One Blade of Grass, Henry Shukman
One Blade of Grass, Henry Shukman
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One Blade of Grass
Finding the Old Road of the Heart, a Zen Memoir

Author: Henry Shukman

Narrator: Henry Shukman

Unabridged: 11 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 01/02/2020

Synopsis

This is the story of how a meditation practice gave Henry Shukman a context for integrating a sudden spiritual awakening into his life and how his depression and anxiety were gradually healed through this practice. In sharing how he grew into a Zen teacher, Shukman demystifies Zen training, casting its profound insights in simple, lucid language. Along the way, One Blade of Grass guides listeners on a journey of their own, into the hidden treasures that contemplative practice can reveal to any of us. One Blade of Grass recounts Shukman's journey from academia to life as a wandering poet and writer, until he finally settled in Santa Fe, New Mexico, where he now runs Mountain Cloud Zen Center. A child of professors at Oxford University, he received a classical humanist education and threw himself onto the path to academia in order to cope with the pain of his parents' divorce and the chronic eczema that had plagued him since childhooduntil one day as a young man he encountered a spontaneous, powerful awakening experience. By turns humorous and moving, this beautiful memoir takes listeners on the journey of a lifetimeinto the depths of humanity, following an ancient path to freedom and love.

About Henry Shukman

Henry Shukman is a poet, author, and meditation teacher who has guided thousands of students from around the world through mindfulness and awakening practices. A Zen master in the Sanbo Zen lineage and the spiritual director emeritus at Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico, Shukman is a cofounder of The Way meditation app and founder of the Original Love meditation program and has taught meditation at Google and Harvard Business School. He has written award-winning and bestselling books of poetry and fiction, he has taught poetry at the Institute of American Indian Arts, and his poems have appeared in The New Yorker and the Guardian. He has a master’s degree from Cambridge and a master of letters degree from St Andrews.

Reviews

Goodreads review by John

Shukman’s genius in this book is how he folds the practice of Zen—the seeking, the pain, the revelations—into his own life. It’s true that most Zen stories come with barely a hint about the lives of the monks, or masters, or holy travelers whose pronouncements we hear. We might learn that two monks......more

Goodreads review by Cool-Burne

I probably wanted a little too much out of this book. When I assess it from this wanting perspective, I'm disappointed with it. However, if I look at it objectively, it's a solid effort and I think it could help a lot of people. I first came across Henry Shukman through a podcast episode on Waking Up......more

Goodreads review by Will

Finally a literary treatment of Zen and the awakening experience. Highly recommended.......more

Goodreads review by Vilhelm

A wonderful book in so many ways. In spite of being an autobiography, it serves very well as an introduction to (Rinzai) Zen. Shukman's ability to communicate the purpose and way of Zen, and koans in particular, is the best I've come across. It's also just a beautiful book, clearly written by a tale......more

Goodreads review by Robert

"Let the teaching flow out from your own breast to cover the sky and earth." - 巖頭全豁 Yantou Quanhuo from the chapter "Turtle Mountain Wakes Up" in _Bring Me the Rhinosaurus_ by John Tarrant _One Blade of Grass_ begins and ends in Mountain Cloud Zen Center. Memories of a Life, beginning with Henry gett......more

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