Author Lawrence Shainberg will be at the Zen Center of NYC on Saturday, October 5th for a reading from his new book, Four Men Shaking. We used this as an excuse to catch up with our old friend “Larry-san” and to talk about the new book and how it came into being.

Shainberg began formal Zen practice in 1973, first at the Zen Studies Center, on Manhattan’s Upper East Side as well as its Catskills-based training center, Daibosatsu Zendo. Later, he became a close student of Kyudo Nakagawa Roshi, who opened the Soho Zendo in 1981. Kyudo Roshi’s modest profile in the West was punctured by Shainberg’s 1995 memoir, Ambivalent Zen, which became a sensation in spiritual circles for its honest and self-effacing depiction of modern lay practice. Shainberg, whose writing career includes both fiction, non fiction and magazine journalism,  is a sympathetic and relatable guide through the challenges of working with a teacher from a very different culture, navigating the unique contours of the spiritual community, and struggling with the mind’s slippery habits. His latest book is a follow up to Ambivalent Zen, charting his own journey as a writer and practitioner, describing the events surrounding Kyudo Roshi’s death in 2007, and reflecting on some unlikely friendships with famous colleagues. 

Read more at LawrenceShainberg.com

And please join us on October 5 at the Zen Center. Find out about the event by visiting the ZCNYC Programs Page.