Welcome to the Imperfect Buddha Podcast on the New Books Network. Today, we’re stripping away the incense and serenity to look at the cold, hard wall of practice.

We are joined by Mark Shinji Blacknell, author of Just Stare at the Damn Wall!. Mark isn't your typical "mindfulness guru"—he’s been a Marine, a bus driver, and an alcoholic, bringing a crude and down to Earth view of enlightenment to Zen.

In this episode, we dig into the friction between Mark’s focus on simple biology and the Soto establishment he knows all too well. We’ll be asking:

From meditating with prisoners on death row to the often dirty and frustrating reality of being a practitioner, Mark joins us to explain why the only way to fail a practice is to stop: the rest is all part of the process. Is this book just a very long way of telling us to shut up? Let’s find out.

Host’s webpage: here

Mark Blacknell: here

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