The Bodhi Tree Grows in L.A.: Tales of a Buddhist Monk in America

by Bhante Walpola Piyananda

Truth is regularly stranger than fiction for the abbot of a Buddhist temple in the far-from-tranquil inner city of Los Angeles, California. Whether he is talking a dangerously unbalanced man out of buying a gun, confronting a naked woman in his meditation hall, or helping gamblers reform, Bhante Walpola Piyananda demonstrates that every experience can be an opportunity for learning and appreciating the Buddha's teachings.

Bhante Piyananda also reflects on social and political issues such as the racial tension in his neighborhood after the Rodney King trial and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afganistan.

Genres: Buddhism, Religion, Memoir, Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published June 10, 2008

Reviews

[Derek · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories in this collection are interesting and helpful for showing how one Theravada monk has applied the Buddha's teachings to his life in the U.S. This book was similar in many ways to Saffron Days in L.A., but these stories cover more serious situations, like helping a man with a gambling addiction and a girl struggling with anorexia. If you liked Saffron Days, I would definitely recommend the The Bodhi Tree Grows in L.A.

[Krista Bolan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of examples of how the dharma can be applied to every day life situations.

[Nilchance · Rating 1 out of 5]

Got to the point where the author told an anorexic teenager that she was a) gathering bad karma by harming her family, and b) should avoid gluttony, and I threw the book across the room.

[Juicy_Groot · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick read about a monk in L.A.I liked it a lot.