Bad Dog!: A Memoir of Love, Beauty, and Redemption in Dark Places

I first encountered this book at a brief workshop conducted by Lin Jensen, during which he read from this and several other of his books. Raised an Episcopalian by emotionally distant and sometimes abusive parents, Lin is now a Buddhist master and and founder of the Chico Zen Sangha. He's been a public presence in Chico for a number of years, sitting downtown daily on the pavement in meditation in protest the U.S. Invasion of Iraq. Bad Dog is a collection of Jensen's meditations on a host of themes, each chapter beginning with some event in his life and then drawing out threads of wisdom, reflections on how these events fit into a larger picture. Fearless and honest in his self-observation, he is at the same compassionate with others Each beautifully written chapter is short--two to six pages--and for me best savored in small bites. A chapter a day has proven a good centering tool to settle me down before sitting zazen.

I'm a fan of really good writing as well as Buddhism. I read this book several months ago and always meant to write a review about it. So today I finally got around to it and browsed the reviews written before me to see that all the superlatives had been already taken. Gut-wrenching, beautiful,powerful. This book touched me as very few have. It is a must-read regardless of its subject matter because of the quality of the writing alone. I could feel this kid's life. His loneliness, alienation and neediness. Like many great books it can be read on different levels. As a personal memoir of growing up in a particular time and place with a particular type of upbringing. As a lay Buddhist book; essentially a primer of how to step away from a world of samsara and build for yourself, step by step, act by act, a life of peace, love and compassion. What a journey he's had. How amazing that he shared it with us. It's an elegant, lyrical, deceptively "deep" book which really deserves a much wider audience.(Read it and imagine that it's Number One on the N.Y. Times bestseller list and see if you feel just a little more hopeful).

Stark, and beautiful. Many people, like the author's father, assert that the best response to tough times is to be cold and tough in our actions. But throughout his lifetime, in the shadow of the Great Depression and his cruel father, the author stayed true to his own inner desire for compassion. And he has lived to tell us about it.

The first story "Bad Dog" evokes the recurring theme of the entire collection: Redemption in a world of sorrow. It spans the author's life through more than fifty years in a mere six pages. An essence of humilty is evident as you try and understand the hardness of his father's will. The adage of he did the best he knew how plays a familiar tune to most of us raised by depression era parents. The resentment melts away with Jensen's tender acts of mercy towards his father nearing the end of his life. A tender act few if any of us would be able to muster up... It's a recommended read for everyone hoping to understand how to see into the darkness and not be afraid.

Lin Jenson has the grace to reflect on profound moments in his life in a non-judgemental way, regardless of the circumstances. It is refreshing to read the work of a person that has the gift of self reflection and can communicate the experience as well as this Zen teacher has been able to do. One can only hope to be able to learn as much from their own life's experiences.