so why are you a dudeist?

[cckeiser]

The movie "Revolver" helped me shed my ego (or try to at any rate).

And once I asked myself, "If I am not my ego, what am I?" the answer was "just a guy." As simple as that is, once I realized I'm just a guy, a dude, here in this world, it became so much easier to accept the reality of things as they are.  Good or bad, things just *are* and the best I can do is to roll with it, and help people around me roll with their own shit (good and bad), too.  No working my bag off for some eternal reward; just keep on keeping on.

To me, that was the essence of "Abide."

You too dude?
Yeah, it took me a bit of going round and round, but I finally came to the conclusion the purpose of life is to live it. All that other stuff is just bullshit.
Doesn't matter what you do with it either. If you live a life...a life has been lived. The purpose of life has been fulfilled.
Welcome Senator Tso and welcome Trip.
Welcome to all the new dudes!

[Caesar dude]

the purpose of life is to live it

Reading this struck a chord with me....and I was going to try and explain myself a bit...how, many years ago I'd met a lady who'd tried to help me live my life by saying "just be happy" Now that's a mighty a fine statement but you can't always do that without hurting other folks......

I then thought better of posting until I'd read the earlier posts...and lo there it was a post from from April Last year in which I talk about "doing no harm"

Coincidences and serendipity abound....

Love light and peace

[jakubol]

OK, my turn. I was raised Roman Catholic, but that's what everyone around was, so there was not much choice. Once I started thinking for myself I decided that a level of hipocricy in it is too much for me, so I decided out. Shorty after that I realised that I don't believe in gods whatsoever and that's how I became an atheist. To be honest I don't need a religion in my life, or maybe I don't believe in what religions (at least most of them) have to give. However if there was one religion I was to choose it would be Dudeism. My values - respecting others, equality of people etc are all here, plus - when my life kicks my arse (I'm quite soft so it happens every now and then) I try to remember what would the Dude do. How human paraquats treat him and that I can't really help damn paraquats treating me like a piece of shit - just fuck 'em. It's not worth worrying about it too much, because it will only drive you crazy.
What really means is sticking to your values. If anyone knows German there's a song by Die Toten Hosen called "Steh Auf, Wenn Du Am Boden Bist". It says that is hard to stick to your values, not to lose your way so you can respect yourself. So you can look in the mirror without feeling sick. That what counts and I think that's what makes one a Dudeist.

[cckeiser]

Fabulous stuff...just fabulous!

[cakebelly]

An old GF innerduded me to Die Toten Hosen, years ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I3z-gqLGIKU

A Dudely post jakubol 

[Karma]

Well, once upon a time I found out, life strikes back so hard sometimes, that it makes you wanna change stuff but some bad shit that comes to light, well ehm like can`t be returned and so...I found out best thing would be to take the whole shit easy so like some wiser fellow said

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.



peace

[cckeiser]

Well, once upon a time I found out, life strikes back so hard sometimes, that it makes you wanna change stuff but some bad shit that comes to light, well ehm like can`t be returned and so...I found out best thing would be to take the whole shit easy so like some wiser fellow said

God grant me the serenity
to accept the things I cannot change;
courage to change the things I can;
and wisdom to know the difference.



peace

Is that some kind of Eastern thing?

[jakubol]

Is that some kind of Eastern thing?

Shut the fuck up! You're out of your element!
Am I wrong? Am I wrong? Of course not, I'm Polish Catholic after all

[Dave]

I think I would do some thread necro, and add my story.

Like a lot of folks here, I was connected to the path of the Dude prior to the movie or the Dudeism movement here. It's not only because the only sporting trophy I have is for bowling.

I was big into Zen, and thought the Tao Teh Ching was the greatest book I'd ever read.

However I have been living undudely in that I've been hating myself. Even hating my dudeness.

So really, I liked the movie okay, but kinda connected too much to the dude, that it depressed me somewhat. Even my wife said at the time - LOL you are like the Dude.

I've only recently ordained, because a priest on my facebook (ex-christian priest) posted about dudeism. I read it and ordained there and then.

I think at the end of the day, a Dude is not going to fit into these modern incarnations of religions. It's too dogmatic for the dude. It's too much theory, and not enough doing.

The Dude is a mystical path that involves 'doing' or 'not doing', and just being your own 'Dude'. Instead of debating about it.

[4weeddude]

So I can relax ..... with the religion thing .... why do today what you can maybe get to later in life .... if there is time. Speaking of time it maybe running out today.

[MetalStewman]

After loads of stress and band drama and just other drama in general, I decided I was tired of it man. I wanted to cut back to as pure a form of simplicity as I could. I hadn't watched the big lebowski, ever. One of my current bandmates insisted I grab a case of oat sodies and go watch it. I did, several times, and the rest is history. I saw The Dude and thought.. "that's my guy, man" ..that's the way I want to be. Simple, laid back, comfortable, care free. I started patterning my life in such a way that I only encountered or dealt with people who shared the same sentiments towards life, which, in a round about way led me here. I've never been big on religion, love the movie, love what it stands for, and Dudeism is a life choice that makes the whole darned human comedy much more enjoyable.

[cckeiser]

After loads of stress and band drama and just other drama in general, I decided I was tired of it man. I wanted to cut back to as pure a form of simplicity as I could. I hadn't watched the big lebowski, ever. One of my current bandmates insisted I grab a case of oat sodies and go watch it. I did, several times, and the rest is history. I saw The Dude and thought.. "that's my guy, man" ..that's the way I want to be. Simple, laid back, comfortable, care free. I started patterning my life in such a way that I only encountered or dealt with people who shared the same sentiments towards life, which, in a round about way led me here. I've never been big on religion, love the movie, love what it stands for, and Dudeism is a life choice that makes the whole darned human comedy much more enjoyable.

Welcome dude!
Sounds to me as if you found your way home.
Any rug dude...any rug.

[Reverend Thomo]

Opening the door again to this topic - 11 year gap geez.

Oh man, this has been a question rattling around my brain for as many years.  I began a Buddhist path in 2007 and in 2009, I had two experiences that completely changed my life - for good and bad.  I had been sat in my garden in a chilled-out state, absentmindedly watching flies go from flower to flower, when I suddenly felt this huge presence of stillness within me, like something that had no end to it but was in me and outside of me at the same time.  About a month later, I happened to glance up at the sky and saw that same presence alight everywhere, and in that instance, I saw that everything is just One thing, and what I thought of as myself had been a total lie.

It was as though there was something inside of me, looking through my eyes at all that is itself.  And I lost myself.  And I became completely aimless.  Nothing seemed to matter, and everyone around me seemed so freakin uptight all the time.  And I could see this sickness of the "I", the "me" fighting for itself all the day.

And I understood what Buddha had been saying all those years ago, but in the Buddhist group I felt like I was treading on egg shells.  I couldn't say anything about it because the group was full of experienced Buddhists who kinda controlled what everyone should understand about Buddhism.  So, in the end I left.  I got attracted to Daoism again, and spent a year just observing nature.  Which got me into both a Daoist path and a Druid path.

And the more I delved into each the more I found a tension.  Daoism is full of experts claiming what Wu Wei is, or Pu is and so on, and arguing like scientists about it, and totally missing the point.  And Druidry, well I could see some of the past metaphors being true but it has turned into something a little crazy, people holding swords over each other to ask if there is peace in the east.  People doing crazy rituals to the names of Celtic gods...

And it all felt heavy.  And none of it matters.  And I just wanted to get away from this heavy "religious" crap, and just live.

And I saw Dudeism, and thought it was pretty neat.  For me, it was like Daoism before all the intense crap and magic stuff.  But it also seemed full of ego at times, we can easily be playing the character of a Dude.  But that ain't no bad thing.

But increasingly, I saw that Dudeism is about simplicity and being.  And as was written above, life is about living, it's not about being right or wrong about stuff, or an expert in something, and the best we can be is a man (or woman) and be content with simply being.

So, recently I have been wondering about Daoism, Druidry, and Dudeism.  I tried to create my own Druid order recently, my own Daoist school years ago, and having read these posts, and having listened to my inner knowing, it's time to drop them both.  Time to return to the simplicity of a limber mind, abiding, and taking it easy.  So, I am staying with Dudeism and going to kick back and relax in the cosmic hammock of life.

Thanks Dudes.

[DigitalBuddha]

re; 'so why are you a dudeist?'

Cause I'm fuckin' lazy, man.

[Quantum Shhhhart]

Greetings & Love

perhaps the secret to being human is unlearning & realizing Dudeism is the source within us all, once we let go of our Ego.

Being a Dudeist is a reminder to stay calm & dude on.

"Free from desire, you realize the mystery. Caught in desire, you only see the manifestations" Tao Te Ching