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Shozan Jack Haubner has been a full-time Zen Buddhist monk for eight years and has published essays in Shambhala Sun, Tricycle, and the anthology Best Buddhist Writing. His essay in this issue will be included in a forthcoming collection from Shambhala. A failed screenwriter, he now lives in Southern California and spends hours a day on a round black cushion following his breath, which he considers a greater adventure than all his days in Hollywood.
My earliest Zen teachers were failure and my father, in that order. The first thing I failed at was being physically big. This wasn’t my fault, of course, but kids always feel directly responsible for how they look. And how I looked was small.
July 2016A Zen Buddhist monk in my tradition gets exactly one week off a year. This time is specifically designated for a “family visit.” I always take my week at Thanksgiving, and every year I prove right that old Zen adage: Think you’re getting closer to enlightenment? Try spending a week with your parents.
September 2011Has something we published moved you? Fired you up? Did we miss the mark? We’d love to hear about it.
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