Running time: 2 hours 56 minutes
Written by Corey W. deVos
"I have to say I don't think I can ever recall knowing a life story that is as varied, and as rich, and as wild, and as full of extremes as yours—all leading to what I think can only be called a happy ending!" -Ken Wilber
"His life has been almost unimaginably full of different roles: world traveller, seeker of wisdom, ascetic, holder of vast wealth and power, lover of women, homeless mendicant, wanderer, fearless warrior, father and husband, spiritual adept, yogi, federal prisoner, family deserter, hedonist Zen Master…." - Keith Martin-Smith, author of A Heart Blown Open
In this provocative and exhilarating dialogue, Jun Po Roshi and Ken Wilber take an in-depth look at Keith Martin-Smith's new book: A Heart Blown Open: The Life and Practice of Zen Master Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi. For most of us, we would need to reincarnate at least 50 times in order to attain such an incredible volume of experience. But for whatever reason, it seems that Jun Po went a slightly different route, and chose to live all 50 of those lives at once.
Here is his remarkable story—a riveting tale of enlightenment, debauchery, and infinite jest.
One of my favorite encounters with Jun Po Roshi was a night I spent driving him from the San Jose airport to Pacific Grove, during our last Integral Spiritual Experience event. A few minutes into our three-hour drive, I asked him what his favorite Beatles album was. "Sgt. Peppers," he replied, so I played the album on my iPhone. I explained to him that I was raised on a steady diet of this music, and had always felt a slight envy that his generation got to experience the explosion of rock and roll culture firsthand.
"This music—it makes me feel nostalgic for a time before I was born," I told him.
"Well get ready," he shot back, "because that time is coming sooner than you think."
At that moment it struck me as the funniest thing I had ever heard. A perfect Zen joke. A surge of laughter bubbled up from my belly, and as it erupted out of my face, something *popped* inside my consciousness. For just a second, reality flipped itself inside-out, and all that remained were the trembling aftershocks of laughter and a big, beautiful Buddha smile radiating from the back seat of the van, as we continued down the black highway that stretched before us.
This perfectly-timed sense of humor, of course, is one of Jun Po's finest and most endearing qualities. There's no denying it: the man's got jokes. But these are not just your standard gags and quips—there is transmission in Jun Po's humor. In fact, his wit is almost as important to his teaching as his wisdom, and he uses it to set the ego at ease while preparing it for it's own oblivion, leading us to the infinite absurdity at the very core of our existence. Samsara is a joke, and this very moment is the punchline.
Another remarkable quality of Jun Po Roshi that really comes through in this dialogue: he is not the type of guy to sweep his shadows beneath the rug of enlightenment. Rather, he chooses to meet them head-on, using the curative, self-liberating quality of consciousness to extract transcendent light from some of the deepest, darkest parts of his psyche. These might very well be the most admirable aspects of Jun Po's character: his unabashed and unflinching honesty, his willingness to confess and take full responsibility for his own flaws and mistakes, his unshakable presence and courage as he embraces the pain and stands in the purifying flames of redemption. Jun Po Roshi accepts light and shadow alike as intrinsic elements of his spirituality, exemplifying the Tantric ideal of "bringing everything to the path" by neither avoiding nor excluding the more onerous and destructive facets of our lives. Instead, he urges us to face them directly, to work with them intimately, and to ultimately transmute them into wisdom, virtue, and compassion.
Jun Po Kelly Roshi's story is truly remarkable, and when coupled with his radiant personality and wily sense of humor, would no doubt make for a wildly entertaining and enriching Hollywood blockbuster. Even more intriguing, his story echoes a narrative even greater than his own (as all truly great stories do)—it is hard to think of anyone who better personifies the remarkable progression of American spirituality from the 1960's until today, standing as he does with one foot firmly planted in the sixties counterculture, and the other in today's Integral renaissance.
Pushing the essence of the Rinzai Zen tradition through the Integral framework, Jun Po is reinterpreting and reformatting ancient wisdom for today's world while retaining the fierce intensity and urgency of his Samurai precursors. He is sitting in the heart of the integral impulse, reconciling the ceaseless throb of evolution with the empty clarity behind this and every moment—the gentle but explosive sound of an unstoppable force meeting an unmovable subject.
About A Heart Blown Open: The Life and Practice of Zen Master Jun Po Kelly Roshi
Denis Kelly's life is part Hunter S. Thompson, part Timothy Leary, and part Eckhart Tolle. From his beginnings in an abusive and alcoholic home in Wisconsin to becoming a major force in the counterculture movement, and then from a life on the run and in prison to a life in a monastery and in service, it is as entertaining as it is inspirational.
A Heart Blown Open chronicles the life and teachings of Zen master Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi as he worked to integrate hard-won wisdom into his dynamic life. Experience the successes and failures that brought him to found an entirely new form of Zen called Mondo Zen. Extraordinary for their playfulness, depravity, and liberating insight, Jun Po's life events swirl together to underscore and illuminate the environment from which one of the most controversial masters of the American Zen scene has emerged.
"Written with extraordinary heart and skill, this book chronicles the making of an Integral Zen master. Jun Po's life has been as unpredictable as it has been astounding. Jun Po's dedication to exploring his own psychological shadows in light of his own awakening consciousness is the story of our times, and is an absolute must-read for anyone with even a passing interest in human evolution." –Ken Wilber, author of Integral Spirituality
"This is a legendary story of an inspiring teacher that mirrors the journey of many contemporary Western seekers. A flash of white light from psychedelic theophanies leads to a lifetime's pursuit of enlightenment under the Buddha dharma prayer flag." –Alex Grey, artist and author of Transformations, Sacred Mirrors, and The Mission of Art
"This book provides a provocative window into one of the more controversial Zen Masters of our generation, and will not fail to touch and inspire those who read it. Jun Po Roshi has lived a life of amazing fullness. Few have risen to such heights of notoriety and wealth in their youth and given back so much wisdom and service later in life. His greatest gift is his continuing effort to discover the best way to transmit the ancient wisdom of Zen into the 21st Century." –Zen Master Dennis Genpo Merzel, author of Big Mind Big Heart: Finding Your Way
"This is the real life saga of a true spiritual warrior. What is so fascinating about Jun Po Roshi's story is that it describes, at times with painful honesty, the challenges of warriorship in the strange new world of postmodernity. This biography is a time capsule colorfully and poignantly conveying the powerful emergence and evolution of a cultural revolution from the inside out." –Andrew Cohen, founder EnlightenNext, author of Evolutionary Enlightenment
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Comments
Thu, 07/05/2012 - 03:07
After listening to these talks I was afraid to read the book, "A Heart Blown Open" because I thought it could not turn out to be as good as I thought it could be. I have been delightfully reading it and find that it really is that good. In past posts I have made it no secret that based on what I have learned about Jun Po I admire him very much. If we ever met in person we might almost come to a physical altercation but I would still admire him never the less.
Two related aspects of his personality I admire are his friendliness and generosity. As a reminder to myself and for others who have not yet read the book I would like to review a few examples of this.
In the early days in San Francisco Denis got good quality LSD for is friends without making a profit. He believed that this was a medicine that would change a person's heart and the culture for the good. Millions of doses later I would like to know better how this turned out overall in the long run. Is anyone aware of any good unbiased research on this?
He threw lots of fine parties for his friends.
He offered to take Cheryl on a vacation to the islands to help her get off harmful drugs. Even in his most enthusiastic days Denis could not ignore that there are bad and harmful drugs out there. Please be very careful boys and girls.
He gave hundreds of dollars to street prostitutes to help them get off the street for a while and try to get healthy. He did this without hooking up with them.
He paid to allow some impoverished hippies to cross the grounds of a Zen retreat in defiance of an overly strict priest. If I thought that Zen must lead to being unnecessarily harsh and mean to others I would have to turn my back on it in a dime.
He sent his parents on a vacation around the world.
He offered to send his former partner to any rehab program to help him get off of heroin.
As I understand it, even after about all of his "family" rolled on him to get lighter sentences he later invited them to his send off party. Are we merging into forgiveness here?
Although most of these are examples of things done when he was making mad money I suspect that even in his lean years this fine man often found beautiful ways to be friendly and generous. I think I will try to follow him more in this way.
Mon, 06/04/2012 - 23:46