So a few weeks ago I picked up Brad Warner’s new book “Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate -A Trip Through Death, Sex, Divorce and Spiritual Celebrity in Search of the True Dharma” and with a title this all-encompassing, it truly give a sense of how much Brad manages to cover in this, his third book.
As has always happened with Brad’s books, I’m never left feeling wishy-washy or zombied-out-blissful about his writing style or subject matter. He always manages to evoke a visceral reaction from me. Something which I vitally appreciate in a writer and in someone who is so vocal on the path in a teaching role. I felt the same feelings towards Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche. The stories told about this great ‘crazy wisdom’ master would sometimes make me feel that I was a flake for being so dedicated to this teacher and the Shambhala tradition. Then click… I’d catch myself in judgmental mind. Racing thoughts of how I expect teachers to behave.The expectations. The projections.

Then click… I’d think back to how much I hated being judged as a 16 year old blue haired punk. How I may not have always made the best decisions. How I sometimes am not so pious myself. How my standards shouldn’t necessarily be the model for another person’s behaviour.

Brad’s book is an honest story of a guy who’s just trying to do his best. He’s working with what he’s been dealt and that doesn’t make him any more or less special than the rest of us (sorry Brad- I’m hoping egolessness will prevail in that you don’t take offense to my claim that you’re not special!!!).

In many ways it’s best to seek out those teachers who challenge you, rather than the one’s that pat you on the head and tell you that you are doing great grasshopper. This book was a better read that any of some of the so-called dharma books that I’ve read, purely on the basis of it provoking me in this manner.

For those of you who live in Montreal, Brad Warner will be speaking on 2 occasions:

April 27, 2009 (Mon) Dawson College, 3040 Rue Sherbrooke Est, Montréal, QC H1W, Canada
April 28, 2009 (Tues) 7 pm, Casa Del Popolo 4873 St Laurent, Montréal, QC H2T 1R6, Canada

and for those who live elsewhere, check out this link for information on if the ‘Zen Wrapped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate’ road tour will pull into your town.

First off, this book doesn’t require you to be a Buddhist scholar or have read all of the Sci Fi/ Fantasy works cited such as: J.R.R Tolkien’s ‘Lord of the Rings‘, Phillip Pullman’s ‘His Dark Materials’ Trilogy, Ursula K. Le Guin’s ‘Earthsea’ series, Michael Ende’s ‘Momo’ and the anime film “Princess Mononoke”. The authors provide enough of a background to familiarize readers with the general themes of each piece so as not to alienate anyone from appreciating both their connection with Buddhism themes.

Loy and Goodhew examine concepts such as interdependence, renunciation, working with others, Boddhisattvic activity, karma, morality, right view, the suffering of change, the Middle Way, dualistic thinking, ecoBuddhism, letting go, life and death, selflessness, suffering, craving and our notions of reality among other topics.

“The Dharma of Dragons and Daemons” delves into the magical worlds created by these artists and provides a successful entertaining demonstration of how a segment of popular literature can be examined through a Buddhist lens. I appreciate the character analysis throughout this book and enjoy how various Buddhist masters are cited in the development of the authors thesis for each chapter.

The integration of Buddhism and Western culture is a hot topic these days and this book demonstrates how this can be successfully done by drawing on works from throughout the ages and not just those from the present day. It’s best for us not to throw the Buddha out with the bathwater in the blending of age-old dharma into that which is now hitting the bookshelves. I congratulate the authors in remaining true to the old-school works while exposing us nerds to a different way of looking at some of our favourite sci-fi/fantasy works

I do have all the best intentions to finish this lovely, geeky Buddhist book this weekend and will shun any zombie infiltrations to ensure that I stick to my guns. I’m loving what I’ve read so far and am looking so forward to reading about the author’s take on Princess Mononoke