Dinner with Buddha

Along with these inner awakenings for Otto, there is also a very real hint of menace in the novel, as men show up who may be looking to make sure that the world never knows of the existence of Shelsa, the eight-year-old daughter of Rinpoche and Otto's sister, Cecilia. With Rinpoche's guidance, he hopes to find a new meaning in his life and a new direction. Shelsa has consistently shown that she has the markings and the instincts of a spiritual leader, leading to speculation that she may be the new Dalai Lama.. But what begins as a quietly contemplative journey becomes much more as the two men travel through the heart of the American Midwest, witnessing the decimated lives of so many American natives and giving Otto new perspective on the trials he is experiencing in his own life. What prompts the trip is Otto's recently altered life, having lost first his wife then his job, and then seeing both his children leave home for lives of their own. The author of Breakfast with Buddha brings his characteristic whimsy to a new novel about New York book editor Otto Ri

Clarke Crutchfield said Fast-paced, funny and profound. Further adventures of Otto, transplanted New York book editor, and his brother-in-law Rinpoche, a Buddhist holy man, tricky wrestler and fledgling student of Americana who also knows his way around a Vegas craps table. They're on a fast-paced and funny road trip through the American West. This is the best of the three "Buddha" books, and I really loved the first two as well. You don't need to have read the other two books first, but you'll want to check them out after you savor this witty and profound work.. Gentle Humour and Likable Characters I really enjoyed this 3rd in the series of " with the Buddha". For me Roland Merullo strikes just the right note with his gentle humour. The characters are really likeable. In fact I think he is one of those authors who likes his characters and can make them readily accessible to his readers.If you are comfortable with Buddhist philosophy or want to know more about it, Merullo's books give you some simple information without over-selling Buddhism. You can see Buddhism in action with the patient and loving Rinpoche as well as Otto (his student. "A kind of homecoming" according to Pam C. Merullo hits the nail on the head: East and West must shake hands; embrace, if you will, the two major parts of what it means to be human. For us, as Americans (and these novels are a love letter to the land and people here in the States), that means realizing and accepting that our internal life, health, happiness, ease, is as real as logic and scientific certainty. Accepting that each thing we DO, ACT ON, must be based on an integration, a wholeness of mind, body and spirit. If Tibet and America personify these aspects of conscious, self-re