Zen Confidential: Confessions of a Wayward Monk

A good Zen monk needs determination, courage, and devotion—but above all, he needs a willing disposition. A ready wit and a clever comeback help as well. Shozan Haubner (a pseudonym) has all these characteristics. He surely got his start on them in his earlier life as a stand-up comic and Hollywood screenwriter. More recently he's been head monk at a Zen monastery in California. The head monk in the monastery does ordinary business such as scheduling and procurement, sees to monastic discipline, and serves as aide to the abbot. In these "personal vignettes" that Haubner began at the start of his Zen journey, he writes of finding the work challenging and at times exciting. His abbot (amazingly) is 105 years old and so requires the head monk's constant care. This author helps readers see that out of all this more or less ordinary work, coupled with constant meditation, can come the enlightenment a Zen monk seeks.