A Heart Blown Open chronicles the extraordinary journey of Zen master Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi, whose life landed him in prison long before he landed in a monastery. Experience the successes and failures that led him to found an entirely new form of Buddhism called Mondo Zen. Starting from an abusive and alcoholic home in Wisconsin, Kelly becomes a major force in the counterculture of the 1960s and one of its biggest manufacturers of LSD. He ends up on the run for five years before serving time in a federal prison, and then goes on to spend six years in a Zen monastery. In his fiftieth year, he becomes a recognized Zen master in his own right, but the real journey is just about to begin. Extraordinary in 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. A Heart Blown Open constitutes a powerful synthesis of Eastern contemplative wisdom and Western psychological insight and is as entertaining as it is inspirational.

A Heart Blown Open: The Life and Practice of Junpo Denis Kelly Roshi (revised, 2020)

Biographies & Memoirs

Martin-Smith, Keith

Leaders & Notable People

Perception Press

Logan Downing trusted that with hard work, some talent, and a little luck he could have it all: fame, fortune, even the girl. Emboldened by the dirty, daring world of mid-90s New York City and spurred on by his older brother Franklin and the photographer Alejandro -- outsized characters embracing their own creativity and passion -- he launched himself onto the artist's path.
And he succeeded. Wildly. 
Yet when we catch up with present-day Logan, now in his early 40s, something, somewhere has gone terribly wrong. He's battling alcoholism, insomnia, and a decade-long creative rut. As his claustrophobic job and dying relationship threaten to extinguish what's left of his artistic passion, he can't resist writing about that magical time in New York City.
Ultimately he's forced to face an unspeakable tragedy that occurred at the pinnacle of his success. The harder Logan tries to avoid it, the more it leaches into his present -- until the undertow of unmetabolized grief begins to pull him apart.
'Only Everything' explores art and ambition, love and loss, privilege and entitlement. It reveals how even the most beautiful of dreams can create unexpected pain, along with the possibility of redemption.

Only Everything

Literature & Fiction

Literary

While we are more and more familiar with popular ideas of enlightenment and spiritual awakening, life still comes at us full force, and hope can turn to frustration as the gulf between our spiritual belief and our everyday life seems to loom ever larger. Through spirited Q&amp;A sessions with Zen master Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi, The Heart of Zen takes a gradual, step-by-step approach to what has become a vexing problem in spiritual circles. What is missing is integration. If awakening truly transforms every part of the life of a person, where are we getting stuck? How can negative emotions like anger, shame, envy, and jealousy continue to arise? How do our relative egos relate to the Zen teaching of Emptiness, and what does this mean for our intimate relationships, our emotional bodies, our views of the world and its problems? The Heart of Zen represents the next generation of spiritual books because it addresses awakening and spiritual life within the context of creating lasting change through the integration of spiritual insight into the flow and flux of everyday life. Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi explains how well trained meditation students may learn to be nonreactive to emotions, but they seldom learn how to transform their negative emotions (and the ego that holds them) as part of a more deeply integrated, lived spirituality. This book describes precisely what this means in great detail and with exercises for the reader to follow. Part discussion on these intricate topics and part experiential guide, The Heart of Zen offers a one-of-a-kind take on enlightenment, emotional maturity, and the integration required to take one's seat in true liberation.

The Heart of Zen: Enlightenment, Emotional Maturity, and What It Really Takes for Spiritual Liberation

Self-Help

Roshi, Jun Po Denis Kelly

Personal Transformation

North Atlantic Books

A Heart Blown Open chronicles the extraordinary journey of Zen master Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi, whose life landed him in prison long before he landed in a monastery. Experience the successes and failures that led him to found an entirely new form of Buddhism called Mondo Zen. Starting from an abusive and alcoholic home in Wisconsin, Kelly becomes a major force in the counterculture of the 1960s and one of its biggest manufacturers of LSD. He ends up on the run for five years before serving time in a federal prison, and then goes on to spend six years in a Zen monastery. In his fiftieth year, he becomes a recognized Zen master in his own right, but the real journey is just about to begin. Extraordinary in 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. A Heart Blown Open constitutes a powerful synthesis of Eastern contemplative wisdom and Western psychological insight and is as entertaining as it is inspirational. Winner of the 2013 Silver Award for Excellence from Nautilus Book Awards.

A Heart Blown Open: The Life and Practice of Zen Master Jun Po Denis Kelly Roshi

Divine Arts

Awakening is not what you thought. 
These pages explore the idea that it is possible to be liberated from the suffering of this world, but that the path is a paradoxical one of embracing your ego even as you let it go. If you seek true liberation and freedom from the seemingly endless strife of life, you're in the right place. 
Spiritual traditions promise liberation but too often ignore the reality of psychological shadows and the effects of childhood trauma. Psychotherapy promises peace, but our egos are incapable of generating it for any length of time. Division seems wound into the human condition. And our world is more divided than at any time in living memory. We are at war, both with each other and with ourselves. 
So how do we integrate the deepest and wisest of spiritual traditions with what we know to be true about our culture, our minds, and our physiology? How do we find liberation from suffering, without ignoring trauma, through the insights gained in a world that has come face-to-face with #metoo and George Floyd? 
This book is an exploration of how, and where, we need to look.

When the Buddha Needs Therapy

Happiness

Integral Life Press

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Books by Martin-Smith, Keith