Lodro Rinzler teaches at the New York Meditation Center and throughout North America. His advice column appears online at the Huffington Post and The Good Men Project. He is the author of Buddha Walks Into a Bar: A Guide to Life for a New Generation. Lodro runs the Institute for Compassionate Leadership based in New York City. Visit him at his website: lodrorinzler.com.
This handy and laid-back paperback is centered around questions sent for him to answer by more than 100 people. He begins with: "Why meditate? I mean, I hear it's supposed to reduce stress but it sounds like a lot of work." He identifies three obstacles which make meditation hard: 1. laziness, 2. speedy-busyness, 3. disheartenment. Later, he suggests we see meditation as dating our minds.
Next, he takes on a tricky one: "How do you stay present in an era of constant distraction?" Rinzler quotes Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche who believes that most of us do not do anything 100% anymore: "This quality of speed gives life a superficial feeling; we never experience anything fully." That certainly hits the nail on the head. As an antidote, the author suggests one-pointed concentration.
Be sure to check out Rinzler's answer to "What Makes for a 'Good' Buddhist?" Included in the seven things are "Try Not to Cause Harm" and "Learn Something." The author ups the creative ante with his assessments of "fomo" (fear of missing out) and "cool boredom."
Predictably, Rinszler tries to field questions about going to sex clubs, masturbating, finding a partner online, loneliness, fidelity, and coming out. With masterful strokes, he gives reasonable and sometimes very out-of-the-box answers to questions about choosing a career path, overcoming office gossip and slander, and ten steps for mindful e-mail communication.
