Breakfast with Buddha is essentially a delivery vehicle in novel form for a series of insights, observations, and lessons. There is undoubtedly a Buddhist undertone to much of what Merullo conveys to his readers but there is plenty of humor and general wisdom to keep me from describing the book as religious. I came by this book through a recommendation and suggest anyone who is looking for a bit of light reading to give it a try (1).
One thought I liked from the book was about teaching. A good approach for teachers is to never try to convince anyone of anything. This method rang true with me. An effective teacher must acknowledge at some point that the student is responsible for most of the learning. Also, a student who comes to a realization is probably more likely to retain or internalize the knowledge when compared to a student who is convinced by a teacher. In the case of the latter student, at the very least there is a chance the next teacher who comes along can convince him or her of something else.
I also liked the way meditation was described in this book – it means acknowledging a thought for just a moment before letting it float away on the next breath. The description demonstrates why meditation is so commonly associated with calmness and suggests that applying the process of acknowledging and letting go can be a valuable mental tool for situations outside of a meditation session.
Finally, I thought deeply about the comment that people who define themselves by their thinking and intellect sometimes struggle to recognize the effect of their words on others. In many cases, these words come from places of darkness or insecurity. The only way to stand up to an intellectual bully is with supreme calmness.
One up: I enjoyed this response to a fairly offensive comment – you could not offend me.
One down: This book poses some thoughtful questions about modern society that I thought could have benefited from further exploration. Why, for example, does modern society see grown children moving hundreds or thousands of miles away from their parents as a cause for celebration? Why do some people lead good lives just for the sake of it?
One question along these lines did get extended consideration – when the river in Chicago was making people sick, engineers reversed the direction of the water. Why not just clean up the river? As the book noted, most people find it easier to change directions in life when simply cleaning up a little bit instead could make an outsized impact.
Just saying: I can’t really speak to the accuracy of the thought but I did enjoy the comment that Jesus doesn’t want worship, he just wants you to act like him.
Footnotes / should books release singles?
1. Chapter 14…
I marked down chapter 14 for a reread and I suggest it for anyone who might be looking for a few pages of reading to pass the time.
Longtime readers of TOA will note that rereading sections of fiction is an unusual step for me. Chapter 14 – like the rest of the book – is hardly a written masterpiece but I enjoyed the process of reading it a second time. I think this speaks to the modular construction of the book and underscores my point in the first paragraph of how this book was a delivery vehicle for certain lessons Merullo wanted to pass along to his audience.
