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Gregory Shepherd

A Straight Road with 99 Curves: Coming of Age on the Path of Zen (NONE) Paperback – April 9, 2013

by Gregory Shepherd (Author), Ruben LF Habito (Foreword)

19 ratings

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"Deeply involving, instructive, and capable of touching any reader who cares about the search for meaning."--Mitch Horowitz, author of Occult America
"In being so frank about his own struggles and fantasies, Greg's personal tale becomes something more universal."--David R. Loy, author of Money, Sex, War, Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution
When Greg Shepherd was in his early twenties, he left New Jersey and joined the Koko An Zendo community in Hawaii. What began as a quest for enlightenment became Greg's confrontation with his own inner demons: his need for approval, his distrust of authority, and his ego-driven fixation on achieving the profound spiritual breakthrough of kensho ("the Big K"). Later, in Japan, he struggled with prejudice and cultural rigidity and found his deeper meditations leading to actual panic attacks over fear of losing himself. Ultimately, he broke with Zen and his teachers to pursue a career in music.
This frank memoir traces Greg Shepherd's meandering path from seeker to disillusionment, and, over a decade later, his way back to Zen and inner peace. We experience Zen practice in Japan and Hawaii and meet Zen masters Yamada Koun Roshi and Robert Aitken, the "dean of American Buddhism" (who had once pegged Greg as his successor). And we understand why Zen was so appealing to the American counterculture and how its profound lessons of focus and detachment remain insightful and important.
Gregory Shepherd has studied Zen for his entire adult life in Hawaii and Japan. He is Professor of Music and Drama at Kauai Community College.

Print length

176 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Stone Bridge Press
Publication date

April 9, 2013
Dimensions

5.2 x 0.7 x 7.4 inches
ISBN-10

1611720117
ISBN-13

978-1611720112
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"Dug your book, Greg. Dug your version of the '99 curves'. It's shone light on mine."—Jeff Bridges, actor

"His portrayal of his brash younger self is a fresh and intensely human portrait compared to the perfect, innocuous paragons of peace ordinarily presented in Zen texts. . . . Shepherd's memoir transcends its subject matter and serves as a poignant reminder of something more fundamental to the human condition: the continual search for validity and meaning."―Publishers Weekly

About the Author

Gregory Shepherd has studied Zen Buddhism for his entire adult life. He practiced with Yamada Koun Roshi at San Un Zendo in Kamakura and also with Robert Aitken Roshi in Honolulu, where he was groomed to be Aitken's first successor. Shepherd later received a fellowship from Japanese Ministry of Education to research contemporary Japanese music. He is currently Associate Professor of music at Kauai Community College.

Ruben L.F. Habito was born in the Philippines and is a former Jesuit priest turned Zen master practicing in the Sanbo Kyodan lineage of Zen. In his early youth he was sent to Japan on missionary work where he began Zen practice under Yamada Koun Roshi. In 1988, Ruben received Dharma transmission from Yamada Koun. Ruben left the Jesuit order in 1989, and in 1991 founded the lay organization Maria Kannon Zen Center in Dallas, Texas. He has taught at Perkins School of Theology, Southern Methodist University since 1989 where he continues to be a faculty member

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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Stone Bridge Press (April 9, 2013)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 176 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1611720117
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1611720112
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 7.5 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.2 x 0.7 x 7.4 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #3,890,087 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #1,802 in General Japan Travel Guides
- #2,681 in Zen Spirituality
- #21,873 in Religious Leader Biographies

Customer Reviews:
19 ratings

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5 star		76%
4 star		5%
3 star		10%
2 star		9%
1 star 0% (0%)		0%

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Top reviews from the United States

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Danny Parker

We must need the curves...

Reviewed in the United States on May 30, 2013

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I sat down to start this book on a short trip and could not put it down. It simply mirrored too many of my own experiences for me to stop before I found where this would all go. Yet, for those who might wish to read an inspiring Zen tale of endeavor, insight and enlightenment, be forewarned: this is not a "feel good" account, but rather an honest reckoning with the foibles of Zen masters and students.

Greg Shephard has written a memorable tale of his journey with Zen practice stretching over decades. Not since "After Zen" by van de Wetering has there been as honest an account on this austere spiritual practice as this one.

One teacher I respect once said that Zen practice, in spite of its darling status with media and trend, would never be big in America. Why? "Perhaps someone would sign up for a practice that was very hard if it was very short with a big payoff. Or maybe one that was easy, but long? But what about a practice that is very hard, very long and with an uncertain result. No promises, no promises at all. Who wants to go to that party?"

Nevertheless, Greg Shepard takes us on his own personal journey where a student's verified insight, kensho, or the "the Big K" was all important. We find that the real thing may not be recognized, or that solving a koan, instead, may actually be a dry exercise with little utility for daily life. Even with years of study and disillusionment might we see at last that "the Big K" may not be all that important anyway. What is then?

Shunryu Suzuki once related that enlightenment is not an experience or a mental state. He also said that we have just enough problems-- a maddening statement. Do we need all those curves in the straight road? But without spoiling your read, when Greg Shepard at last reaches the other shore he finds it nothing as advertised. Yet, it is real and comfortable. As the great Zen teacher, Ikkyu once pronounced to doubters: "It's good enough for me." And that in itself, is wonderful enough.

A spiritual aspirant? Treat yourself to this book

5 people found this helpful

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Wendy Huang

Transformational Book

Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2019

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I stayed up last night, read this incredible book, and felt myself transformed in the process. I highly recommend it!

One person found this helpful

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IndyInAsiaPacific

Wonderful !

Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2017

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Absolutely loved it. Completely captured being a Gaijin in Japan in the 1970s. Write more, Greg, and NARRATE the Audiobook versions with your world-class voice !

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David

spiritual righteousness into a reality where the by-products of Zen discipline yield a satisfying maturity at one’s beck and cal

Reviewed in the United States on February 21, 2016

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Related with unguarded lucidity—a journey from the youthful supposition of enlightenment and the fantasy of cultured, spiritual righteousness into a reality where the by-products of Zen discipline yield a satisfying maturity at one’s beck and call…

Thoroughly enjoyed the honesty; free of fluff and full of humor and answers…

David Byrd

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Greg Mayers

Better Than Five Stars

Reviewed in the United States on February 26, 2014

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There are very few books I'd recommend on the topic of Zen, because one can't learn much by reading on the subject. This book is the rare exception. You will learn what it's like from the inside of one man's life to practice zazen. It is both poignant and at time humorous to watch Greg grow out of his preconceptions and ruts to the "liberation" he fervently sought. Mr. Shepherd has done a great service by articulating so well the true essence of the "Great Matter" in Zen.

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Brian Baron

Authentic Zen Practice

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2013

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This new book offers a rare opportunity to get an insider's perspective on what it's like to be an ardent practitioner of Zen. I have been such a practitioner for more than three decades and I have never read a book on the subject that is as fiercely honest or as intimately personal as Shepherd's A Straight Road with 99 Curves. The author has a gift for cutting through the mystique and the fluff of what is often served up in books on Spiritual Practice. People come to Zen and other spiritual practices for a variety of reasons. If your purpose is to get to the bottom of The Great Matter of Life and Death then I have a hunch that Shepherd's book will be of value to you.

10 people found this helpful

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Clark E. Ratliffe

Worth a gander

Reviewed in the United States on July 1, 2013

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Greg's book is an honest...very honest account of one man's zen journey thus far. I know Greg and practice at the same temple he does currently. My path also encompassed some years sojourn as a monk in Japan around the time he was there. I can testify that this book rings true in every detail. It is a fascinating ride.

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Gretchen Vanderheyden

funny and above all

Reviewed in the United States on December 30, 2014

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Walk with the author on a most intimate pursuit of enlightenment. The journey is bumpy - you will gnash your teeth, you will laugh out loud, sigh in dismay and you will buckle down to arrive deep in samadhi. In the telling of his life's adventure, Mr. Shepherd is direct, funny and above all, astonishingly open. It is a wonderful book.

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