Featured \”Dharma Road\”:
One of the first things that popped into my mind as I picked up Dharma Road by Brian Haycock was my memory of reading Zen teacher Katagiri Roshi and his hope of attracting the everyday person into Zen practice. It seems he moved to and opened a Zendo in Minnesota hoping workers and householders would stop in and start a mediation practice, from my readings it seems that it did not quite happen that way. I’m sure Katagiri would be pleased that Brian Haycock who just happens to be a cab driver penned Dharma Road explaining his take on Zen and Zen practice using the surrealistic ins and out of being a cab driver as the backdrop.
Dharma Road takes us along for a Zen ride in a big (yellow?) taxi cab through the streets and alleyways found in Austin Texas. We soon get to know the author Brian Haycock on a first name basis and without too much effort I found myself riding in the front seat while Brian narrated this enjoyable story and journey he calls Dharma Road.
Reading Dharma Road I am reminded of sitting in an AA meeting filled with cigarette smoke and the smell of burnt coffee while some poor shmoo stands in front of the group and reels off her story about life, addiction, recovery and maybe a slice of hope on the side. Haycock’s writing in Dharma Road approaches the subject of practicing Zen while living a workaday life from a gritty and no apologies slant contrasting greatly with most books written about Zen practice. Here again I’m sure Katagiri Roshi would really like Dharma Road for its transparency of struggle. Those of us who have some degree of commitment to Zen will find ourselves in the same quandary and pickles that Haycock so clearly relates within the pages of Dharma Road.
Haycock fills the book with examples of his everyday life such as: “I follow sports, the local teams. I read crime novels in the airport line, I tape TV shows to watch them when I get off work, go to a movie once in a while.” And he continues. ” These things are only distractions. There’s nothing wrong with them, but they won’t help me move down that Eightfold Freeway.” In Dharma Road Haycock uses these seemingly mundane everyday thoughts and actions to weave a story about mindfulness and the uphill journey to catch a glimpse of the here and now, to see reality as it really is and not how we manufacture it, only seeing it with our petty colored sunglasses and letting everyone know our view is the right view.
If there is a weakness in Dharma Road it is that Haycock does not pepper the book with enough Zen connections and insights till the last third of the book. It is the last third of Dharma Road where his understanding of Zen takes hold and flourishes. When he writes, ” By avoiding the thought of death, we take some of the meaning of our lives. Part of Zen practice is to put the meaning back. Death is certain, and it can come at any time, so we should appreciate our lives. We should use the time we have wisely and practice diligently. Death provides an incentive to develop our practice while we can.” He gets to the crux of the teaching of impermanence laying it bare for all to see and making all of us uncomfortable and rightly so. Zen is rarely pretty but it is always transparent, Dharma Road as written by Haycock is true to Zen’s transparency and simplicity.
Zen after all is about simplicity, doing one thing at a time with focus and passion, though I’m sure someone would argue with my use the of the word passions. Dharma Road is a book that breaks open the gate letting everyone glimpse the elegant practice of Zen backdropped within the hard working lives of men and women so often neglected by the monastery elite in Zen practice.
Dharma Road: A Short Cab Ride to Self Discovery
Brain Haycock was a cabdriver–who happened to be a Buddhist. During the course of his career as a cabdriver, he learned that each fare provided an opportunity to learn the life lessons of the Buddha. So, hop in and buckle up; we’ll be making several stops on this trip. We’re off on our journey to self-discovery, passing through the precepts, the four noble truths, taking a hard left to stop and get coffee–where we’ll learn a few breathing techniques to bolster our patience–all the while watching for ambulances and bikers, focusing our attention and awareness so that we can arrive at our destination in good time and in one piece. Here are stories from everyday life that demonstrate how we can all benefit from a little Buddhist philosophy or practice. With each chapter focusing on a specific topic, readers will learn to coast their way to building a life routine, focusing the mind, calming themselves with breathing exercises, and much much more.
- ISBN13: 9781571746351
- Condition: New
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