Lodro Rinzler - The Buddha Walks into a Bar...: A Guide to Life for a New Generation

A young, New York-based Buddhist teacher, Rinzler is able to take a relaxed, colloquial approach to meditation and its many benefits because hes so well-versed in Shambhala and Tibetan Buddhism. With examples ranging from superheroes to YouTube videos, Rinzler brings timeless teachings to the buzz of now in an engaging, richly instructive, genuinely illuminating spiritual guide.

Booklist

Dont let Rinzlers youthful exuberance fool you. The kid knows his stuff.

Tricycle

This volume is far beyond a compilation of Rinzlers columns or prior work; it is a genuine introduction to living a Buddhist life without immersion in Buddhisms more esoteric practices.

Library Journal

Light-hearted, contemporary, and at times hilarious, Rinzlers book is addictively easy to read.

Nexus

Enjoyable, engaging, and inspiring. I loved the book and think its a great introductory read for a younger person who would like to know more about Buddhism, or just life in general.

Wildmind.org

Rinzlers voice is approachable and funny and absolutely credible to all of the young professionals who seem to have it all but who are beginning to wonder if they are missing something really, really big.

Beliefnet.com

The cool kids Buddhist.

The Boston Phoenix

ABOUT THE BOOK

This isnt your grandmothers book on meditation. Its about integrating that spiritual practice thing into a life that includes beer, sex, and a boss who doesnt understand you. Its about making a difference in yourself and making a difference in your worldwhether youve got everything figured out yet or not. Lodro Rinzler is a bright and funny young teacher with a knack for showing how the Buddhist teachings can have a positive impact on every little nook and cranny of your lifewhether youre interested in being a Buddhist or not.

LODRO RINZLER is a teacher in the Shambhala tradition of Vajrayana Buddhism. He has taught numerous workshops and retreats. His column What Would Sid Do (Sid = Siddhartha, the Buddha) has appeared regularly on Beliefnet.com since 2009, and his posts there have also appeared in the Huffington Post .

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THE BUDDHA WALKS INTO A BAR...

A G UIDE TO L IFE FOR A N EW G ENERATION

Lodro Rinzler

Shambhala / Boston & London / 2012

Shambhala Publications, Inc.

Horticultural Hall

300 Massachusetts Avenue

Boston, Massachusetts 02115

www.shambhala.com

2012 by Paul Rinzler

Cover design by Daniel Urban-Brown

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced by any means, electronic or mechanical, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Rinzler, Lodro.

The Buddha walks into a bar: a guide to life for a new generation / Lodro Rinzler.

p. cm.

eISBN 978-0-8348-2775-2

ISBN 978-1-59030-937-7 (pbk.: alk. paper)

1. Spiritual lifeBuddhism. I. Title.

BQ5660.R56 2012

294.3444dc22

2011014498

For my Sakyong

CONTENTS

Thank you. I mean that: your reading this book is a pretty big deal to me. My parents, Beth and Carl Rinzler, are wonderful and I owe them more than I could describe, and definitely more than I can describe in an acknowledgment page of a book. Victoria Gerstman, my lady, has been so supportive during this whole process and believed in me when I was sure this thing would never happen. She is really, really awesome. I love her and am so glad she has agreed to be my wife. I also want to thank my sister, Jane Buckingham, and my brother, Michael Rinzler, both of whom have always offered me nothing but encouragement and love.

I am blessed with many friends who have provided inspiration and support for this book (or, at the very least, bought me a beer and chewed my ear off about it): David Delcourt, Brett Eggleston, Oliver Tassinari, Ethan Nichtern, Will Conkling, Josh Silberstein, Laura Sinkman, Maron Greenleaf, Alex Okrent, David Perrin, Jeff Grow, Ericka Phillips, Marina Klimasiewfski, and the UsGuys. There are many other friends I should name and if you wonder why youre not on this list please know I hold you in my heart and thank you.

I have had two companions who were constantly looking over my shoulder, literally, while I wrote this book on my couch in Brooklyn. They are Tillie and Justin Bieber and they are very cute animals. As such they cannot read but I want to thank them for their warmth anyway.

Mentors are important and I have had the very best in Richard Reoch, Connie Brock, and Mitchell Levy. Thank you for your unwavering attention to detail and great care. Along the same lines, I want to thank Stan Lee for providing me with excellent role models growing up: the X-Men and Spider-Man.

I owe an incredible debt of gratitude to everyone at Shambhala Publications. I want to offer a thank-you to Sara Bercholz, for believing in this project and understanding it, sometimes better than I did. My gratitude goes out to Emily Bower, for nudging this in the right direction, and to Katie Keach and Ben Gleason, who both have a way of taking my words and transforming them into something eloquent. And of course, a big thank-you to Dave ONeal for carefully editing this book and adding layers upon layers of clarity to it. It has been a joy to work with you all.

Acharya Adam Lobel has written extensively on the four dignities in manuals describing the Way of Shambhala curriculum. Alongside traditional source material, the images and language he used stuck with me and inspired me deeply. Last but certainly not least, none of the work in these pages would be here if I wasnt continuously inspired by the example of Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, who I find to be the most genuine human being on the planet. Thank you all for making this possible.

This isnt your grandmothers book on meditation. Its for you. That is, assuming you like to have a beer once in a while, enjoy sex, have figured out that your parents are crazy, or get frustrated at work. Its a book that doesnt put Buddhism on some pedestal so that you have to look up to it. Its about looking at all the nooks and crannies of your life and applying Buddhist teachings to them, no matter how messy that may be.

Do you have to become Buddhist to like this book? Hell, no. Whatever wisdom lies within these pages is a result of excellent instruction on the part of my teachers and my own process of trial and error. The Buddhist dharma, or teaching, is not meant to be looked at as some obscure tome that needs to be dissected and analyzed. It is meant to be lived. So dont feel like you have to be Buddhist to get into this thing, you just have to have lived a little and be willing to look at your life from a new point of view.

Next question: Do you have to change your life to live the truths of this book? Hell, no, again. This book is for anyone who has ever said, Im spiritual, or If Im anything, Im Buddhist. Its about taking these traditional teachings that have been tried and tested over thousands of years and saying, I am going to try to live my day with a bit more compassion, or, Im going to slow down a bit and enjoy my life. You dont have to change you. You are great. This book is just about how to live your life to the fullest.