Customer Reviews

The Accidental Buddhist: Mindfulness, Enlightenment and Sitting Still

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The author of this book set out on a search to find out what American Buddhism might be like. What we have in U.S. is Tibetan Buddhism, Japanese Zen Buddhism, Vietnamese Buddhism, etc. All Asian. If you stripped away all the cultural adornments, what would Buddhism look like in modern America? Is it even possible? Or is Buddhism so naturally Asian that when you strip it clean of Asian-ness, nothing is left? That was Dinty's question.

The Accidental Buddhist is the story of his search. He went to weekend retreats where he meditated all day (and sometimes got to ask the head Buddhist dude some questions), he set up personal interviews with some of the most famous Buddhists in America. He talked to John Daido Loori of the Zen Mountain Monastery, the Tibetan Monk Geshe Lobsang Tenzin Negi, Father Robert Jensen Kennedy (Zen teacher and Jesuit priest), Helen Tworkov, the editor of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, Bhante Henepola Gunaratana (author of the excellent book, Mindfulness in Plain English), and he even got to ask the Dalai Lama a question. Dinty found many different kinds of Buddhism, many different levels of intensity of practice, but they all shared the core of Buddhist principles, which, by the way, I found beautifully explained in a book called The Heart of Buddhism by Guy Claxton (who is a British writer, and ironically, is the closest I've seen to what Dinty was looking for: American Buddhism).

Dinty tells you what he found, and in the process, you get a pretty good understanding of what Buddhism is about. Dinty is honest, charming and disarming. He's got a great sense of humor. The writing is good (easy to read, flows well, not academic-ese), and the author is very human and easy to identify with.

I'm the author of the book, Self-Help Stuff That Works, and the principles of Buddhism work. But what we need is exactly what Dinty was searching for: Those principles without the shaved heads, chanting in a foreign language, superstitious beliefs, etc. The Accidental Buddhist is a broad look at several different forms of Buddhism, and points the way, in an entertaining book, of how we might find our own American Buddhism.

I wish I had read this book five years ago, when I myself started exploring Buddhism. At that time, there were many books discussing the different Buddhist traditions (Zen, Tibetan, etc.), but none clearly explaining the differences therebetween or how to implement such traditions in America. If you're curious about Buddhism, what the different options are, or how to practice, this book will give you the proper framework to begin your journey. Peace.

Dinty Moore (doesn't this guy make beef stew?) is a young middle-aged Irish-American Catholic who, in a very readable and humorous manner, outlines his journey into the world of Buddhism, most specifically American Buddhism. Although the tale is a bit self-absorbed at times, this book provides the reader with some excellent instruction in a religion that most American are rather ignorant of. What Moore seems to run up against much of the time is that he can't seem to quite locate the path to `true wisdom'. In a culture like the American one, full of hyper-commercialism, and an expansive sense of materialism - it is hard for any American to put this all aside and find simple inner peace - that is, to quiet the chattering monkeys in one's head.

Like many people who look to Eastern religions, Moore is seeking to find more meaning in his life... to put in their proper place the information overload, the bombardment of advertising, and mostly the pressures that many Americans feel to hurry, to compete, to be the best, to better their neighbors, to arrive at life, rather than to enjoy it as it comes. While some reviewers didn't like the humor - I found that Moore's jokes, and humor helped me to see that he wasn't one of those "true-believers" out there intent on proselytizing or urging me to "find my peace". It was a relief to read about someone's honest journey in understanding a religion completely foreign to his own. If he hadn't found things funny, light, or unreasonable, I don't think it would have felt like an honest piece of writing. I think this book is an excellent source for those who might be interested in knowing more about Buddhism without the intense rhetoric of an instructional text.

For seasoned spiritual seekers and curious novices alike, Dinty Moore takes the reader on a lighthearted journey to discover what the surgence of the Buddhist religion in America is all about.

Anyone reading the author's witty and humorous account of wading in the waters of Eastern thought will soon begin to realize that Buddhism is not a mystical, bugaboo religion, but a viable path that doesn't challenge Judeo-Christian principles.

The teachings of Buddha precede Jesus by 500 years and in many ways parallel each other, and the three types of Buddhism Moore describes in his encounters -- Zen, Tibetan, and Theraveda -- can peacefully co-exist with each other and any other religion in our complex society.

I'd highly recommend this book to the aging American boomers who are tired of the material stuff of life and want to inject more peace and tranquility into their daily lives. Moore writes about the challenges of quieting his "monkey mind" through meditation. I got a kick out of how he "enlightened" my "monkey mind."

I bet Oprah would, too.

I thought that this book was great!! I think that, as do most fellow Americans, we typically have only a slight hint of what Buddhism is really about. And while this book is a very broad overview Buddhism (and more specifically how some Americans are fitting it into their lives), it answers a lot of questions that I know I had about the religion.

I found it to be a very quick (it's only about 200 pages), and very enjoyable read. Moore uses plenty of humor to get his story across. And his references to his own "monkey mind" (the tendency of one's untrained mind to "swing" endlessly from thought to thought) makes me feel like I'm being informed by someone who's a hell of a lot like me (and probably many other readers as well).

"Accidental Buddhist" was exactly the book I was looking to discover. I have been searching for someone to explain the philosophy of Buddhism to me, instead of searching the "...for Dummies". Though I first started with the "dummy" book, I found more information through Dinty's encounters of "self discovery". I felt I was he having those same experiences and thoughts come about - I too suffer from "Mind Monkeys". I am glad to have a name for them now, as well as knowing I am not the only one who needs to get a chain for them.

I was shopping in a local market this past weekend, when I came upon several different Buddha statutes. Looking and looking at these delights, I saw one with gold coins. I questioned the the shop keeper about the gold coin buddhas.
"They are to bring your household money," he answers me.
"You are not to have attachments in Buddhism," I replied.
As if straight from Dinty's mouth came the whole section about from "The Work Koan" chapter on the whole money issue.
"In order for us here in America to survive, we must have money, otherwise you are out in the street living on garbage," the Buddhist man told me.
I thought I was rereading the book.

If you are curious about Buddhism, especially in America, this is an excellent book to read,not to mention utterly hilarious reading. I was chuckling with every chapter.

Thank you very much for providing an honest, simple yet not so simple exploration of the nature of Buddhism from an American cultural perspective. It has given me courage to inch along this path, using the Buddha's teachings to anchor me in ways of being, thinking and living while I am still here.

Raised as a Roman Catholic, Dinty Moore begins by telling about his childhood. 12 years of Catholic school, the retreats and the nuns. Then things changed. The Catholic Youth recruiter who he wanted to lose his virginity to took up with a lifeguard, his mother divorced and remarried someone he didn't like, he failed religion and his father "fell off the wagon". Soon he stopped attending church, stopped praying and felt God had let him down.

Fast forward twenty years and he finds himself in the doorway of a Buddhist monastery. He soon realizes that no one is talking about venial sins and there are no confessionals, just a feeling of peace. After his short retreat at the monastery, he attends another while on a business trip. A Tibetan Monk explains that what makes us unhappy is our tendancy to desire things that make us happy. For example, by thinking that as soon as I get a new job, I'll be happy. But one we get the job, the happiness and expectations are dashed. He also says that while it's ok to have a comfortable home, a nice car and deliberately arrange our lives in such a way that these things become possible, but don't depend on them to make you happy. Happiness is internal, not external.

After attending the retreat he realizes that he sat though "basically a six hour sermon". Being a former catholic as well, I know the feeling all too well. Even a fifteen minute sermon was always too long. They were "endless, irrelevant and forced up me by a condescending adult." It's reassuring to know that a Tibetan monk isn't going to tell you that you're a terrible person and you're going to hell.

It's a rather humorous book and Moore is always referring to his "Monkey Mind", meaning that his mind is always on something else when he's trying to meditate or understand what the monks and nuns are saying.

It's one's desire for things to be a certain way that will make you unhappy. Becoming upset because someone is late has nothing to do with the person, but your reaction to the tardiness.. bascially, it's not the fault of the other person, it's the way you are dealing with it.

I was born a Buddhist and although I had no formal lessons on it, I had an idea of its core teachings and liked what I know about it. I have been wanting to learn more about the religion that I was born into and this book was perfect in that aspect. Its a great book for people who have certain reservations about religion (all)generally and who dont want to accept something just because, well, that's how it is. the author had similar reservations and goes through the journey of discovery that you could imagine yourself going through, with similar thoughts too!

Very easy to read, non-intimidating to those wanting to start their exploration into Buddhism

I've been reading about Buddhism for the last 3 years, and this is definitely one of the most user-friendly books I've come across. I really enjoyed reading about his experiences with the different schools of Buddhism (he's quite funny), and I immediately identified with his impressions. So dependent are we on rules and rituals of organized religion, many of us feel we MUST pick a school of "this" or become a follower of "that." Those with this tendency may feel Buddhism is in danger of becoming watered down in America. I feel just the opposite. Here in America, we have the chance (if we like) to put aside the cultural influences and instead get to the meat of the philosophy, the very basics. And I find the basics enough of a challenge for one lifetime.