The Dude and The Zen Master

I am part of a book club here in Seattle, but a friend and I also started a duo bookclub. In our duo bookclub, we read thought-provoking non-fiction books, and then discuss them over dinner. One of the most recent books was The Dude and the Zen Master by Jeff Bridges (The Dude) and Bernie Glassman (Zen Master). Jeff Bridges is an actor is best-known for his roles in The Big Lebowski, Crazy Heart, and True Grit. The Dude is his character in movie The Big Lebowski. Bridges and Glassman have been friends for years and this book catalogues their discussions about life and the importance of doing good in a difficult world.

I cannot think of another book that could integrate “Row, row, row your boat, gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily. Life is but a dream” in it’s text that provokes the reader to have such deep reflections and thoughts; but that is exactly what this book does to the exponential level while still being humorous and enlightening.  The flow of this book doesn’t read as a “novel” but rather the reader feels like they are part of the conversation happening between Bridges and Glassman.

It is definitely an easy and enjoyable read that can be done in about two hours, and those two hours will leave a lasting impression on you as a reader, and possibly your life. My recommendation, watch The Big Lebowski (so it will be fresh in your mind) and then read this riveting book. Here are some of the insights that I found beyond compelling; it may be little difficult for you to decipher the profoundness of some of these quotes without the rest of the context of the book, but I tried my best for you to get a taste of how compelling this book can be for a reader:

•    "Thinking is not the problem. We freeze up because we expect a certain result or because we want things to be perfect. We can get so fixated that we can’t do anything………We get so attached to some end result that we can’t function. We need help just to move on, only life doesn’t wait.” –Glassman
• ·      Plorking= termed coined by Glassman meaning not playing and not working.
• ·      “When you care about perfection, you care about an expectation. But there is also caring for where I am right now, for what’s happening right now.” –Glassman
• ·      “Being alive, you have to do something. Not doing anything is also some kind of action.” –Bridges
• ·      “Be here now. Okay, but I’m not feeling like I’m here right now. I’m feeling like I’ll be here soon.” –Glassman
• · “Be patient; let the circumstances take you there. Go with the wind, and you’re either going to get there or you’ll get somewhere else.” –Glassman
• ·      “We have to own our part in everything because there is nothing that isn’t a part of us.” –Bridges
• ·      “I have lots of hope. Expectation is the bummer; that’s where I get into trouble. As long as hope is without expectation or attachment, there’s no problem.” –Glassman
• ·      On page 200, there is a story that Bernie Glassman tells which happened to a survivor in a Nazi concentration camp that exemplifies the benefits of acts of kindness
•     Glassman mentions that this survivor had a choice in life, he could have love humanity or hated it; and he chose to love humanity even after the hardships he had to go through.
•     The survivor's dying words were “ Where there’s love, there’s no death.”
• ·      On page 210: there is a poem that Bridges talks about called “The Lanyard” by Billy Collins that I really loved.
• ·      Glassman defines marriage “You stand side by side with the other person and you tie the two inside legs together. So now each of you has one leg that’s free and another that‘s tied to the other leg. You’re independent because of your one outside leg, but you’re also tied together.”
• ·      “I’ve got high expectations going in, and those expectations are blown out of the water because something completely more wonderful happens. There’s resistance, a pushing against it, then---BOOM!  A wave breaks. But for that to happen, I have to be ready to experiment with those uncomfortable feelings.”-Bridges
• ·      “No is beautiful. It clears the way for yes.” -Bridges