Shozan Jack is a fascinating guy. He grew up in a Catholic home, studied philosophy, has been a stand-up comedian, has authored two books and many essays, was a screenwriter and poet and currently lives as a Zen monk and priest. He's got the gift of striking your funny bone in one sentence and then in the very next sentence, striking the center of your heart and mind in a profound way. In this episode, which is part one of a two-part interview, you'll hear him explain the Buddhist concept of "no-self" in such a way that it finally makes sense, hear how even Zen monks chase success and yes - his experience with an opium high and being given a death sentence (spoiler alert: he's still alive).

Shozan Jack Haubner is the pen name of a Zen monk whose essays have appeared in The Sun, Tricycle, Buddhadharma, and the New York Times, as well as in the Best Buddhist Writing series. The winner of a 2012 Pushcart Prize, he is also the author of Zen Confidential: Confessions of a Wayward Monk.

His latest book is called: Single White Monk: Tales of Death, Failure, and Bad Sex (Although Not Necessarily in That Order)

In This Interview, Shozan Jack Haubner and I Discuss...

The Wolf Parable
His new book, Single White Monk: Tales of Death, Failure, and Bad Sex (Although Not Necessarily in That Order)
How it's not about good and evil but rather, where do each come from?
The idea of no self
Who am I vs. Where am I?
That the self is not fixed and it's not solid
The self is porous, co-dependent arising through relationships with our surroundings
That the worship of success thwarts true fulfillment
"No attachment to an outcome"
An opium high and a death sentence

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Shozan Jack Haubner- No Self, an Opium High and a Death Sentence