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Think the life of a Zen monk is all serenity, peace, and austerity? Think again. Here, Shozan Jack Haubner gives an often-hilarious, always-candid account of what it's really like behind those monastery walls. Haubner's adventures include memories of his dysfunctional Midwestern family that drove him ultimately to declare, "I think I should be a monk!" to a madcap account of the night he got stoned and snuck out of the monastery, alongside more sobering accounts such as his life-threatening brush with illness, the profound impact of a dear friend's death, and reflections on the controversy that rocked his Zen community. That he finds timeless wisdom in both the tragic and the absurd is a tribute to Haubner's gifts as a writer and humorist, and to his clear insights into the nature of self and what the practice of Zen is all about.



About the Author

Shozan Jack Haubner

Shozan Jack Haubner's writing has won a Pushcart Prize and been published in The New York Times, Tricycle, The Sun, the Best Buddhist Writing Series, Lion's Roar and other publications. His first book, "Zen Confidential: Confessions of a Wayward Monk", was chosen as one of NPR's Best Books of 2013 and won an Independent Publisher Book Award. A former (failed? ) screenwriter, poet, stand-up comic, and Catholic, he moved to a Zen Buddhist monastery in the early aughts, where he was ordained as a monk and eventually made a Zen priest. Early on, he discovered that Buddhism is fundamentally about "not self." He is still wondering if an exception can be made in his case. His latest book is "Single White Monk: Tales of Death, Failure, and Bad Sex (Although Not Necessarily in That Order) ".



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