Peter Kuhn

Peter Kuhn is the author of 12 Step Zen: Pathways of Recovery and its companion study guide.

He approaches life as a creative improvisation and hopes we can all make music out of the noise, joy, and drama of our lives. A free-jazz woodwind player who cut his teeth in New York’s 1970s loft scene, Peter is also an ordained Dharma teacher in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Plum Village tradition of Engaged Buddhism. Clean and sober since January 1986, Peter remains active in the 12 Step recovery community. He founded the 12 Step Zen sangha in 2010, where recovery and the Dharma share the same room. He leads retreats, workshops, and Days of Mindfulness.

For nearly a decade, Peter served with the Prison Meditation Project, supporting men at Donovan State Prison. He also volunteered for many years with Compassion in Action, sitting at the bedside of the dying and offering the simple gift of compassionate presence.

Peter lives in San Diego, bringing candor, curiosity, and good humor to music, Dharma, recovery, service, and the ongoing strangeness of being human.