Ep. 271 – Henry Shukman
Metta Hour with Sharon Salzberg
Be Here Now Network
4.6 • 682 Ratings
🗓️ 14 October 2025
⏱️ 63 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
For episode 271, Sharon sits down with poet, author and Zen master Henry Shukman.
After a spontaneous spiritual awakening at the age of 19, Henry embarked on a long journey of healing and deeper awakening through meditation. Since then, he has been leading a growing number of practitioners in Europe and the US. He is the Spiritual Director Emeritus of Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Henry has also created the app, The Way, and is the author of several books, including his latest 2024 release, “Original Love.” This is Henry’s first appearance on the podcast.
In this conversation, Sharon and Henry speak about:
- Henry’s challenges in early life
- Discovering Zen teachings
- Henry’s new book, Original Love
- Mindfulness, Support, Absorption, Awakening
- Original Love versus Original Sin
- Mental health in spiritual practice
- The power of community and connection
- Henry’s meditation app, The Way
- How to microdose lovingkindness
The episode closes with Henry leading a guided meditation.
You can learn more about Henry’s books and teachings on his website right here. You can also learn about his app, The Way, right here.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hello and welcome to the Meta Hour podcast with Sharon Salzberg. |
| 0:16.3 | I'm Lily Kushman. I produce this podcast. And today we're coming to you with a brand new interview for episode 271. |
| 0:26.6 | Sharon sits down with poet, author, and Zen master, Henry Shuckman. |
| 0:33.6 | Henry has been on a lifelong journey of awakening and healing through meditation. |
| 0:41.9 | He is the spiritual director emeritus of the Mountain Cloud Zen Center in Santa Fe. |
| 0:50.0 | He teaches all over the U.S. and Europe and is the author of several books, |
| 0:55.5 | the latest which came out in 2024 called Original Love. |
| 1:02.6 | Henry is also the creator of the app called The Way. |
| 1:06.8 | This is Henry's first appearance on the podcast and a very connected and intimate conversation with Sharon. |
| 1:15.6 | Henry starts by talking about his many challenges in early life and how he experienced a spontaneous spiritual awakening at the young age of 19 years old, how he first came into meditation, |
| 1:31.1 | and eventually how he came into Zen teachings. There's a lot of conversation about his |
| 1:39.0 | latest book, Original Love, and the various teachings within the book about mindfulness, community, concentration, |
| 1:47.8 | awakening, the whole gamut is there. |
| 1:51.7 | Henry is also someone who teaches about how mental health fits into spiritual practice |
| 1:58.0 | and the importance of community and connection on the spiritual path. |
| 2:03.6 | The episode closes with Henry leading a guided meditation practice. |
| 2:09.6 | Let's dive right in. |
| 2:12.6 | Episode 271 of the Meta Hour, Sharon Salzberg and Henry Shuckman. |
| 2:29.8 | Hello, Henry, and welcome to the podcast. Thank you so much for having me. It's a real joy and |
| 2:35.7 | honor to get to speak with you. Oh, it's lovely to get to speak with you. And just before we get |
| 2:41.0 | started, tell me how you are and where you're beaming in from today. I'm in Santa Fe, New Mexico, |
| 2:47.1 | which is my hometown, has been for about 30 years or more. And, you know, it's sunny, |
... |
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