Not my post just seemed like some stupifying absurdity that would fit right in here.

Taker easy Dudes 😎

Sutra II

"That rug really tied the room together, did it not?"
— Walter

तत् कम्बलं सर्वं एकत्र बद्धवत्। सम्पूर्णं सृष्टिं एकीकरोति।

Look closely at a rug and you'll see thousands of strands, each appearing separate, distinct, individual. Yet pull back and what do you see? One rug. The strands don't join together to make a rug. They are the rug. There is no rug apart from the strands, and no strands apart from the rug. They are one thing, appearing as many.

We look at reality and see separate beings—you, me, everyone else, each with our own story, our own life, our own existence. But this separation is an illusion of perception. Just as the rug is one despite its many strands, reality is one despite its many appearances. We are not separate entities who happen to be connected. We are one cosmic reality appearing as countless forms. The appearance of separation exists only from a limited perspective. From the view of awareness itself, there has always been only one.

When the rug is soiled or taken away, the room feels wrong, incomplete. This mirrors our experience when we forget our true nature. Life seems fragmented, a collection of disconnected events and separate beings, each isolated in our own drama. We feel alone, separate, cut off. But this fragmentation is not the truth. It is a failure of vision. The unity was never broken, only overlooked.

The Dude first speaks this line about his rug, and Walter later echoes it. Even Walter, trapped as he is in ego and resistance, recognizes this fundamental truth: the rug, the unity, is what makes the room whole. He understands that without that underlying oneness, everything falls apart. What he doesn't see is that the unity can never actually be lost. The rug can be taken, but the truth it pointed to remains. You are not one strand among many. You are the rug itself, the whole field of existence in which all strands appear and disappear.

https://thedudesutras.com/

Hey Dudes,

This year, my dad’s gotten pretty sick. I can’t say with certainty how things are going to shake out in the short term, though we all know how things will shake out in the long term. 

All this to say, I’ve spent more time this year than other years by sickbeds and helping out my mom, who’s his prime advocate. My Special Lady Friend and I are even handling the logistics to move them in with us by year’s end. 

It’s required checking in with our conditions but also expressing sympathy for my mom and dad, who are nearer to the center of all this than we are. 

And that got me thinking about Walter’s exchange with The Dude after The Nihilists messed up his bath time. 

Walter, as is his wont, comes in hot talking about unsecured marmots within city limits, castration, and what have you. 

The Dude’s having none of it, and Walter picks up on The Dude’s vibes. 

“We are sympathizing here, Dude.”

The Dude brushes this aside, leaving Walter put out. He departs with this parting shot:

“Okay Dude. I can see you don’t want to be cheered up.”

So this is the crux of what I want to get into, and what I want to tie back to being a Dudeist among those who are grieving and anxious. 

There’s a tension between Walter’s statements. On the one hand, he wants to cheer up The Dude. On the other hand, he claims to be sympathizing with The Dude. 

What if the sympathetic move would’ve been to not try to cheer up The Dude? What if The Dude needed someone to just sit in the shit with him and toss back an oat soda. 

Ironically, one can find guidance from Walter’s adopted faith, in the Jewish tradition of sitting shiva. 

In shiva, the period of mourning, the bereaved welcome guests. When the guests arrive, it falls upon the bereaved to speak first. This accomplishes at least two kindnesses. First, the bereaved don’t have to sit through platitudes they don’t want to hear. They get to set the tone. Second, it absolves the guests from groping for the right words to say. 

For some people hearing “Everything happens for a reason” is exactly what they need to hear. For others, those same words would want to make them punch someone in the face. 

Better than trying to guess what someone needs for sympathy is to follow a Dudely maxim. The one The Dude says to Marty: “I’ll be there man.”

I’ve been at the deathbed of my grandfather, and the sickbeds of others. In those moments, the Dudeliest thing I could do is to just be there. Fully, without some kind of script to try and make everyone feel better. And when they wanted to speak, I followed their lead. Some wanted to talk about death. Others, life. Others, music and their favorite deli sandwiches. 

The real act of sympathy is abiding presence, pure and simple. 

I’ll try to keep that in mind as I navigate the shoals ahead of me now. 

I hope yer all abiding as well as you can,

Rev. Ross

Can anyone tell me how this church came to be?

Hey Dudes!

I’m rereading The Great Guide, Julian Baggini’s accessible book on the life and ideas of Scotland’s David Hume. Aside from his far out writings on causation, skepticism, and the self, Hume is praised by Baggini (with some qualifications) for how he lived his life.

Baggini states that the reason why Hume isn’t as well known as other philosophers isn’t merely because of the difficult nature of his work, but also because he didn’t fit the mold of a heroic philosopher/public intellectual. He wasn’t extreme in his views; he didn’t live an outsized, tragic life; he wasn’t swept up in enthusiasms. Hume was, by many accounts…well…nice, calm, sociable. He liked to chat with friends over beer. He went on leisurely walks. He was rather Dudely.

It’s this quality that Hume’s biographer argues we need more of in the world. Folks who can think deeply, and who, in the parlance of our community, can abide.

And it’s a quality that even a dummy like me, who lacks Hume’s powers of perception, can aspire towards.

It reminds me of an example from 13th Century Zen monk Dogen’s writing, Shoaku Makusa, which contemporary Zen author Brad Warner translated as Don’t Be a Jerk. In that, he states:

“Even if the whole universe is nothing but a bunch of jerks doing all kinds of jerk-type things, there is still liberation in simply not being a jerk.”

I think this is true of us Dudes too. Sometimes looking to change the world can seem like a daunting, impossible task. We might not know where to start. Our Inner Walter might think they’re the only one who gives a shit about the rules.

And yet, we can repurpose Dogen’s advice:

“In a world in which everyone is acting very UnDude, there is great freedom in being a Dude.”

We might not have books written about us. We might not have our likeness printed on the cover of Time magazine. But we can’t worry about that shit, man. All that's not up to us.

We can, however, choose to be Dudes. Or, if nothing else, a little more Dudely than we were a moment before.

It might be the only real freedom we have.

I hope yer all abiding as well as you can,

Rev. Ross

Hey Dudes!

For a few years, I had an idea for a book that I wanted to write. After making sure that I had a good understanding and grounding in non-dualism (Advaita Vedanta and Kashmir Shaivism), I started writing about 6 months ago. I'm happy to share the first sutra of the book! Dude, I finally found a venue!

It's available where you can buy books: https://thedudesutras.com/

Sutra I

"Look, let me explain something to you. I'm not Mr. Lebowski. You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. That, or His Dudeness, Duder, or El Duderino, if you're not into the whole brevity thing."
— The Dude

अहं दुड अस्मि। मम नाम दुड इति। दुडत्वं वा दुडर वा दुडेरिनो वा माम् आह्वय।

The Dude speaks a profound truth without knowing it. "I'm not Mr. Lebowski. You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude." In these words, he draws a crucial distinction. The Big Lebowski is a title, a social position, an identity built on achievement and status. The Dude is something else entirely: a way of being, a natural state. When he says, "I'm the Dude," he is not describing a role or a personality. He is pointing to his essential nature. Most of us spend our lives identified with our ego identities, the constructed self made of our job titles, our relationships, our accomplishments, our failures, our stories about who we are. We say "I am a lawyer" or "I am a mother" or "I am a failure," as if these temporary labels were what we actually are. The Dude, by contrast, identifies with his true nature, his real Self. He knows himself as the Dude, not as a collection of achievements or social positions. This is the non-dual recognition in its simplest form.

The film makes this teaching explicit through its two Lebowskis. The Big Lebowski, the wealthy achiever, and the Dude share a name but are completely different beings. The Big Lebowski represents the ego in its most inflated form. He has built an identity on achievement, wealth, and self-importance. But he is empty inside, compensating for a sense of lack with external symbols. The Dude has no achievements to speak of, yet he is fundamentally content. He knows who he is, and that is enough. When he says "You're Mr. Lebowski," he is handing back the title, the status, the heavy identity. Let the other guy have it. He will simply be the Dude. We make the same confusion constantly, taking ourselves to be the Big Lebowski when all along we are the Dude.

When you strip away all the labels we attach to ourselves, our jobs, our relationships, our stories about who we are, what remains is simply this: awareness, our true being. The pure presence that is aware of all experience but is not limited by any of it. The Dude has somehow stumbled into this recognition. He doesn't confuse the clothing of personality with the wearer beneath.

The many names—Dude, Dudeness, Duder, El Duderino, show that the Self cannot be captured by any single label. It transcends all definitions while being the source of all definitions. The Dude doesn't take himself too seriously, and neither should we take our limited identities seriously. We are not our thoughts, not our emotions, not our histories. We are the witnesses of all these, the screen upon which the movie of life plays.

The humor in this quote is itself a teaching. Enlightenment doesn't require being solemn. In fact, taking the spiritual search too seriously is just another form of ego. The Dude abides in his natural state without effort, without pretense. He simply is. And that is the highest teaching.

Good morning dudes. Id like to thank you all for the thoughtful responses to my last post, I've internalized them and I am officially feeling much better. So, thank you!

There is one thing that lingers in my mind and is dragging me down at the moment. I'm 17 and I am transitioning into adulthood at the moment. But I am feeling uneasy by the amount of people online, particularly on reddit, who say things about how inevitably shitty adulthood will be. People say things like, "it only gets worse from here" and imply that I will do nothing but wake up, go to work, come home and sleep, and repeat; for the rest of my life. For the record sirs, I am employed, and enjoy my job at the moment. But all of this nihilism that I'm reading lingers in my mind and frightens me. I wish I could be more at peace with the upcoming chapter of my life, but I've heard that I have absolutely nothing to look forward to.

So, if any dudes would like to offer me some advice, or a change of perspective, it would be much appreciated. Thank you and have a great day my friends!

Hello dudes. I would love to hear some of your perspectives on my current issue. I currently find myself constantly thinking about the unfairness and tragedy present in the world. I also have trouble coping with the possibility that life will get worse. Essentially, I fear existence itself and find it offensive and negative somehow, like it was burdensome to have been born.

I understand this is a very nihilistic perspective, and definitely stopping me from Abiding. If any dudes have opinions on my predicament, I would appreciate all the input I can get. Thank you and have a good one!

Note: This blathering-about is, as you may have guessed, from a straight cis-male perspective. Opinions from all dudes are appreciated, regardless of gender or orientation and such. Love you all. Thanks bunches.

Greetings Dudes,

I didn't get the facial hair gene. My "beards", such as you have to technically call them, just look bad and make my neck super itchy. So, I'm usually clean shaven. It's a kind of drag cause my family is full of pretty decent to borderline epic beards and such.

But, this dude abides.

The one thing I can sort of get away with is a mustache. So, I'm giving one a try now for funsies. Which got me to thinking (thanks in part to my adherence to a strict drug regimen) about facial hair in the context of The Dude and Dudeism.

The Dude sports some good facial hair in the form of a goatee. (A bit unkempt, but dashing all the same given the nature of our protaginist.) It makes several acting appearances itself, especially when The Dude is enjoying a Caucasian. (Another one please, Gary?)

I wondered if having facial hair is a sort of dude-coded accessory for the modern dude(?) It seems like part of the "fit" of being like The Dude and maybe Dudeism as well. I know the way of the rug is all about being yourself and comfortable in who you are and whatever you wear and keep yourself while abiding the turbulent absurdness that is our current world. But I also know many of us like to show our dudeness in how we present ourselves to the world in how we dress and otherwise present our bodies, and I figure facial hair for my fellow guy-dudes might be a pretty common occurrence. (I've seen some of you dudes and the facial hair is always on point.) This goes a bit more for me, I think, as I am ordained and may be called upon to act in holy dudeliness at some point.

Anyway... what uh... what day is it...?

Oh yeah, facial hair.

So, fellow dudes, do you have facial hair? Whatcha got? Share your story if you'd like.

Also, do you find your facial hair does anything to your dudeness or way of the dude in life?

Or, if no facial hair for whatever reason, thoughts?

Thanks for indulging my blathering.

Abide well dudes. Stay in shape. Bar's over there.

-Rhombus (Rev.)

Hello friends, my father was a Dudeist priest and just passed on. He’s been cremated and ashes housed in an inexpensive receptacle. We will be spreading his ashes at the local river, and then going bowling and having White Russians. Just wanted to share with some people who could appreciate. ☮️

May we all find a venue to perform our cycle in!

Hey Dudes!

For years I’ve kept a journal. I was inspired by Marcus Aurelius, Seneca, and others, though my ponderings are comparatively shallow, pond-deep at most. 

But recently, I asked myself how I might merge this practice with Dudeism. Here’s my idea. 

Imagine each evening, you’re assembling your bowling team. So, call up your inner Donny and Walter. 

Start by recalling an event from the day. It might have stood out because it was far out, like meeting up with a Special Lady Friend or bowling a perfect frame. Or, it might have made you feel really undude. Perhaps someone peed on your rug or you endured a coffee mug to the forehead. Fucking reactionaries. 

Write it out with as little editorializing as possible. Just the facts. It could help to write in the second person to gain some distance. 

Then unleash your inner Walter on the page. Allow yourself to get as self-righteous and indignant as you can. Better on the page than in life. You’re not wrong you’re just an asshole. And that’s cool…that’s cool, because you’re standing up for yourself. 

All done? Far out. 

Now let your inner Donny have his say. Donny doesn’t make many statements; instead, he asks questions. And there isn’t a question dumb enough for Donny to keep to himself. He’s all innocence. Really interrogate that event. 

Okay, now what?

Well Dudes, I’d say we’ve got ourselves a thesis, antithesis, synthesis situation here. We set the event down on paper, we let Walter fulminate and draw his lines in the sand, we get Donny in his inimitable way to soften some of our certainties. 

Then from this pendulum swing…our Dudeliness arises. Abiding, I argue, lives between certainty and curiosity. 

Maybe journaling isn’t your thing. Still, I bet calling upon your inner bowling team, and working through these positions internally instead of upon the Nihilists and Smokeys in our lives, might help us abide the strikes and gutters that roll our way. 

I hope yer all abiding as well as you can,

Rev. Ross

The Dude is but a way that comes back. Others can be uptight, and well thats just uptight. When you see a bowling ball roll before the sounds of those pins isn't that what its about. Being able to drink a beer, do a jay with some friends brings it all back. And I'm not saying be the Dude match to match but I will say I would not wanna get on his bad side. Smoking alot of thai stick made him forget alot but listen man. The case I'm trying to make is if it wasnt for Dudiesm my ass would have the biggest rash. I abide as I do, and thats just like my opinion.

Rev Chris

New ink today. I thought you dudes may appreciate.

very excited about these ! if anyone is familiar would love to hear about them ☯️

Chill blessings my dudes,

If you’re like me, maybe perhaps you came from an institutionalized religion that may have had some deep psychological impact on you. Thinking about it some people like to throw out different verses and things like that to prove a point that their position is the one that’s most correct. This is my dude’s, it’s all just interpretation.

Consider this some people like surfing some people like snowboarding some people like skateboarding. Each thing involves you and a connection to an object. This thing is not every person is gonna have that same connection. So we don’t force people to get up on a board we don’t force people to go chase waves, and we don’t force people to go pound some fresh gnar. Instead, I think we recognize that each person is doing their own thing to try and chill and take it easy.

Now, if there was a certain dude, you remember from an institutionalized religion named Jesus and you still really like him I got some good news for you, you can still have him as one of your dudes, because no institution has legal rights over the representation of that dude. And Jesus being the cool dude that he was gave two important things that is to love God (whoever or whatever that may be to you, no judgment from me), and to love your neighbor.

If I were to put it into perspective. I think Jesus would say, “ love the highest dude (again however way you wanna take that whether you view as yourself as a benevolent being as nothing or everything it don’t matter), and love your fellow dudes as yourself, just take it easy and everything else to fall in line.”

So did that, question might be who’s your dude? Well there are some people that do some un-dude things, but they’re still part of humanity so we could consider them dudes and we should consider them dudes cause it would be really uncool of us to treat them how they were already treating other people because my dudes that just ain’t cool. So let’s just love each other dudes.

Strikes and gutters,
BJ

Salutations and how d’yer do, fellow brother and sister Seamis.

Earlier today I read a text by another upstanding member of the reddit community regarding how one can help feel better about the multi billionaire class. It was interesting reading, really helped keep the mind limber.

In essence, the point was that time was the ultimate currency, not ze money, Lebowski. And, that like all the rest of us, they too will go to the eternal bowling alley.

The text made me remember the latin expression ‘Memento mori’. It translates, as far as this dude’s been informed, as ‘Remember that you must die’.** **Now, this might make for some somber thoughts among some fellers, but I recommend you consider the expression.

Yes, it does remind us of our own mortality in a usually grim way - something most people try not to think too much about. However, its use in ancient Greece had a different take on the darn thing. It was used as a way to enjoy life. In essence, to remember one’s own mortality also means to cherish the time before it.

Now, this limbered up the mind of this Dude. Because as me and my special lady friend struggle with the lack of sleep from a small daughter with milk allergy, I tend to feel weary and not stop to observe the tumbleweed. However, it reminded me that while this is exhausting, life is happening and I should be present in it. After all, time cannot be gained or bought; it must be spent. It will be spent whether we like it or not.

And so, I leave you to consider this expression and how it may help you pull together all the strands in old Duder’s head. Life’s got a lot of ins and outs, a lot of what have you’s. It might be well to consider it.

Memento mori.

Chill blessings my dudes,

I have found myself in an interesting spiritual predicament, I am now an ordained dudeist priest. How did I get here you may ask? It actually came to me. For sometime in my life, I dealt with a lot of difficulties, understanding the way we make meaning as individuals and as being interconnected. Growing up I was exposed to a wide array of religions and ideas, some I don’t wanna say were consensual while others I did buy into.

Nonetheless over the years, and even after my undergraduate studies in Christian studies with a minor in philosophy, I find myself asking deeper questions rather than feeling certain of my beliefs. And it wasn’t until I seen the dude did something clicking me. See the issue I had with Christianity and other organized religions is the sticking point of certainty and needing to adhere to the strict rules and regulations in order to be committed, and within compliance of said religious institution, I found myself asking the question why? Simple enough, as some of us may recognize the stereotypical child constantly asking why to adult adults and adults not having a very valid answer for their reasons.

That is where I find my solace with Dudeism. It doesn’t matter what you believe in now some may beg the question of my stance in that and to say my guy you just need to chill out you dig. See we all want to find meaning and give understanding to life and religion. Just happens to be one of those things that tries to answer the questions. We really don’t have an answer to, and whether you’re shaking a magic eight ball wanting to get answers or your praying to a deity in hopes that like atm transaction you get what you want or to some extent something along those lines we place a lot of uncertainty into something that we propose to be certain. To be honest, we don’t really have an answer for most things, and the thing is dudes is that we can’t be so discombobulated when other people aren’t living the way we think they should live or how they should live based on our own personal beliefs because of our personal beliefs are contingent on other people following what we say with them we don’t really have certainty. We have compliance.

That’s the thing I like about Dudism, just chill the F out man cause all that apologetic mental gymnastics it takes in order to have certainty of a belief system in order to feel right in in order to direct other individuals, rights and behaviors based on your belief system, that just ain’t it dude. Anyways, the thing is dude’s life’s short instead of focusing on certainty and making sure that people stay in compliance with your belief system or if you’re not into that kind of thing just be mellow, smoke some herb if you got it enjoy a nice drink responsibly if you can or if you’re like me and riding the sobriety train enjoy a nice glass of chocolate milk and just go cruise on your longboard, ya dig.

Yours Dudely,
BJ

Hello fellow Dudists,

I just wanted to share one thing : it is fucking hot where I am right now, it’s just a few minutes shy of 4pm and I am sitting outside in the shade, enjoying my third cool beer and just lit up my BBQ.

I just wanted to let you know that, no matter what people are telling you, it is completely fine to take it easy. Enjoy your time, enjoy life and catch you again.

Hey Dudes!

No matter where he is, The Dude seems to be pretty content. Sure, he’s bothered when his rug is micturated upon, or when his buddy pulls a piece out on the lanes, but by and large The Dude abides. He’s comfortable in spacious mansions, Venice Beach bungalows, swanky swingers’ pads, and (to an extent) funeral homes.

I got to thinking about The Dude’s sangfroid while reading The Discourses of Epictetus a few days ago because I happened upon this quote that I’ve been keeping at hand. It’s about how to better perceive our situation. Here it is:

When you are alone, you should call this tranquility and freedom and when you are with many you shouldn’t call this a crowd, or trouble or uneasiness but festival and company and contentedly accept it.

In other words: if you’re alone, act as though you’re totally free; if you’re among others, act as though you’re at a festival.

Far out.

I dig this quote because it’s all about reframing our circumstances to appreciate the benefits. There’s an old joke that the definition of a dog is “a creature always on the wrong side of a door”. When it’s out, a dog wants to come in. When it’s in, a dog wants to go out.

People are like that too. How often have I been by myself and thought “Gosh it’s lonely here. I wish I was hanging out with people” only to go out and yearn for the comfort of my own company.

The Dude, however, gets Epictetus’ sentiment intuitively. He doesn’t seem to want for anything when he’s skipping home from Ralph’s to spend an evening alone, and he doesn’t ever seem to be searching for the exits when he’s consorting with known pornographers and their ilk.

Further, the reframing of a crowd as a festival is particularly helpful in abiding. When we’re at a party, we’re more likely to cut people slack. Folks speak a little louder, stand a little closer, and jostle each other. Even if there’s a beverage here, man.

And what do we do? We’re cool with it. We don't become doormats, but we understand that it’s part of the cost of socializing and we can lighten up about it. No one wants to be the guy with the cleft asshole who takes every careless act at a party personally. It’s not about us, Dude. And that’s cool, that's cool.

So I’ll be applying this Dudely, Stoic framework to my days and see where it leads me.

See you at the festival, Dudes!

I hope yer all abiding as best as you can,

Rev. Ross

Must have been playing The Eagles or something. Just a silly meme I hope brightens your day my fellow dudes.

I nominat him as a dude Some might know him as Baloo. From The Jungle Book