{"id":18931,"date":"2022-10-20T15:59:34","date_gmt":"2022-10-20T20:59:34","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=18931"},"modified":"2022-10-20T15:59:34","modified_gmt":"2022-10-20T20:59:34","slug":"the-dharma-bums-guide-to-western-literature","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/themagicalbuffet.com\/blog1\/?p=18931","title":{"rendered":"The Dharma Bum’s Guide to Western Literature"},"content":{"rendered":"

Fun fact, at one point in my life I was an English major. I was considering becoming a high school English teacher. I didn\u2019t pursue that path but a big takeaway was, I am not a fan of classic literature. Seriously. Most of the required reading I did in high school showed me that my idea of great literature and a school board\u2019s idea are not the same thing. However, I am a big fan of Buddhism and that\u2019s why when offered the opportunity to read a book intended to show the Dharma hidden in Western literature, I couldn\u2019t say no.<\/p>\n

$\"\"$ \u201cThe Dharma Bum\u2019s Guide to Western Literature: Finding Nirvana in the Classics\u201d by Dean Sluyter is an entertaining and thought provoking read. Sluyter discusses expected classics, such as \u201cThe Great Gatsby\u201d, \u201cAdventures of Huckleberry Finn\u201d, and \u201cMoby Dick\u201d, but also adds the unexpected like \u201cThe Cat in the Hat\u201d, Frederick Douglass \u201cThe Slave Narrative\u201d, and Rodgers and Hammerstein\u2019s \u201cOklahoma!\u201d \u201cThe Dharma Bum\u2019s Guide\u201d isn\u2019t claiming these were written from a Buddhist perspective, but that the Dharma is so universal, it can be found in everything\u2026.including Western literature.<\/p>\n

Sluyter\u2019s exploration of the authors, as well as their works, can make Buddhist thought more accessible to the Western mind, and can occasionally make a person carrying a disdain for classics (like yours truly) reassess their previous stances. \u201cThe Dharma Bum\u2019s Guide to Western Literature\u201d by Dean Sluyter is a fantastic book for anyone interested in Western literature, or Buddhism, or both.<\/p>\n

You can learn more here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Get your own copy here.<\/a> (This is an affiliate link to my Bookshop, which supports independent bookstores throughout the United States. If you use this link to purchase the book, I will make a small commission at no additional cost to you.)<\/p>\n

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