Vernon Kitabu Turner as a young man discovered poetry for self-expression and martial arts for self-defense. His initiation by Zen master Nomura Roshi in 1967 changed his writing and made him a true Bushido warrior. In 1976 he met Sadguru Sant Keshavadas of the Himalayan Dharma. Sant Keshavadas told him he was chosen to be a spiritual teacher. Kitabu Roshi stayed under his guidance for 20 years, eventually being named a Dharma successor charged with bridging the gap between East and West. Vernon Kitabu Turner is also an ordained Christian minister and has been called “one of the most prominent voices of our time” in the international anthology The Way Ahead, which featured his work with that of the Dalai Lama and Novel Laureate Vaclav Havel among other notables.