Taming the Ox : Buddhist Stories and Reflections on Politics, Race, Culture, and Spiritual Pract Ice

Renowned author and National Book Award winner Dr. Charles Johnson writes that his creative work and Buddhist practice are the two activities in his life that have reinforced each other—and have anchored him. In this wide and varied collection of essays, reviews, and short stories, Johnson offers writings that passionately and compellingly illuminate how politics, race, and spiritual life intersect in our changing culture. Throughout his long and varied creative career, Johnson has been a cartoonist and illustrator, screen- and teleplay writer, novelist, philosopher, short fiction writer, essayist, literary scholar, and professor. His work is often philosophically, politically, and spiritually oriented, and he has deeply explored racial issues in the United States, most notably in his novel Middle Passage , which won the National Book Award for Fiction in 1990. Johnson received a MacArthur Fellowship, or "Genius Grant," in 1998. Taming the Ox is a wonderful reflection of what Johnson has learned during his passage through American literature, the visual arts, and the Buddhadharma. "Buddhism-influenced essays, stories, and reviews by National Book Award winner Charles R. Johnson. This wide and varied collection of essays, reviews, and short stories by the renowned author Charles Johnson offers incisive views on politics, race, and Buddhism. Johnson notes that in his life the two activities that have anchored him and reinforce each other are creative production and spiritual practice. This book is a crystallization of what he has learned during his passage through American literature, the visual arts, and the Buddha dharma. Essays include: "And if Peace Is Their Goal" on the principles of enlightened politics, "The King We Need" on the deep and sophisticated moral philosophy of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., and why King's teachings and example are important to all Americans, "Why Buddhists Should Vote"--Johnson posits that voting can be seen as a way to reduce suffering, "The Meaning of Barack Obama"--an appreciation of the man who became one of the most historic US presidents, even before his first 100 days were through, "Why Buddhism for Black America Now?"--what Buddhism can offer the African-American community in the post-MLK era"-- Provided by publisher Essays The Dharma and the Artist's Eye -- Dharma for a Dangerous Time -- The Dharma of Social Transformation -- Be Peace Embodied -- The King We Need: Teachings for a Nation in Search of Itself -- Why Buddhists Should Vote -- Is Mine Bigger Than Yours? -- Why Buddhism for Black America Now? -- Mindfulness and the Beloved Community -- The Meaning of Barack Obama -- Every Twenty-Eight Hours: The Case of Trayvon Martin -- -- Reviews and Prefaces A Full-Bodied Zen -- Going beyond Ethnic Dualism -- Foreword for Nixon Under the Bodhi Tree and Other Works of Buddhist Fiction -- Introduction for Why Is American Buddhism So White? -- "We Think, Therefore We Are" -- -- Stories Prince of the Ascetics -- The Cynic -- Kamadhatu, a Modern Sutra -- Welcome to Wedgwood -- Guinea Pig -- The Weave.