num_pages: 275
description: An engagingly contemporary approach to Buddhismthrough the lens of an iconic film and its memorable charactersHumorous yet spiritually rigorous in the tradition of Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance and The Tao of Pooh  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 from Rob Reiners perennially popular filmWestley Fezzik Vizzini Count Rugen Princess Buttercup and othersas he also draws lessons from his own life and his work as a meditation teacher. Nichtern 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 films character the Grandson to explore the dynamics of the last frontier of awakening a reference to his teacher Chogyam Trungpas claim that its 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.
language: English
title: The Dharma of The Princess Bride: What the Coolest Fairy Tale of Our Time Can Teach Us About Buddhism and Relationships
publisher: North Point Press