City Dharma: Keeping Your Cool in the Chaos

by Arthur Jeon

Does your blood pressure rise every time you pull into traffic? Do you start to fume when someone cuts ahead of you in line? Does the world seem populated by endlessly rude people? Are you exhausted trying to keep up with the Joneses and overly anxious about world events?It€™s one thing to lead a focused and peaceful life in the quiet seclusion of an ashram or monastery, but what about where most of us actually live€”in a noisy metropolis or bustling suburb? Hip, helpful, and humorous, City Dharma is the essential guide for everyone who€™s forced to make a living, ?nd someone to love, or just get through the day in the congested and inhospitable environments most of us call home.

Genres: Nonfiction, Buddhism, Spirituality, Philosophy, Religion, Self Help

400 pages, Paperback

First published April 6, 2004

About the author

Arthur Jeon has a BA in Humanities from Harvard and an MFA in screenwriting from USC Film School. Working in Hollywood, he sold several scripts, including a thriller to Warner Bros. and Joel Silver.

After years of silent retreats and teaching yoga, Random House published two of his non-fiction books: "City Dharma" and "Sex, Love & Dharma," which apply mindfulness to modern life. He also is featured with other spiritual luminaries in the collection of essays called "Right Here, Right Now: Bringing Mindful Awareness In Our Lives."

Arthur co-created the non-profit Global Animal Foundation (globalanimal.org). This animal welfare work exposed him to the alarming habitat destruction and extinction rates that generated the idea for Snowflake, his first novel about a high school student to decides to kill the president as an act of environmental protection. It recently snagged "Editor's Choice" from Publishers Weekly Booklife.

Reviews

[Fate's Lady · Rating 1 out of 5]

The whole white guru thing started making me uncomfortable almost immediately, including the fact that the teachers he mentions directly learning from have Western names. The philosophy that this book delivers was just as watered down as I feared, and was full of white male arrogance. He mentions visiting South Africa and witnessing disgusting racism (complete with slurs, which he prints in full several times) and he pays himself on the back for having compassion for the racist he's hanging out with. He very explicitly does not ever speak or act in any way against the racist threats, even when it looks like it could escalate into violence. When DOES he step in ever? How about back in the States, where he touches an agitated man without the man's consent because he's SO enlightened, and then calls the man demented behind his back when someone else calms him down. He acknowledges this as a mistake, but honestly I couldn't imagine anyone but a white man with his head up his ass thinking that touching an agitated stranger is acceptable. DNF

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

We'd had this on our shelf for a long time, probably since shortly after it was published, and I finally gave it a try. I'm glad I did, I really liked it. It's not perfect – I felt it was a bit long-winded, and a few of his anecdotes seemed kind of shoe-horned in – but as an introduction to a dharma viewpoint on life, I thought it was good. I've taken ideas from it that I think will stick with me for a long time, and also plan to read and learn more in this vein.

[Cherie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A Every New Yorker should read this book--every city goer even! This book gives some terrific instruction on how to be mindful and compassionate while living in the city. A lot of times I forget about my Buddhist education and go around acting like a rude New Yorker--this book has reminded me to offer love to strangers, and be present in each and every moment. I love it!

[Liz · Rating 1 out of 5]

pretty cool so far....

Update:
BOO! I actually want to give it a negative star, please. I had to quit reading before I was even half way through... Too fluffy. A Buddhist book for Christians - too many God/Christian analogies. Blah. It was promising in the beginning, but just went downhill from there... Is this un-Buddhist of me?

[Jacqi · Rating 2 out of 5]

I got just about nothing from this book. It's not Buddhist, contrary to what the author keeps making you want to believe. I also felt it was rather judgmental, especially towards the end and overly self righteous. I was hoping so much from this book and received just about nothing. There were two fingers worth of advice towards the beginning and the rest of the book was rather a waste of time.

[Jessica Sideways · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, Arthur Jeon is an awesome author and both City Dharma and Sex, Love and Dharma haven't gotten enough media attention.

[Jeanette · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just ok....nothing great

[Just_An_E · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with any book remotely in the self help category, I would take anything in it with a grain of salt. There are useful ideas and precepts within this book that can genuinely help you inform a better experience of your life. However sometimes the author relies on relating some of his ideas to very specific anecdotal premises or uses examples that are just false information (like the frog boiling alive in a slowly heated pot, or the woman who was attacked while 37 people in her apartment did not call anyone for help, both of which are not true). In addition, the lived experience of the author informs a lot of the perspective of which they speak from, so I don't think anything it speaks on that the author doesn't have any expertise in should necessarily be trusted fully. Let us not succumb to the death of expertise. I think this book should be treated as someone showing how they believe one can live a more full life by demonstrating through their own, which means you should not take it as gospel even remotely. Some of the ideas are also a bit meandering. All in all a decent read, if only for the experience.

[Justin Goodlow · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nothing super insightful or profound in this work, but I think it would be an entertaining read for anyone who practices meditation/spirituality in an urban environment, as I do. The book covers various aspects of urban life and Jeon tells some interesting personal anecdotes relating to these various aspects and uses the anecdotes to introduce his teachings. The writing style is very warm and relaxing.

Unfortunately the author seems to follow the trendy, bland, watered down forms of Yoga and Buddhism that are all too prevalent in the West (what Thanissaro Bhikku calls "Buddhist Romanticism") and often spouts meaningless spiritual cliches like "everything is one" or "everything is God/consciousness" or "the ultimate nature of everything is love." If you can get past these vagueries, I'm sure you'll find some enjoyable passages and helpful advice in this book.

[Yo psicóloga yo lectora · Rating 5 out of 5]

Un libro que llegó a mi por accidente. Encontrado en una librería, como decimos, de viejo.
Dharma Urbano cita cuestiones prácticas de la vida diaria donde reestablecer la paz, con el entorno, si; más a fin de cuentas con uno mismo.
E insita a mirar en cada situación, el aprendizaje, lo que vale gaurdar, lo que hay que desechar; en los bolsillos de la mente no todo cabe, y cuando no encuentra lugar se va al inconsciente y sacarlo de ahí...pfff sacarlo de ahí.
Desde el tráfico, el violento momento de un asalto hasta el sexo mismo o el último aliento de un ser humano Arthur Jeon nos planeta formas prácticas, tangibles de slgo que pareciera difícil de alcanzar: respirar y meditar.

[Mark · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thought provoking answers for how to live in a society that's almost by definition, clinically insane. Without guru-izing, or preaching, Jeon uses instances out of his own experiences to illustrate a number of categories of modern angst- Work, sex, traffic, beggars, and much more, and how to solve your individual anxieties in their midst. Probably the first self-help book in years that wasn't getting some action off doling out "free advice." Jeon allows for individual consciousness perceptions and doesn't lay trips down, just points out ways toward a mindful existence in a society seemingly more devoid of conscience and compassion every day. I liked this one.

[Sara · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really, really loved this book.

Excellent portrayal of how to apply the dharma to life in the city.

The only chapter I didn't devour and agree with and find helpful was the one about Heaven/Hell - the author's view is neither exists, and he doesn't take a fully athiestic standpoint in the sense that he says God is Us and Heaven/Hell is all around us but he basically thinks death = the end, period - which I just don't believe.

Everything else was spot on, funny, and totally relatable.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

Seriously a fantastic read regarding common situations that everyone runs across in life and how you can perceptually change the way you view a potentially upsetting scenario into something positive. This book WILL be sitting on my book shelf for years to come and I know I'll go back to it at some point for a review.

[Alexandra]

Please don't let the name throw you off. One doesn't have to practice Buddhism to get something out of this. Anyone who can relate to the struggle of maintaining peace while living from day-to-day can benefit from reading this book.

[Liz · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's funny to think before there was "A New Earth", there was dharma.... this book would be great for anyone who is following the new earth guidelines, because it gives a great realistic view of how to handle quieting of the mind and living in the present in a city with all the city stuff...

[Kristan · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked this book. It spoke to me. Maybe you need to be born and raised in chaos to appreciate it...or perhaps not necessary interested in judging the authentic "buddhistness" of Jeon's voice. (which by the way I do find redundant.) :)

[Cindy Lord · Rating 3 out of 5]

Feeling a bit frazzeled by the construction site next door I picked up these words of wisdom to help me ward off the stress of city living, and ``other people''. Now I'm slightly more sanguine. It's one rung above mundane in content and totally mundane in writing style. Bit of a plod.

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an excellent book about learning to live more - and appreciate and accept - the present, and how it can even save your life! Well worth reading for anyone that is looking to improve their life from within.

[Lore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Just Read It, please.

[Emily QQ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really good reminder of how to deal with day-to-day challenges of city life and keep a calm and peaceful outlook on things.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

É um livro pra se manter perto, de preferência na cabeceira da cama pra nos chacoalhar de vez em quando.

[Robyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

found this to be very helpful in my move from middle america. miss this book.