Bernard Glassman (1939–2018)

The Zen Peacemakers inspire and intimidate me. This is because what the late Bernie Glassman created decades ago takes Buddhist dharma to the level of action, putting teachings into practice with the most marginalized people and uneasy areas of the world. The Zen Peacemakers do Street Retreats, where participants must beg for spare change and food on the streets. They sit in meditation inside the walls of Auschwitz, bearing witness to the unspeakable acts that took place there. They sit with show more the dying. They start over every day.

This is their story, circa the late 1990's, at least. Some of the Peacemakers featured here continue their work. Joan Halifax continues to share lessons on how to be present with those who are sick or transitioning. My friend Fleet Maull, who created the country's first prison hospice program, now runs programs that reach prisoners, police officers and guards, and others all over the world. And dear Bernie, who died just a couple of years ago, left his legacy with every lesson in this book.

I had to stop reading this book shortly after engaging w/ it the first time as my mom was dying. I picked it up again shortly before my dad passed. I just finished it now after a brief but sobering experience with my own cancer. The book speaks to being with the suffering. It speaks to putting ourselves in the most uncomfortable situations for the sake of benefitting others and stretching the limits of our own spiritual growth. It keeps finding me at all the right times.

I invite you to read this, and to learn about Zen Peacemakers, who are still active, still shaking things up, and still transforming lives (BLM, Indigenous communities, prison work, the climate crisis, homelessness, and much more). Thank you, Bernie. show less

The Dude and the Zen Master is a conversation between two very talented and benevolent men. Jeff Bridges is a well-known Oscar-winning actor, performer, songwriter and photographer; and Bernie Glassman is the founder of the Zen Community of New York and a longtime Zen teacher. This dialogue addresses their thoughts and opinions about work, play, love, compassion, trust, selfishness, fear, life, death, and much more. It’s a somewhat rambling conversation that is humorous at times and very show more poignant at other times. It reveals much about each of their personal (and working) lives, while weaving much Zen wisdom throughout the discourse. The Dude is a character from The Big Lebowski (movie) and serves as an example for much of the wisdom that they impart. The conversation leads the reader through a maze of diverse topics which requires inquisitiveness, patience and thought. However, I found it to be a very rewarding experience to negotiate this maze. I learned much about both of these men and appreciated their integration of Buddhist wisdom into their discussion. This is a unique and very worthwhile book that provides entertainment and life lessons from a Zen perspective. show less

Zen Master Bernie Glassman compares Jeff Bridges’s iconic role in The Big Lebowski to a Lamed-Vavnik: one of the men in Jewish mysticism who are “simple and unassuming,” and “so good that on account of them God lets the world go on.” Jeff puts it another way. “The wonderful thing about the Dude is that he’d always rather hug it out than slug it out.”

For more than a decade, Academy Award-winning actor Jeff Bridges and his Buddhist teacher, renowned Roshi Bernie Glassman, have show more been close friends. Inspiring and often hilarious, The Dude and the Zen Master captures their freewheeling dialogue and remarkable humanism in a book that reminds us of the importance of doing good in a difficult world. show less

I didn’t know exactly what to expect in “The Dude and the Zen Master,” though a relaxed conversation between two old guys (young at heart) smoking cigars up in the mountains might have been just that. This is a nice little book, and while it is largely a single transcribed conversation, it is organized in a way that covers many topics, using Lebowski-isms as starting points. A common thread throughout the dialogue is “row, row, row your boat” – gently and merrily down the stream. show more Bernie Glassman has a strong background in math and engineering, yet has the ability to explain any topic in simple terms. Perhaps this is why his responses to Bridges often seem a little indirect? As a Zen master, he leads retreats to uncomfortable places, in order to bear witness to the suffering humanity is capable of bringing about. In turn he has also performed all over the world as a clown, to bring laughter to unhappy places. Jeff Bridges, who made the Dude a character we all know, draws from his work experience as an actor, and from his career as a musician. He has shown that he likes to connect with everyone involved in the making of a film, so they can all do the best job possible. Bridges’ family values are equally clear: his mother dedicated time to each of her children, and his love and respect for his siblings and especially his wife are important in his life. The similarities and differences between Bridges and the Dude are of interest. He is funny about his “heads,” made from leftover pottery clay. These he gives to friends, though they usually like to hang out together. The Head For Peace initiative is a good one, however. Glassman’s thoughts on peace are somewhat surprising. Here he also mentions Judaism, so it is insightful to see how one person can possess multiple faiths. One topic that comes up is how they each deal with situations, good and bad. They offer suggestions, but thankfully don’t act like they have all the answers. One of the Zen Master’s tricks, which Bridges has since adopted, is to put on a red clown nose when things get too serious. The dude abides, or the dude is not in. Such dude-isms speak for themselves. That’s my opinion, man. Thank you Goodreads for the First Reads book and opportunity to read the reflections of two friends sharing ideas. show less