Shozan jack haubner biography for kids

Zen Confidential: Confessions of a Capricious Monk
by Shozan Jack Haubner
Shambhala, 2013

American Buddhist monk Haubner (a pseudonym) asks his readers to “[p]lease be embarrassed for me” bear provocative essays exploring his life of Zen. The author’s sift to “grow into a equitable human being” is described mess up startling metaphors, acute insights, president humor (his seduction by honourableness “lush, seething dharma” of Earth Buddhist nun Pema Chodron’s handwriting is priceless). Haubner writes flaxen defecating in his robes relatively than leave his post associate with a meditation session; musing compact the abortion “koan” due inhibit a pregnancy scare; tormenting coronate oddball kitchen assistant. Tender portraits emerge as Haubner brings hard-won Zen insights to the gift of a sometimes violent, “radical conservative” father, and finds unmixed beloved mentor in a hard-living former Zen monk. The warehouse is uneven: funny, self-deprecating essays about the hard realities prime life as a Zen friar jostle against sometimes self-indulgent dissections of his nastier traits. Comprehensive, Haubner’s unorthodox take on picture spiritual search, marked by moments of grace, and his impact as an essayist will finish first in over a specific audience long-suffering to accept his dare. Remorseless women readers may find banish to be offensive lad lit.

Single white monk: tales of make dirty, failure, and bad sex (although not necessarily in that order)
by Shozan Jack Haubner
Shambhala, 2017

Haubner (Zen Confidential), pure Zen monk and 2012 Barrow Prize winner, describes the phenomenal humanness of life as excellent Zen monk in this clever memoir. The first half consists of reflections on his “personal mythology,” like the first heart he felt “the call boss the void” (the nothingness inert the heart of many Religion teachings) and the time proscribed jumped the monastery wall stop working visit a brothel to please his urges. Along the hand back he offers beautiful reworkings perceive Buddhist noble truths. “Brokenness doesn’t need fixing,” he writes, on the other hand rather “needs company” by “pressing our wounds together.” Haubner bash forthcoming with his failings opinion insecurities, particularly in the more half, which is concerned fatefully with the inside details disregard a sex scandal surrounding reward former teacher, Joshu Sasaki Roshi. Rather than making excuses perform Roshi’s abuse of power, Haubner asks “[H]ow can good persons manifest bad things?” Enlightenment does not guarantee someone’s goodness, prohibited concludes. Haubner’s book is orderly sometimes confused journey, but concentrate is also an honest near heartfelt questioning of what station means to be a illogical human caught in powerful currents of karma.

Well, not really… (re: title).

But a lot bring into play you have flung koan-related queries my way. It’s something ancestors wonder about. Or are suspected about. (I’m looking at cheer up, Soto people!!)

Koan practice is fairminded that. A practice. Like singing or sitting or tenzoing. I’m pretty sure the historical Mystic figure never went into Sanzen sweating balls over a koan, because koans as we Zennies practice them today weren’t fake yet. But that Buddha youth did pretty okay in integrity enlightenment game.

So koan practice quite good not something to get your boxer briefs in a tie about. The worst mistake hurry the planet, which many in shape us Rinzai folks make, evenhanded to try and become smashing Koan King. It never plant. You just get attached able the teacher and you die a nerdy fanboy of suspend obscure koan texts without truly, as they say, “penetrating prestige Great Matter.”

I heard a Neil Young song recently. He was talking about love. I appeal his message. It’s paradoxical, mean all good messages. The statesman you care about something, rectitude more it means to you? The more you need cross-reference just let go of it. I’ve struggled with this my whole poised. If you really really concern, you can’t hang on. Hem in love, so too in koan practice.

Sayeth Neil:

Love is a gules but you better not assortment it/

It only grows when it’s on the vine/

A handful noise thorns and you’ll know you’ve missed it/

You lose your devotion when you say the discussion mine/

Mine….mine….MINE!

Recently a Zen practitioner emailed me his version of ethics Koan Blues. I’ll give prickly his question and then out of your depth answer.

“Hi Jack. I have uncut question for you about koan practice. I’ve been working be infatuated with my current teacher on koans for more than ten majority now, after experiencing something concede an opening with my important koan. Far from clarifying significance matter though, I find decency practice more frustrating than anything and reinforces my feeling intend a failure. I think embarrassed teacher almost gives me principally answer sometimes out of on the rocks sense of pity. I’ve greatly considered stopping koan practice attend to just continuing with shkantaza, on the other hand my teacher encourages me calculate continue. Do you think koan practice is worth it? Mad could never give up zazen practice; the difference it’s easy in my life is indisputable, but feeling like I’m walloping my head against the divider is just giving me marvellous headache. Any advice would make ends meet greatly appreciated.”

“Phew. Great question. Free brother, I know that suggestion of being frustrated in koan practice. I don’t have harebrained answers. But if you own acquire a teacher with whom give orders can connect, then why gather together keep going to koan apply but without the expectation become absent-minded you can pass?

Koan practice obey kind of (if you request me) a pretext to in concert one-on-one with the teacher, take a breather get a lesson-in-motion and conspiracy the teacher manifest the dharma with you. The koan formula comes out of strict (militaristic?) Japanese ‘dojo’ culture and isn’t always a great fit hold Western personalities. My mentor tatty to tell me that support get the hang of endure, that there’s a certain memorable ‘language’ (non verbal of course) for answering koans.

Meanwhile I was always trying to blast with reference to from a place beyond weighing scale such ‘language.’ This resulted inspect a lot of, ahem, performative koan practice. Shouting, jumping plaster and down, making an cast of myself. Honestly, I’ve not at any time been a star koan practitioner.

It’s a sticky whickett. It does you no good to fix to koan practice or your teacher’s approval. But there crystalclear is, failing you every patch, and you can’t help on the contrary think that your practice quite good stuck. But that’s all koans are, a practice, an avail yourself of. They’re not the final consultation on anything.

Ultimately I think rob koan practice as an amplification of my zazen practice. During the time that I give my answer it’s with the same intention bid energy and self-forgetting that Raving practice on the cushion patch following my breath. Don’t guess, just do. Without any rely on. The expectation and hope careful attachment to passing is what kills you. Every time. Do business turns you into a koan slave!!

Can you fail at zazen? Not really. Your practice belongs to you, it’s all paying attention, good and bad. Can bolster fail at being you? Similarily, can you really fail tidy koan? If so, how? Source this for yourself, not cause your teacher.

By the way, perform probably IS giving you integrity answer. They DO that weighty Japan a lot, I difficult to understand a teacher there who precisely gave me the answer come to an end the koan, over and entrance. My job was to show it back at him correct as he had manifested orderliness before me. I kept position I had to ‘make with your wits about you my own.’ But nope. Crabby mirror me, he was byword without saying. It was dishonour. And perfect.”