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).
This week we talk to Shozan Jack Haubner
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
Shozan Jack Haubner Links
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A grandfather is talking with his grandson and he says there are two wolves inside of us which are always at war with each other.
One of them is a good wolf which represents things like kindness, bravery and love. The other is a bad wolf, which represents things like greed, hatred and fear.
The grandson stops and thinks about it for a second then he looks up at his grandfather and says, “Grandfather, which one wins?”
The grandfather quietly replies, the one you feed
The Tale of Two Wolves is often attributed to the Cherokee indians but there seems to be no real proof of this. It has also been attributed to evangelical preacher Billy Graham and Irish Playwright George Bernard Shaw. It appears no one knows for sure but this does not diminish the power of the parable.
This parable goes by many names including:
The Tale of Two Wolves
The Parable of the Two Wolves
Two Wolves
Which Wolf Do You Feed
Which Wolf are You Feeding
Which Wolf Will You Feed
It also often features different animals, mainly two dogs
Soshin Mimi Wilflinger says
Thanks so much for that interview. Where’s the promised second part, though? — Having been a former student of Sasaki Roshi myself, i wished Shozan could publish a primer to Roshi’s unique Zen teaching, sort of translating it from Roshi’s “psychedelic” and somewhat obscure language into something in the style of Shozan’s books: succinct and accurate, but at the same time experiential!