In this interview I am joined by Jack Haubner, prize winning author of the memoirs Zen Confidential: Confessions of a Wayward Monk; and Single White Monk: Tales of Death, Failure, and Bad Sex.

In this interview Jack shares his early spiritual openings, his strict Catholic upbringing, subsequent break from Christianity, and discovery of Buddhism.

Jack reveals his complex relationship with his first Zen mentor, describes the development of his personal meditation practice, and recounts his initial meetings with renowned and latterly infamous spiritual teacher Joshu Sasaki Roshi.

Jack went on to become the head monk of Sasaki’s monastery, a role which he occupied during the widely publicised sexual misconduct allegations made against the aged abbot, who was then in his hundreds.

Jack reflects on the decades long open secret of Sasaki’s conduct within the Zen community, and discusses the widespread and complex fallout of a charismatic religious leader’s fall from grace.

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Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep126-zen-scandal-jack-haubner/

Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’.

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Topics include:

00:00 - Intro

01:03 - Catholic childhood and early spiritual opening

05:03 - Explaining the opening in Zen terms

08:05 - Leaving Catholicism

11:59 - Steve’s Catholicism

14:35 - European vs American Catholicism

18:07 - Encountering Lama Ole Nydahl and Shambala Buddhism

22:59 - Why Zen?

25:56 - Jack’s Zen mentor

28:07 - The evolution of Jack’s meditation practice

31:20 - ‘Finally learning to sit’

35:43 - The Rinzai style of training

37:17 - How to express No-Self in a Los Angeles bar

39:24 - Sexually propositioned by his mentor

45:23 - Meeting Joshu Sasaki Roshi

46:25 - First impressions of Joshu Sasaki

48:28 - Who was Joshu Sasaki?

51:59 - How much persona did JS have?

53:16 - JS’s daily routine

55:36 - Does Jack still orient to JS?

56:53 - JS’s sexual scandal

01:01:54 - The open secret of JS’s sexual misconduct in the Zen community

01:10:50 - Being Head Monk during the scandal

01:17:50 - The legacy of JS’s scandal

01:24:23 - Does Jack teach Zen today?

01:26:15 - Joshu Sasaki’s death

01:32:28 - Where does Zen lead?

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To find out more about Jack Haubner, visit:

- https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCt9Q74t3o7AUCJ_bKTc5CgA

For more interviews, videos, and more visit:

- www.guruviking.com

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Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James