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A review by squid_vicious
The Buddha Walks Into a Bar...: A Guide to Life for a New Generation by Lodro Rinzler
4.0
I picked up this book because I really liked the idea behind it: how to apply Buddhist teachings to daily life situations. How to live your life with more compassion and more mindfulness. It is, after all, a philosophy of action! I thought the cheeky title was a nice touch: I'm always a little weary of people who write books about Buddhism and meditation and who take themselves way too seriously, and Rinzler seemed to have the necessary self-deprecating touch to make his book appealing. He writes from the Shambhala Buddhist perspective, and I am more interested in Soto Zen, but my first teachers were from that lineage, so there were a lot of familiar terms and ideas in there.
Rinzler's books is composed of four parts, which he related to four animals (some real ones and some mythical ones) that have important symbolism in the Shambhala tradition: the tiger, the snow lion, the garuda and the dragon, otherwise known as the Four Dignities. Each part is about how to embody their respective qualities in your daily life and practice. He gives plenty of examples people in their twenties and early thirties can relate to and that show how practicing meditation can have a very direct impact on your life.
I admit that I feel like rolling my eyes every time people refer to Buddha as "Sid" (as a shortcut for Siddhartha Gautama) to sound hip. I think it's kind of a silly thing to do, but if that's what it takes to get some people interested in the teachings, go ahead and be all edgy. I get that trying to sound cool and nerdy is a way to get a certain demographic interested, but sometimes, it's a bit much. I also wonder how long the attention span of the target demographic really is, but that's another story. That might actually explain why he repeats himself quite a bit...
I also feel like a lot of the practical advice Rinzler gives is related to dating... I suppose I was pretty focused on dating in my early twenties, so again, keeping in mind the demographic this book is written for, that makes sense: it is an area of life people struggle with tremendously, and I'm sure dating apps and hook-up culture don't help...
I do think this would be a great little book for beginners, people curious about Buddhism who are looking for practical advice on how to integrate the teachings into their mundane daily routine and who don't want to feel guilty about dating and drinking (which there's nothing wrong with unless you took monastic vows). Hopefully, people who read this then go on to read other books that are a little bit less trendy and superficial. But if you've been studying and practicing for a few years, you won't find much new information in there.
Cute and often silly, but hopefully a "gateway" book to more profound works, like Suzuki, Warner and al. 3 and a half stars for the nice try; rounded up because it doesn't hurt to be reminded of some of the basic stuff from time to time!
Rinzler's books is composed of four parts, which he related to four animals (some real ones and some mythical ones) that have important symbolism in the Shambhala tradition: the tiger, the snow lion, the garuda and the dragon, otherwise known as the Four Dignities. Each part is about how to embody their respective qualities in your daily life and practice. He gives plenty of examples people in their twenties and early thirties can relate to and that show how practicing meditation can have a very direct impact on your life.
I admit that I feel like rolling my eyes every time people refer to Buddha as "Sid" (as a shortcut for Siddhartha Gautama) to sound hip. I think it's kind of a silly thing to do, but if that's what it takes to get some people interested in the teachings, go ahead and be all edgy. I get that trying to sound cool and nerdy is a way to get a certain demographic interested, but sometimes, it's a bit much. I also wonder how long the attention span of the target demographic really is, but that's another story. That might actually explain why he repeats himself quite a bit...
I also feel like a lot of the practical advice Rinzler gives is related to dating... I suppose I was pretty focused on dating in my early twenties, so again, keeping in mind the demographic this book is written for, that makes sense: it is an area of life people struggle with tremendously, and I'm sure dating apps and hook-up culture don't help...
I do think this would be a great little book for beginners, people curious about Buddhism who are looking for practical advice on how to integrate the teachings into their mundane daily routine and who don't want to feel guilty about dating and drinking (which there's nothing wrong with unless you took monastic vows). Hopefully, people who read this then go on to read other books that are a little bit less trendy and superficial. But if you've been studying and practicing for a few years, you won't find much new information in there.
Cute and often silly, but hopefully a "gateway" book to more profound works, like Suzuki, Warner and al. 3 and a half stars for the nice try; rounded up because it doesn't hurt to be reminded of some of the basic stuff from time to time!