these zen teachings and I thank David for carrying that water so well with humor and integrity.
Thank you David..safe journey —Ned Hoke
Condolences to the family and friends. I knew David when we were both at the city center in 1972 or thereabouts. He was in silence for awhile and would visit my apartment across from zen center with a chalk board around his neck so we could communicate. He has done so much to preserve Suzuki Roshi’s legacy. He work will live on but he will be missed. —Geri Tolchin
Loving and missing David who so enriched my practice life. Warmest condolences to Katrinka, Kelly and the family. —Danny Parker
Such a loss. Great gratitude to such a generous being. 🙏🙏🙏 —John Munroe
Thank you David for your very rich work. 🙏 —Sean Patrick Folster
Dear David. Great love. Thank you. —John Bailes
My heart goes out to you; he was a wise and wonderful man! —Johnny_Luv
David Cohen posted a video of David Chadwick reading excerpts from Thank You and OK! in the late 90s. Thanks to Ted Howell for sending this.
Deeply saddened by the demise of David Chadwick....
He has done great service for Zen Buddhism
May Lord Buddha bestow supreme beatitude on him
Om Shanti🕉️🙏🏻 —Anand Korikanthimath
David was the dedicated bodhisttava who kept us laughing and reminded all of us to not be so serious all the time. I remember sitting behind him in evening lecture that first summer and the only thing keeping him from falling over asleep was his full lotus. David you were always a good friend and you will be always missed. —Liz Wolf-Spada
As my son said,"he is now in us." —Jane Okamura Sanders
Although he has returned to the Emptiness, he will always exist in the Universe in some form.
My condolences to his family.
I got to know him from his writings as a cheerful person, and it was through his writings that I was introduced to the teachings of Suzuki Roshi. Since many of us are like that, for me he is a bodhisattva who used his writings to spread Buddhism. —Csaba Varga
Gate gate paragate parasamgate bodhi svaha ?? to a life well lived. Sending love and peace to his family and friends, and to all in the wide circle who have been touched by his work and presence. —Marjorie Walter
Katrinka, wellness to you, big loss. —Bruce Fortin
so sorry — David always looked like he had many more years, so vital. Anyhow David, my love to you and yours.... miss David already.... such Vital Zen Force —Willem Malten
David my lifelong friend, died on my birthday. We held a memorial for him yesterday at the end of our monthly half day sitting. In attendance was his second wife, their son’s baby mommy’s and their daughters. Also our son who grew up with him, his first son and our son were born 8 days apart at Green Gulch Farm. We will miss him......
LOVE ONLY —Elizabeth Burgess Sawyer
So wonderful to feel that —Katrinka McKay
🙏 —Dan Shardein
🙏🙏🙏 —Deacon Serge Dube
Announcement from Abbot Tenzen David Zimmerman [on SFZC’s Facebook page]:
San Francisco Zen Center is deeply saddened to hear that David Chadwick died today at his home in Bali. His son Kelly was with him and I understand that his passing was quite peaceful. We will know more in the days to come, including information on ceremonies and memorials. Meanwhile, there is likely to be information appearing on cuke.com.
Our deepest bows and appreciation to David, who was indefatigable in his care for the history and memories of Suzuki Roshi and SFZC’s founding years. Our hearts and thoughts go out to David’s loved ones at this tender time of loss.
🙏💔🪷 —Shindō
🙏🙏🙏💚 —Michael Lobsang Tenpa
😔💔🙏🏻 —Naomi Ayala
❤️❤️❤️🔥 —John High Ninso
🙏 🙏 🙏 —Jeff Bearden
❤️❤️❤️👏 —Sintra Komang
🙏🏻 —Ron Semerena