Saffron Days in LA by Bhante Walpola Piyananda is a great read. It has a lot of buddhist insight and doctrine, and a lot of funny stories for the Bhante's experiences as a genuine Theravada monk from Sri Lanka walking around LA with a pure and open heart. I think the stories while funny capture as much wisdom as the explanations of the Buddha's teachings. He walks as he talks, and when he runs into the particular bit of our culture that LA embodies, he puts it all in a new light. It's well written and a fairly quick read. If you don't like little speeches about what the Buddha taught about subject X, then you may wish to skip that section in each capture.
--Chris chris@austin-lane.net
Posted by at September 11, 2007 06:13 PM