Shozan Jack Haubner[1] is the pen name of a Zen monk who has written two books and a number of essays for The Sun, Tricycle, Buddhadharma, Lion's Roar and the New York Times, and the Best Buddhist Writing series. He won the Pushcart Prize in 2012.[2] Haubner's books, portions of which have been excerpted in essays, present partially fictionalized accounts of life with Kyozan Joshu Sasaki[citation needed] and associated Rinzai-Ji zen centers.
Shozan was born and raised in a Catholic family. He studied philosophy and worked as a screenwriter, poet and a comedian in Los Angeles, United States before becoming a Buddhist Zen priest.[3]