Book Title: The Accidental Buddhist
Author: Dinty W. Moore
Year Published: 1997
Publisher: Broadway Books, New York, U.S.A
My Tidbits
National Library is surely a good place to hunt books and they have numerous of good books on Buddhism. Actually any book that has a theme on contemporary issue on Buddhism would likely to get a chance to be grabbed by my hand. It's not that I refuse to study the core principles and stuck with the exoticism of this ancient religion, and I do read some philosophical Buddhist literatures, but I would want something that I will easily relate to my own experience, something practical. Needless to say, Buddhist books are getting better in variety =)
Moore was raised Catholic and as he grew older, he drifted away from the church and started to get curious on Buddhism. Moore ventured to different Buddhist centers and retreats; he started in Zen Monastery Mountain in the eastern part of New York state with strict Zen meditation practice. He went to Losel Shedrup Ling, a Tibetan Buddhist community in Atlanta and found a different Buddhist practice. He noticed that Tibetan Buddhist spent their times listening to the teaching and took notes, and the crowds were younger. Perhaps, because of the "Free Tibet" movement. Later on, he went to the annual Change Your Mind Day in Central Park and went accross the country to visit The Bhavana Society, a Theravadan monastery, in West Virginia.
Moore didn't only visit and sit the centres; he met the teachers as well, including a rare opportunity to ask the Dalai Lama a question when he visited Indiana University, and had a chance to interview some of the Buddhist practitioners - the American Buddhists. From the book, I can notice few differences on how Buddhism is practiced in America and Asia. The American monks are often holding some part-time jobs, whereas some Asian monks are still practicing daily morning alms round. In the rural areas in the late 90s, the communities were still finding it difficult to accept Buddhism [Buddhism in U.S may be more received nowadays].
The book was written in a light, simple way, while putting some Buddhist philosophies into someone's spiritual journal. I'd say that the book is suitable for anyone who's curious about practicing Buddhism in the U.S without too many deep principles. An introduction to American Buddhism, I suppose =)
Accidentally, I ran into Caroline Morning Design's website, a North Carolina-based meditation cushions (zafu) manufacturer. The business is mentioned in the book and Moore has interviewed the couple who own it. A karmic link? =)
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