“The author’s search to ‘grow into a true human being’ is described with startling metaphors, acute insights, and humor. . . . Haubner’s unorthodox take on the spiritual search, marked by moments of grace, and his strength as an essayist will win over a specific audience willing to accept his dare.”—Publishers Weekly
“The best account I have ever read of the education of a Zen monk in America.”—Leonard Cohen
“This is the funniest, most genuine spiritual memoir I have ever read. It feels odd to call it a memoir, given how it is chock full of genuine Buddhist insight. A must-read, especially for those of us who have been accused of being in gay porn films.”—Lodro Rinzler, author of The Buddha Walks into a Bar…
“The best reason to read Zen Confidential is that it’s a lot of fun . . . no, wait, the best reason is that it’s all about how to have a life . . . wait, no, the best reason is that it’s a great ride. Zen Confidential has a virtue rare in spiritual books—it includes the whole of life. The only way out is through, and Jack Haubner takes it with gusto and style. Here we have sex, bathroom customs of the monastery, politics, suicide, drugs, meanness, marriage, standup comedy, Las Vegas, koans, and a 105-year-old Zen master. It’s a window into a magical world that pretends to be ordinary and an ordinary world that is magical. It’s deep, reflective, and boisterous at the same time. Haubner has an acute eye for the ridiculousness of the world and a larger-than-life way of seeing. It’s a fresh, living account of this kind of Zen in America and of living well and serving the way.”—John Tarrant, author of Bring Me the Rhinoceros and Other Zen Koans That Will Save Your Life
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The Buddha Walks into a Bar . . .
A Guide to Life for a New Generation
This isn’t your grandmother’s book on meditation. It’s about integrating that “spiritual practice” thing into a life that includes beer, sex, and a boss who doesn’t understand you. It’s about making a difference in yourself and making a difference in… Read More
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Zen Is Right Here
Teaching Stories and Anecdotes of Shunryu Suzuki, Author of Zen Mind, Beginner's Mind
Shunryu Suzuki’s extraordinary gift for conveying traditional Zen teachings using ordinary language is well known to the countless readers of Zen Mind, Beginner’s Mind. In Zen Is Right Here, his teachings are brought to life powerfully and directly through stories… Read More
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Jake Fades
A Novel of Impermanence
Jake is a Zen master and expert bicycle repairman who fixes flats and teaches meditation out of a shop in Bar Harbor, Maine. Hank is his long-time student. The aging Jake hopes that Hank will take over teaching… Read More
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The Bodhi Tree Grows in L.A.
Tales of a Buddhist Monk in America
Truth is regularly stranger than fiction for the abbot of a Buddhist temple in the far-from-tranquil inner city of Los Angeles, California. Whether he is talking a dangerously unbalanced man out of buying a gun, confronting a naked woman in… Read More
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Saffron Days in L.A.
Tales of a Buddhist Monk in America
In this delightful memoir, Bhante Walpola Piyananda, a Buddhist monk from Sri Lanka, shares his often amusing, often poignant experiences of life in America. Whether he's reasoning with a group of confrontational punks on Venice Beach, bridging the gap between… Read More
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Thank You and OK!
An American Zen Failure in Japan
David Chadwick, a Texas-raised wanderer, college dropout, bumbling social activist, and hobbyhorse musician, began his study under Shunryu Suzuki Roshi in 1966. In 1988 Chadwick flew to Japan to begin a four-year period of voluntary exile and remedial Zen education.… Read More
