In this sequel to the laugh-out-loud funny Zen Confidential, the author finds even more humour and wisdom in his experiences as a Buddhist monk in confrontation with an often puzzling world.
SHOZAN JACK HAUBNER is the pen name of a former screenwriter and stand-up comic who ended up head monk at a California Zen monastery, from which perspective he started writing the hilarious and insightful essays that have been appearing in such places asBuddhadharma,Tricycle, andThe Sun, and which became the seed for his first book. He has received the Pushcart Prize, and his work has been included inThe Best Buddhist Writingseries. He teaches at a Rinzai Zen Center in the Los Angeles area, where he now lives.
“Shozan Jack Haubner has the rare, the enviable, gift of being
sneakily wise, un-pious, liberating, and 1000 percent himself, all
while not seeming to take too much too seriously. I’ve grown drunk
on his pieces—teetotaler though I am—for years now, and keep
foisting his exhilaratingly honest, unique, fearless and sometimes
scurrilous essays on everyone I care about. The man sounds as
if he knows Zen practice so deeply that he’s come out at the other
end, full of candor, fresh air and the constant slaps of humor that
are all that can wake some of us up as we fall into our ruts and
fantasies of happy endings. Reading Single White Monk, I had to
keep a notebook by my side to catch the startling truths—about
death, about ego, about suffering—that kept flashing out from its
riotous pages. What a joy to encounter a monk who can write with
such unbuttoned urgency, and a writer who can sit still while
everything is falling apart around (and within) him.”—Pico Iyer
"Shozan Jack Haubner has written a beautiful book that both
Buddhist practitioners and general readers will love. Gifted as a
writer, he will have you laughing out loud until your sides hurt,
then experiencing the deepest pain over our fragility and flaws as
humans (even if we are master Zen teachers), and finally feeling
gratitude for his hard-won dharma wisdom. Single White Monk, as one
man's spiritual journey, is existentially raw, bawdy, spiritually
refined, and satisfies in every way I can imagine."—Charles
Johnson, author of Middle Passage and Taming the Ox
“A lot of books, movies, and TV shows present pretty
fantasies of the lives of Zen monks. Those are cute, but I doubt
they do anything but fill people's heads with unrealistic dreams.
Shozan writes about what it's really like, which is way more
valuable.”—Brad Warner, author of Hardcore
Zen and Don’t Be a Jerk: And Other Practical Advice from
Dogen, Japan’s Greatest Zen Master
 |
Ask a Question About this Product More... |
|
