The Accidental Buddhist : Mindfulness, Enlightenment, and Sitting Still

""Cover""; ""Contents""; ""Prelude""; ""PART 1: ZEN MIND, MUDDLED MIND""; ""1 Buddha 101: Stumbling Up Monkey Mind Mountain""; ""2 One Bright Idea: My American Buddhism Project""; ""3 Just Sitting: I Obsess a Lot, and Then I Get Distracted""; ""4 Zen Gardening: Me and My Green-Thumbed Monkey""; ""5 Why Do Tibetans Have Such Trouble with Their Vacuum Cleaners? They Lack Attachments""; ""PART 2: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT""; ""6 Catholic Boy Zen: Was Jesus a Bodhisattva?""; ""7 You Can Change Your Mind: And Your Karma, Too""; ""8 The Work Koan: Life Without a Cushion"";THE ACCIDENTAL BUDDHIST is the funny, provocative story of how Dinty Moore went looking for the faith he'd lost in what might seem the most unlikely of places: the ancient Eastern tradition of Buddhism. Moore demystifies and explains the contradictions and concepts of this most mystic-seeming of religious traditions. This plain-spoken, insightful look at the dharma in America will fascinate anyone curious about the wisdom of other cultures and other religions. "Sure of foot in complex terrain, and packing a blessedly down-to-earth sense of humor, Dinty Moore is the perfect scout for the new frontiers of American Buddhism."--Rodger Kamenetz, author of THE JEW IN THE LOTUS and STALKING ELIJAH. A journey through the diverse landscape of American Buddhism, written with a “blessedly down-to-earth sense of humor” (Rodger Kamenetz, author of The Jew in the Lotus). In an era when many of us yearn for an escape from a culture of noise and narcissism, this book takes us into the physical and spiritual geography of Buddhism, American-style: from a weekend at a mountain retreat for corporate executives learning effective ways to cope with stress, to a visit with a Zen teacher holding classes in an old Quaker farmhouse, to a meeting with a Catholic priest who’s also a Zen master. Both a lively introduction to this Eastern spiritual tradition and a colorful portrait of American society, The Accidental Buddhist “makes the oftentimes impenetrable concepts of Buddhism accessible to the reader and contains striking, and important, parallels and contrasts between [the author’s] own Catholic upbringing and ancient Buddhist traditions” (Library Journal). “A travelogue detailing the tremendous diversity within American Buddhism. His anecdotes make it clear that the umbrella term ‘Buddhist’ encompasses strict Zen monks, laid-back Tibetan politicos, and beatnik holdover Allen Ginsberg. In his travels, Moore attends weekend retreats, chronicles the Dalai Lama’s 1996 visit to Indiana, and grooves to Change Your Mind Day, a meditative Buddha-fest in New York City’s Central Park. . . . He finds that his family is his sangha (monastery), and while he still feels he is ‘probably a fairly lousy Buddhist,’ he will eclectically combine his various forms of new knowledge to find a path that makes sense to him. Now that may be an authentic American Buddhism.” —Kirkus Reviews ""Cover"" ""Contents"" ""Prelude"" ""PART 1: ZEN MIND, MUDDLED MIND"" ""1 Buddha 101: Stumbling Up Monkey Mind Mountain"" ""2 One Bright Idea: My American Buddhism Project"" ""3 Just Sitting: I Obsess a Lot, and Then I Get Distracted"" ""4 Zen Gardening: Me and My Green-Thumbed Monkey"" ""5 Why Do Tibetans Have Such Trouble with Their Vacuum Cleaners? They Lack Attachments"" ""PART 2: PRACTICE MAKES PERFECT"" ""6 Catholic Boy Zen: Was Jesus a Bodhisattva?"" ""7 You Can Change Your Mind: And Your Karma, Too"" ""8 The Work Koan: Life Without a Cushion"" ""9 The Plain-spoken Theravadan: A High View from a Low Seat""""10 Buddha Bug, Buddha Being: You Are What You Eat"" ""PART 3: REAL BUDDHISTS DONâ€?T TAKE NOTES"" ""11 Destroy Your Neighbor, Destroy Yourself: The Dalai Lama and the Action Hero"" ""12 Trying to Hit the Ball: Fruitless Searching on the Fruited Plain"" ""13 Eat Your Rice, Wash Your Bowl, and Just Sit: Studying with the Seven-Year-Old Master"" ""14 What Kind of Buddhist Am I? A Lousy One, Thank You"" ""Basic Buddhist Terms"" ""Suggested Further Reading""