The book is on the New York Times hardcover and nonfiction Best Sellers List. It is #9 on the combined hardcover and paperback nonfiction Best Sellers List.

 

Purchase the book through Zen Peacemakers Amazon Bookstore to support the work of Zen Peacemakers International.

 

All my life I’ve been interested in expressing my truth in ways that almost anyone can understand. A famous Japanese Zen master, Hakuun Yasutani Roshi, said that unless you can explain Zen in words that a fisherman will comprehend, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Some fifty years ago a UCLA professor told me the same thing about applied mathematics. We like to hide from the truth behind foreign sounding words or mathematical lingo. There’s a saying: The truth is
always encountered but rarely perceived. If we don’t perceive it, we can’t help ourselves and we can’t much help anyone else.

I met the Dude on DVD sometime in the late 1990s. A few years later I met Jeff Bridges in Santa Barbara and we started hanging, as he likes to put it, often while smoking cigars. Jeff has done movies from an early age; less known, but almost as long-standing, is his commitment to ending world hunger. I was an aeronautical engineer and mathematician in my early years, but mostly I’ve taught Zen Buddhism, and that’s where we both met. Not just in meditation, which is what most people think of when they hear Zen, but the Zen of action, of living freely in the world without causing harm, of relieving our own suffering and the suffering of others.

We soon discovered that we would often be joined by another shadowy figure, somebody called the Dude. We both liked his way of putting things and it’s fun to learn from someone you can’t see. Only his words were so pithy they needed more expounding; hence, this book.

May it meet with his approval, and may it benefit all beings.

Bernie Glassman

 

Table of Contents

 

JUST THROW THE FU**ING BALL, MAN!
1. Sometimes You Eat the Bear, and Sometimes, Well, He Eats You
2. It’s Down There Somewhere, Let Me Take Another Look
3. Dude, You’re Being Very UnDude

THE DUDE ABIDES AND THE DUDE IS NOT IN
4. Yeah, Well, Ya Know, That’s Just Like, uh, Your Opinion, Man
5. Phone’s Ringin’, Dude
6. New Sh** Has Come to Light

THAT RUG REALLY TIED THE ROOM TOGETHER, DID IT NOT?
7. You Know, Dude, I Myself Dabbled in Pacifism at One Point. Not in ’Nam, Of Course.
8. You Mean Coitus?
9. What Makes a Man, Mr. Lebowski?
10. What Do You Do, Mr. Lebowski?
11. Nothing’s Fu**ed, Dude

ENJOYIN’ MY COFFEE
12. Sorry, I Wasn’t Listening
13. Strikes and Gutters, Ups and Downs
14. Some Burgers, Some Beers, a Few Laughs. Our Fu**ing Troubles Are Over, Dude.
15. Say, Friend, Ya Got Any More of That Good Sarsaparilla?

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  7. I’m in the midst of reading “The Dude and the Zen Master” and just today pulled the jacket back to look at the hard cover and saw the message about riding my horse while looking for it. Just one of the gems the book holds. Dealing with a bit of stress this time of year at work and the messages therein are helpful. Thanks to you and Mr. Bridges for putting it together.

  8. Now that this intriguing book has been officially released, may I ask if it is going to be made available for sale via your online store?

  9. The Brothers showed no interest in being involved although they gave their blessing for Jeff and I to do the book. They just got their copies on jan 8 and i have no idea when they will read it or if they will let Jeff know what they think of it.
    I don’t think there is any scholarly proof the Hui Neng existed but, if he did, he would have been a great bowler, in my opinion.

    1. Ha! Thanks Bernie. They (Coen Bros) are wickedly smart and really talented, I only imagine that they were intensionally playing with these Zen ideas, like the way they did with Homer’s Odyssey in “Oh Brother..” It just seems to fit so well. Bob Thurman loves to talk about the Buddhist content of “The Matrix”, wondering if you have any other unlikely favorites. Have you ever seen Jim Jarmush’s “Dead Man” with Johnny Depp? His traveling companion is a Native-American called “Nobody”..

      btw; I was at the talk last night but didn’t want to fight the crowd to say hello, but got to see Eve and the gang.

  10. Hi Bernie and Jeff,

    I was wondering, when you were developing the book idea, did you have any thoughts of bringing Joel and Ethan Cohen in the conversation? Wondering if they’ve read it and what their opinions are on it, (man..) Or is their intension not really relevant, as jazz musicians riff on a classic piece, the essence is in the current thing itself. Lastly, is there any scholarly proof that Hui Neng was a good bowler?

    Bows to both of you Katz,
    -eric

  11. Good morning Bernie Glassman.
    I met you several years ago through Dennis Lund for which I will be forever grateful.
    We were building a Teen Meditation Retreat Group and your insight, encouragement and stories were
    the most helpful part of our journey. Please google ibme info and see how we are doing. We thank you.
    Blessings, Inward Bound Mindfulness Education
    maury cooke

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