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Apr 7, 2026
Just Stare At the Wall
Living the Universe from Where You Sit
Summary
Welcome to the Imperfect Buddha Podcast on the New Books Network. Today, we’re stripping away the incense and serenity to look at the cold, hard wall of practice.
We are joined by Mark Shinji Blacknell, author of Just Stare at the Damn Wall!. Mark isn't your typical "mindfulness guru"—he’s been a Marine, a bus driver, and an alcoholic, bringing a crude and down to Earth view of enlightenment to Zen.
In this episode, we dig into the friction between Mark’s focus on simple biology and the Soto establishment he knows all too well. We’ll be asking:
- The Technology of the Wall: In an era of bio-hacking and apps, why choose a directive as primitive as staring at a wall?
- The Myth of Enlightenment: Why does Mark tell his readers to "forget enlightenment" and embrace being a "doctor of nothing"?
- The Shadow Side: We discuss whether "McMindfulness" ignores how meditation can make unstable people more dangerous.
- Raw Acceptance vs. Nihilism: How do we differentiate "accepting life as it is" from a passive, terrifying nihilism?
- The End of the Path: If the goal is "doing nothing for nothing," how do we even know we’re practicing?
From meditating with prisoners on death row to the often dirty and frustrating reality of being a practitioner, Mark joins us to explain why the only way to fail a practice is to stop: the rest is all part of the process. Is this book just a very long way of telling us to shut up? Let’s find out.
Host’s webpage: here
Mark Blacknell: here
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Your Host
Matthew O'Connell
Matthew O'Connell is a life coach and the host of the The Imperfect Buddha podcast. You can find The Imperfect Buddha on Facebook and Twitter (@imperfectbuddha).
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