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Prologue to Romancing the Buddha by Michael Lisagor "Fame and
momentary glories are no more than illusions. True happiness lies
in cultivating the great state of Buddhahood within one's life.
This is life's true purpose." Romancing the Stone, starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, was an adventure-comedy movie about a hunt for lost treasure in the South American jungles. This book, Romancing the Buddha, is an adventure-comedy story about my hunt for lost treasure in the jungles of urban America and the depths of my life. Like the poor
man in a Buddhist parable who wandered for years before discovering
a priceless jewel a wealthy friend had sewn into the hem of his
robe, I was unaware of my own Buddha or enlightened nature. It took
considerable personal effort and the guidance of many sincere teachers
for me to begin to live a joyful life. My parents had
very specific opinions on the subject of treasure. It was anything
that conferred status and wealth. They knew this because their friends
had it and they didn't. Consequently, I grew up equating my self-worth
and success as a human being with my ability to establish myself
in a respected and financially profitable profession. My older brother
decided at a very early age to be a dentist. Optometry was to be
my chosen career even though I had little interest in it. Still,
feigning enthusiasm was much easier than disappointing my parents.
But, by the time I was fifteen, I lost even the semblance of caring.
Since then, I have been engaged in the search for true happiness,
the priceless treasure that exists within my own life. Whether we believe
in nature or nurture or both, we can probably agree that in some
fashion most of us grew up in dysfunctional families. And, we most
likely attended some dysfunctional schools and worked in one or
more dysfunctional organizations. So, how do we, as individuals,
do more than just survive? How do we have enough time and energy
left to enjoy our lives when it takes so much time and energy to
overcome our sufferings? I began practicing
Nichiren Buddhism together with my wife in 1969 at the age of nineteen
to find the answers to these questions. This book chronicles my
thirty-five years of embracing a Buddhist practice and principles
to gradually evolve from a confused and sad teenager into a creative
and happy adult, husband and father. One of the challenges
of writing this book was to take into consideration readers who
were already familiar with Buddhist concepts and those with little
or no knowledge of the subject. I tried to minimize the use of Buddhist
terms and explain the ones I felt were necessary as I related my
experiences and perspectives. Still, you might benefit from reading
the Brief Introduction to Nichiren Buddhism section prior to (hopefully)
enjoying the rest of the book.
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