First You Shave Your Head

by Geri Larkin

When Stumbling Towards Enlightenment and Tap Dancing in Zen author Geri Larkin is invited on a pilgrimage to Korea with her Buddhist master for thirty days of practice, she is thrilled, flattered, and utterly freaked out. And so begins another life journey along the spiritual path of one of our favorite authors. Larkin's account is by turns hilarious, heartbreaking, exasperating, and exhilarating, and is told with her usual charm and grace. Part travelogue, part spiritual journey, First You Shave Your Head is a lighthearted collection of Buddhist practices and principles that won't fail to inspire and amuse.

Author Biography: Geri Larkin lives in Ann Arbor, Michigan, where she is an ordained dharma teacher and runs the Right Livelihood Seed Capital Fund, which helps fund Buddhist-based ventures.

Genres: Buddhism, Spirituality, Memoir, Biography, Asia, Travel, Nonfiction

160 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

Reviews

[Cherie · Rating 5 out of 5]

An absolutely fascinating look at one woman's 30 day pilgrimage through Korea as a monk with her Korean teacher. As someone who spent five months in India studying yoga, my journey was much easier than her 30 days....the book made you feel like it was much longer than 30 days. With a grumpy often mean teacher and rules (She couldn't bathe all the time, couldn't bring clothes, lugging her teacher's books, absolutely stressful and difficult travel situations.), she makes this situation funny and entertaining...and so many spiritual lessons and insights. Her absolute moments of high remind me of the absolute brilliance I felt during my time in India - I felt high, like I was on some sort of drug in the most blissful way ever, but really, it was just lots of yoga. She had a lot of misery, but also, some amazingly blissful highs.

[Rosemary · Rating 3 out of 5]

In 1999 Geri Larkin spent a month of typhoon season traipsing around Korea on a pilgrimage, visiting a huge number of temples with her Korean Zen teacher plus another nun (or female monk ... she seems to use both terms) and a young monk. The pilgrimage was gruelling to say the least - hardly ever allowed to wash, wearing clothes that never had a chance to dry, being bitten by insects and yelled at and even hit by her teacher, she survived to tell the tale, and apparently still practises Korean Zen.

Since I am interested in Zen and have also been to Korea and loved it, I thought I would enjoy the combination of the two in this book more than I did. I liked it, but... maybe it was my expectations that were at fault - one is not supposed to have any in Zen, after all. But I think it was also a reaction to Geri Larkin's style: she uses flippancy to put herself down a lot, and it seems a pity. I wasn't sure what she had learnt in the end.

[Kiri · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the story of a Buddhist pilgrimage to South Korea, which ended up not being what I expected at all (and apparently not what author Geri Larkin expected either). I gather from her comments that she'd trained for a few years as a dharma teacher and then agreed to accompany her teacher and his newly chosen successor on a month-long trip to Korea. But the purpose and achievements of this trip are unclear both to Larkin and therefore, to us. There are some inevitably amusing culture clash moments, but then things settle down and get really, really hard (physically, emotionally, mentally). I enjoyed getting to see inside the monasteries they visited and to appreciate Larkin's eye for beauty. I did not enjoy (in fact was appalled by) her teacher's treatment of her, ranging from being ignored to constant corrections to physical abuse, which clearly left her bewildered as well. Many of the stories of Korean monks and nuns are very moving, and those are the ones you want to take away with you.

[Nancy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I found this book to be disturbing. I was definitely rooting for the author—she’s funny and honest and relentlessly cheerful. And I’m a big supporter and sometimes student of Buddhism.

Yet as I read the book, l increasingly felt the pilgrimage she described was artificial and abusive, and very much dominated by a male with power and control issues. Although she pulls herself out of her trance at one point, it seems it’s important for her to go back in and turn off a discerning mind. A book that left me feeling sad and perplexed, with a lot more questions than answers.

[Chessa · Rating 3 out of 5]

I liked this book, but I like others by Larkin more. This was concerned with her month-long pilgrimage to Korea with her zen master and his newly ordained successor, a woman. It was a grueling tale of "just this" mind and the stripping down of self that can occur on the road with no control of your schedule or surroundings. I found the history of korean zen a little dry, despite rock-n-roll warrior monk stories...they just didn't grab me. My favorite part was the unbelievably touching acts of generosity by others they met on the road - monks, nuns, staff at various business/monasteries. I will keep with me the bit about a woman running up and flagging down their bus as they were leaving to give them all glasses of orange juice for their trip.

[David Guy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read a couple of Geri's other books, but I would say this is my favorite, an account of a one-month pilgrimmage to Korea with her teacher. She can be annoyingly flippant (though sometimes that's what I like about her), but she does write well, and isn't overly reverent. The amazing thing about this book is the portrait of the Koreans she ran into, who were amazingly compassionate and devoted to spiritual practices of various kinds, sitting, chanting, prostrations, all kinds of stuff. They make Americans sound rather wimpy.

[Doris · Rating 5 out of 5]

Okay, I admit... I picked the book up because ... well, I think Gerry comes from my neighborhood. She started attending the Buddhist Temple down the street and became a Buddhist priest ... This story is hilarious and is painful and is sweet, but what I truly loved was that my friend and neighbor, Haju (the Buddhist priest of the Ann Arbor Temple) is in the book as well. This book tells of their visit to Korea. This book will make you laugh out loud.

[Karen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Author has a great sense of humor. No worries if you are not all that familiar with Buddhism, there is no need. Autobiographical account of her trip to Korea to visit the monasteries there. Although set up to be chronological, you'll be flipped about a bit during the course of her recollection. Forgive it, and have fun reading!

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Larkin's books. They are written in a familiar way, as if you are sitting with her, drinking tea, talking about her travels. This is a good book about a journey and how expectations don't necessarily match with what unfolds.

[Carolyn Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

I REALLY enjoy Geri's books! Her sense of humor her timing and, of course her understanding of Buddhism. This book takes her to South Korea on a pilgrimage that brings change in her life that I suspect she intuitively knew would happen.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A truly amazing story about letting go and learning.

[Candace · Rating 4 out of 5]

First-person account of an American woman's pilgrimage to Korea with her teacher to be introduced as a female priest. At points funny, at others moving.

[Trish Hughey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Too many vignettes without much substance, too many Buddhist terms without explanation. I usually love these types of tales of transformative journeys but this one left me pretty cold.

[Keith · Rating 3 out of 5]

A little to whiny for me.