521. Henry Shukman - a podcast by Rick Archer

Henry Shukman (Ryu’un-ken) is an Associate Zen Master of the Sanbo Zen lineage, based in Kamakura, Japan. He has trained primarily with Joan Rieck Roshi, Zen teacher John Gaynor, Ruben Habito Roshi, and now continues his training under the guidance of Yamada Ryoun Roshi, current abbot of Sanbo Zen. Henry is dedicated to what he sees as core Zen training—clarifying our essential nature to our own satisfaction, and thereby finding true peace of mind, and then living that essential nature in every moment of daily life, in freedom, love and deep responsiveness.

As it happens, Mountain Cloud Zen Center was originally founded by a teacher whose training also took place within Sanbo Zen back in the 1950s, and Henry is the first Sanbo Zen teacher to have taught at Mountain Cloud since its founder.Henry is a writer and poet of British-Jewish origin, who has published eight books to date, of fiction, poetry and nonfiction. He writes regularly for Tricycle, The New York Times and other publications, and his most recent book is the poetry collection Archangel. He lives near the center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, with his wife Clare and their two sons.

Earlier books:One Blade of Grass: Finding the Old Road of the Heart, a Zen Memoir
The Lost City (Vintage Contemporaries)Savage Pilgrims
In Doctor No's Garden
The Lost ContinentDiscussion of this interview in the BatGap Community Facebook Group.

Transcript of this interview.Interview conducted October 12, 2019

Video and audio below. Audio also available as a Podcast.Henry adds, “At one point in our conversation I start to outline several “levels” of practice that have traditionally been outlined in zen. But partway through I slipped into another categorization of “wisdom levels” as given by Shinzen Young, a mentor of mine. I should have credited him. With apologies, I’m doing so now. Many thanks.”


Chapters:00:00:00 - Introduction to Buddha at the Gas Pump
00:04:10 - A Brief Introduction and the New Book00:07:37 - Finding Belonging in the Universe
00:11:54 - Emotional Wounds and Healing Journey00:16:00 - Recalibrating and Finding Balance
00:19:55 - The Different Levels of Personal Psychology00:24:16 - Discovering Zen Meditation
00:29:02 - Awakening through Different Senses00:33:34 - Becoming Inseparable from All Phenomena
00:37:56 - The Importance of Having a Teacher00:41:53 - A Shift in Perception and the Dissolution of Self
00:46:13 - The Marvel of Each Moment00:50:06 - Humility and ongoing training in spiritual practice
00:54:22 - The Wall of Awakening00:58:19 - Shifting to a Perspective of No Self
01:02:24 - The Importance of Multiple Valences in Practice01:06:51 - Feeling Excluded in Pickleball
01:10:49 - Presenting the Koan01:14:52 - Trusting the Process and the Yearning
01:18:59 - Awakening and Levels of Realization in Zen01:23:06 - The Ten Stages of Zen Awakening
01:26:59 - The Beauty of Not Knowing01:31:08 - Humility, Gratitude, and Compassion
01:35:11 - The Latent Energy of the Universe01:39:40 - Falling into the Mystery
01:44:02 - The Cup Running Over01:48:04 - Beings in the Buddhist Realm
01:52:17 - Finding the Hara in Zen Practice and What is Looking?01:56:41 - The Importance of Teachers
02:01:12 - The Buddha with a small"b"02:05:10 - Wrapping Up the Interview

Further episodes of Buddha at the Gas Pump

Further podcasts by Rick Archer

Website of Rick Archer