That time I had to teach a room full of bankers Zen ... A RANT

Nothing can inspire existential dread in a Zen monk like having to get in front of a crowd of winners/happy people/Rich Folk and explain the essence of Buddhism, which is? It's a path that starts with . . . wait for it . . . SUFFERING!! This past Monday I offered a Zen intro workshop to a group of businesspeople who are KILLING IT in life. Generally speaking, and in my (limited) experience, when you offer Zazen/Zen/meditation in this kind of context, the expectation is twofold: 1) You will offer techniques to quash anxiety/reduce stress (complete with scientific-sounding info to back up your practices). 2) You will offer productivity hacks i.e. focus/attention-enhancing techniques. Buuuuut I can't do that sort of thing because that's not what I was taught. Also, I think that Zen runs upstream; it goes against what much of society thinks is important and just and right and groovy. In fact, it often runs against what most individuals think is right and important and groovy. In other words, this practice can be a tough sell. So what's the point of Zen, bruh? This is a really important question. And in today's video I RANT in answer to it for 42 minutes. You've been warned. After the workshop I spoke with a young woman. I got the sense that deep down she is questioning her life and is wondering whether the things her society tells her are important truly are, i.e. material success, power, status etc. She has questions! Big ones. Zen is not a stress reducer or a productivity hack -- at least not directly. Ultimately, it is a practice for people who are backed into a corner by suffering and who need a way out. Zen helps us wrangle with the problem of suffering and its centrality in our lives, and it gives us I think a path through terror and meaninglessness and despair. And that path is? In short: Ultimately Zen exhausts the path of self. I offer these videos for free, but you can support my work here: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?busine... You can find essays, blogs, and videos here: patreon.com/ShozanJackHaubner And buy my books here: https://www.amazon.com/Shozan-Jack-Ha...