An engagingly contemporary approach to Buddhism—through the lens of an iconic film and its memorable charactersHumorous yet spiritually rigorous, drawing from pop culture and from personal experience, The Dharma of “The Princess Bride” teaches us how to understand and navigate our most important personal relationships from a twenty-first-century Buddhist perspective.Friendship. Romance. Family. These are the three areas Ethan Nichtern delves into, taking as departure points the indelible characters—Westley, Fezzik, Vizzini, Count Rugen, Princess Buttercup, and others from Rob Reiner’s perennially popular film—as he also draws lessons from his own life and his work as a meditation teacher. Nicthern devotes the first section of the book to exploring the dynamics of friendship. Why do people become friends? What can we learn from the sufferings of Inigo Montoya and Fezzik? Next, he leads us through all the phases of illusion and disillusion we encounter in our romantic pursuits, providing a healthy dose of lightheartedness along the way by sharing his own Princess Buttercup List and the vicissitudes of his dating life as he ponders how we idealize and objectify romantic love. Finally, Nichtern draws upon the demands of his own family history and the film’s character the Grandson to explore the dynamics of “the last frontier of awakening,” a reference to his teacher Chogyam Trungpa’s claim that it’s possible to be enlightened everywhere except around your family. With The Dharma of “The Princess Bride” in hand, we can set out on the path to contemporary Buddhist enlightenment with the most important relationships in our lives.Table of Contents:Introduction: Fairy Tales, the Real World, and True LovePart I THE DHARMA OF FRIENDSHIP1. Mercenaries or Besties: What Are Friends For?2. The Bad Guys: Out There vs. In Here3. Find Your Inner Fezzik: The Practice of FriendshipPart II THE DHARMA OF ROMANCE4. There Is No Buttercup5. Lost on the High Seas: Emptiness and Dating6. Basic Goodness: How the Farmboy Was Finally Reborn7. As You Wish, Part I: The Practice of PartnershipPart III THE DHARMA OF FAMILY8. All Sentient Beings Have Been Grandpa9. Fred Savage Is a Jerk, and I Am Fred Savage: Gratitude for Your Lineage10. As You Wish, Part II: The Practice of FamilyConclusion: Have Fun Storming the CastleAppendix: Seven-Step Loving-Kindness(Metta or Maitri) Practice in 20-25 MinutesNotesAcknowledgments
