Augie Turak, whose path as a "spiritual seeker" has paralleled his path as a successful computer software executive, will lecture in Honolulu next week. Zen lecturer to talk
on spirituality of actionStar-Bulletin staff
Turak founded the Raleigh Group International (RGI) software company and continued as vice president after it was acquired by Mutek Solutions Inc. He worked with MTV and the Arts & Entertainment Network when they were starting up in the early 1980s.
After presenting lectures at North Carolina universities, he founded the Self Knowledge Symposium Foundation of which he is chairman. He is the author of "The Search for Meaning."
"People see life as a problem to be solved," said Turak. "My spirituality is not that different from other aspects of life. I believe the results are proportional to the energy applied.
"The agony of life is uncertainty ... the fact we can't seem to make up our minds about whether this is a paradise or hell, whether God is in charge or not. In Zen terms, we have great faith and great doubt."
Turak said he interrupted his college education in the early 1970s to study with a Zen teacher, Richard Rose of Wheeling, W. Va.
"He said don't waste time worrying. More will be possible if you go after it full force rather than hanging back."
Turak said, "The kind of people I relate most to are people who think there is something missing from life. I believe to overcome your fear that this problem is too big for you, you need to get off your ass and work on it. You can't do this by going to church for an hour a week."
He will talk about his "Five Years With a Zen Master" at 7 p.m. Tuesday at the University of Hawaii Art Auditorium. The free presentation is sponsored by the UH Outreach College.
His talks at two Honolulu churches are also free and open to the public. He will talk about "Everyday Zen" at 7 p.m. Wednesday at Calvary-by-the-Sea Lutheran Church, 5339 Kalanianaole Highway, and on "What Is Zen?" at 7 p.m. Thursday at Unity Church of Hawaii, 3608 Diamond Head Circle.
Turak will also teach a noncredit workshop "Walking on the Razor's Edge" from 9 a.m. to noon next Saturday in Room 104 of the UH Webster Hall. The fee is $20. For registration information call 956-7221.
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