Ep101: One Blade of Grass - Henry Shukman

In this episode I am joined by Henry Shukman, award-winning poet, Zen teacher, and author of ‘One Blade of Grass, a Zen memoir’. In this interview Henry discusses his upbringing in Oxford, as the son of a don and a graduate of the illustrious Dragon School, and how in poetry he found the liberating aspect of literary life. Henry reveals his first awakening experience, the breakdown that occurred thereafter, and how finding meditation saw him begin a quest to deepen his spiritual life. Henry discusses the importance of finding a teacher, how he overcome a childhood-learned distrust of men to do so, and why his Zen practice brought an end to his professional writing career. … Video version: https://www.guruviking.com/ep101-henry-shukman-one-blade-of-grass/ 
Also available on Youtube, iTunes, & Spotify – search ‘Guru Viking Podcast’. … Topics include: 00:00 - Intro 00:47 - Henry’s learned upbringing in Oxford 06:30 - An award-winning career as a poet and author ended by Zen 09:13 - Henry’s education at the illustrious Dragon School, Oxford 15:12 - Poetry as the liberating aspect of literary life 17:17 - Henry as a poet and ‘is poetry high-brow’? 22:56 - First awakening experience 28:11 - Post-awakening breakdown and despair 30:26 - Discovering meditation and unwinding the nervous system 35:00 - Distrust of men and finding a spiritual teacher 43:49 - Inside the teacher-student relationship 51:31 - Did Zen kill Henry’s writing process? To find out more about Henry Shukman, visit: - https://www.mountaincloud.org/about/henry-shukman/ 
For more interviews, videos, and more visit: - www.guruviking.com Music ‘Deva Dasi’ by Steve James