Jeff Bridges – An Interview with The Dude and The Zen Master
And we have to get that fire going as soon as we can because our time together is finite, two or three months, maybe six, that’s it. That’s all the time we’ve got to come up with what we intend. Or, every once in a wonderful while, come up with something that transcends our desires and intentions. I love it when that happens, and it does quite often because of all the unknowns involved. I think that’s why I’m still making movies.”
Moreover, Bridges’s and Glassman’s Zen practice is not simply a matter of meditation, which is what most people think of when they hear Zen, but of action and social engagement – of living freely in the world without causing harm, of relieving our own suffering and the suffering of others.
In addition to being one of America’s most famous “roshis,” or Zen teachers, Glassman is the co-founder of Zen Peacemakers, an international order of social activists, and of a foundation that has built homes for homeless families, a child care center, and housing and treatment facilities for people with AIDS. He is also the founder of Greyston Bakery, the main supplier of brownies to Ben & Jerry’s Ice Cream, a gourmet enterprise that is committed to hiring and training people without jobs.
Explaining how he came to create a book with Glassman, Jeff Bridges writes: “I met Bernie at a dinner party thrown by a neighbor of mine for him and Ram Das, author of Be Here Now and many other wonderful books. I sat between these two guys and had a great time. Bernie and I really hit it off; we both cared about a lot of the same stuff. This is where Lebowski comes in. Bernie has been interested for some time now in making Zen more accessible to our times and culture, relevant and down to earth, and he felt that Lebowski did that big time. So he asked me if I wanted to write a book about that. I said, ‘OK.’”
Glassman adds: “All my life I’ve been interested in expressing my truth in ways that almost anyone can understand. A famous Japanese Zen master . . . said that unless you can explain Zen in words that a fisherman will comprehend, you don’t know what you’re talking about. Some 50 years ago a UCLA professor told me the same thing about applied mathematics. We like to hide from the truth behind foreign-sounding words or mathematical lingo. There’s a saying: The truth is always encountered, but rarely perceived. If we don’t perceive it, we can’t help ourselves and we can’t much help other people.”
Inspired by one of the most memorable, quoted, and beloved films of recent years, THE DUDE AND THE ZEN MASTER is informed by the deep humanity and humor of one of America’s most admired and intelligent actors, as well as one of its most respected and accessible Zen teachers. It will be eagerly welcomed by followers of The Big Lebowski, Jeff Bridges, and Bernie Glassman, as well as by anyone seeking enlightenment, entertainment, and usable wisdom from and for everyday life.
For more information on Jeff Bridges, please visit: www.jeffbridges.com
For more information on Bernie Glassman, please visit: www.zenpeacemakers.org
