The toughest part about Dudeism (tough love)

[SpaceDog]

I've always thunked that part of the magic of TBL was the interplay between the characters esp. Dude, Walter & Donny & I see this as being inherent in Dudeism too.
While Duder abides Walter (besides the rug pissers) is the agent of change, which can, of course, be violent and the engine behind the story. Donny is just the confused and innocent child-like babbling void who digs bowling & surfing.

Holding the Dude up as an example for a gentle Holy Fool is all well and good, and I hope that sometimes I act like that too but I've enough scars from those Walter moments where my line in the sand has been crossed & I know that I've crossed a fair few lines myself.

Again, it is the tension between those contrary parts of us that gives life its complex sparkle.

[forumdude]

Meekon has an important job here at Dudeism to remind us all not to "be the dude" but to be Dudeist. However, sometimes I do think he has an itchy trigger finger in regards to the subject. We shouldn't throw the marmot out with the bathwater.

The point is that the Dude is estimable but not because he's cool or lazy or whatever. The element of the Dude that we should incorporate into our lives if we want to achieve a better state of mind is his immunity. I've said it many times - he is supernaturally immune to the dictates of society and the typical impulses of the human social animal when faced with conflict or superficial dearth. And of course, there are many of these types of characters in history we can use as examples. It's just that, for the moment, he is the most easily grokked.

Meekon is right that the Dude is not a savior or a Buddha, or a Jesus. Dudeism is a non-prophet religion. But it is also a bit paganistic  (or perhaps a sort of non-theistic panentheism) which sees reflections of dudeness in many things. Our iconography is not chiseled in stone, however, but sculpted in silly putty.

But as the Atheist movement has shown, you need an iconography to get your head around things - thought generally does not exist in a vacuum - you need metaphors. So long as we take the Dude (and other elements of Dudeism) as a metaphor, then there will be no harm done. The beauty of this is that since he's clearly a fictitious character (unlike the supposed historical Jesus and other prophets) you'd have to be totally insane to see him as anything other than a metaphor. Built in safety valve to keep the sycophants and sociopaths away!

[DigitalBuddha]

I see the dude as a painting of an idea, a way of relating to life and others around you, and an example of at least one way to abide. But that is just like my opinion, man.

[Boston Rockbury]

I see the dude as a painting of an idea, a way of relating to life and others around you, and an example of at least one way to abide. But that is just like my opinion, man.

to me, some of the ideas painted are:

Friendship
Non-violence
Feeling okay about yourself whatever the fuck anybody else thinks
Not being greedy
Valuing relaxation

that kinda stuff

[DigitalBuddha]

I see the dude as a painting of an idea, a way of relating to life and others around you, and an example of at least one way to abide. But that is just like my opinion, man.

to me, some of the ideas painted are:

Friendship
Non-violence
Feeling okay about yourself whatever the fuck anybody else thinks
Not being greedy
Valuing relaxation

that kinda stuff

Fuckin' eh, sounds good to me, mang!

[Hominid]

Meekon has an important job here at Dudeism to remind us all not to "be the dude" but to be Dudeist. However, sometimes I do think he has an itchy trigger finger in regards to the subject. We shouldn't throw the marmot out with the bathwater.

The point is that the Dude is estimable but not because he's cool or lazy or whatever. The element of the Dude that we should incorporate into our lives if we want to achieve a better state of mind is his immunity. I've said it many times - he is supernaturally immune to the dictates of society and the typical impulses of the human social animal when faced with conflict or superficial dearth. And of course, there are many of these types of characters in history we can use as examples. It's just that, for the moment, he is the most easily grokked.

Meekon is right that the Dude is not a savior or a Buddha, or a Jesus. Dudeism is a non-prophet religion. But it is also a bit paganistic  (or perhaps a sort of non-theistic panentheism) which sees reflections of dudeness in many things. Our iconography is not chiseled in stone, however, but sculpted in silly putty.

But as the Atheist movement has shown, you need an iconography to get your head around things - thought generally does not exist in a vacuum - you need metaphors. So long as we take the Dude (and other elements of Dudeism) as a metaphor, then there will be no harm done. The beauty of this is that since he's clearly a fictitious character (unlike the supposed historical Jesus and other prophets) you'd have to be totally insane to see him as anything other than a metaphor. Built in safety valve to keep the sycophants and sociopaths away!

The Dude to me is, to create a new word, a "Zen-o-graphic" facsimile of the of the take-it-easy ethos.

Ooohhh - my head hurts now....   

[DudeAbides 1983]

Background... prior to the last couple of years I have driven 45 minutes across a large Indiana county to pick a fistfight with a ex's new boyfriend (at his place of work) at 10 o'clock at night.
I have lost my temper and struck about four other men in the face for what I deemed to be disrespectful acts throughout the years.
I have punched friends in the face for being "over the line" as a man once said.
I was being what I thought made a real man, and putting people in their places and righting perceived wrongs.

Bottom line for me is though, those things made me feel more shitty. Those type of actions were due to me being unhappy. As I have a family I know what really matters and a little Walter to protect the family unit if need be is fine but otherwise life is way too short.

I have had 2 opportunities in the last six months that would have triggered an ass beating in my reactionary past. In emulating many things that I appreciate about the dude I relaxed and took a breath. I simply took a breath said "fuck it" and walked away and it felt better than any of that alpha male shit. The dude and Walter are the yin and yang, a little of both is good but life is too short to be so uptight and that is what has drawn me to dudeism. Sometimes a man needs to walk away (that and a pair of testicles.) Life is short and it's not worth it. Abiding and not reacting-- enjoying life while it's here because it's fleeting just feels damn good.

[cckeiser]

Background... prior to the last couple of years I have driven 45 minutes across a large Indiana county to pick a fistfight with a ex's new boyfriend (at his place of work) at 10 o'clock at night.
I have lost my temper and struck about four other men in the face for what I deemed to be disrespectful acts throughout the years.
I have punched friends in the face for being "over the line" as a man once said.
I was being what I thought made a real man, and putting people in their places and righting perceived wrongs.

Bottom line for me is though, those things made me feel more shitty. Those type of actions were due to me being unhappy. As I have a family I know what really matters and a little Walter to protect the family unit if need be is fine but otherwise life is way too short.

I have had 2 opportunities in the last six months that would have triggered an ass beating in my reactionary past. In emulating many things that I appreciate about the dude I relaxed and took a breath. I simply took a breath said "fuck it" and walked away and it felt better than any of that alpha male shit. The dude and Walter are the yin and yang, a little of both is good but life is too short to be so uptight and that is what has drawn me to dudeism. Sometimes a man needs to walk away (that and a pair of testicles.) Life is short and it's not worth it. Abiding and not reacting-- enjoying life while it's here because it's fleeting just feels damn good.

[Hominid]

All you guys are just plain cool.

[BikerDude]

Background... prior to the last couple of years I have driven 45 minutes across a large Indiana county to pick a fistfight with a ex's new boyfriend (at his place of work) at 10 o'clock at night.
I have lost my temper and struck about four other men in the face for what I deemed to be disrespectful acts throughout the years.
I have punched friends in the face for being "over the line" as a man once said.
I was being what I thought made a real man, and putting people in their places and righting perceived wrongs.

Bottom line for me is though, those things made me feel more shitty. Those type of actions were due to me being unhappy. As I have a family I know what really matters and a little Walter to protect the family unit if need be is fine but otherwise life is way too short.

I have had 2 opportunities in the last six months that would have triggered an ass beating in my reactionary past. In emulating many things that I appreciate about the dude I relaxed and took a breath. I simply took a breath said "fuck it" and walked away and it felt better than any of that alpha male shit. The dude and Walter are the yin and yang, a little of both is good but life is too short to be so uptight and that is what has drawn me to dudeism. Sometimes a man needs to walk away (that and a pair of testicles.) Life is short and it's not worth it. Abiding and not reacting-- enjoying life while it's here because it's fleeting just feels damn good.

That's cool but remember it's a luxury.
Driving across country to beat up an ex's boyfriend is very different from fighting an intruder that busts into your house or standing up to social injustice.
I go back to the comparison of the Dude to old negro stereotypes of the black face era.
They portrayed Negros as Lazy shiftless and dumb. Is the Dude the equivalent stereotype of an old washed up hippie slacker?
I'm sure it was much easier for blacks to just "Abide" by whatever treatment they were given and roll over.
In the short term at least that provided the least difficulty. But I think we can see that it lacks moral character.
If emulating the Dude stops a person (not you) from being an uptight asshole that one thing.
But if it leads to a place where you roll over and take it even if somebody breaks into your house and stuffs your head in the toilet that's another thing entirely.
Both extremes are not good.



a?bide  (-bd)
v. a?bode (-bd) or a?bid?ed, a?bid?ing, a?bides
v.tr.
1. To put up with; tolerate: can't abide such incompetence. See Synonyms at bear1.
2. To wait patiently for: "I will abide the coming of my lord" (Tennyson).
3. To withstand: a thermoplastic that will abide rough use and great heat.
v.intr.
1. To remain in a place.
2. To continue to be sure or firm; endure. See Synonyms at stay1.
3. To dwell or sojourn.
Idiom:
abide by
To conform to; comply with: abide by the rules; had to abide by the judge's decision.

[anthonyabidesdude]

One of the things I love about the Dude's character is in that early early scene, when his head has been shoved down the toilet. They say 'where's the money, lebowski' and he says 'i think it's down there somewhere'

now forgive me if i'm wrong, but that's not something you say if you're shying away from a fight... he simply isn't going to use violence,

[DudeAbides 1983]

I really agree with you Bikerdude.

I wasn't trying to usurp this post and make it about my shit by any means, but being a little more dude and attempting a less to be Charles Bronson has been good for me.

Too much pacifism can be attributed to pure laziness and apathy when something needs to be done. Too much assertiveness can be equally bad . I think anyone posting here would stop an old lady from being mugged or another similar injustice. For me though the sea change has been relaxing and abiding some little shit that really won't matter in 2 days anyway.

I dig your style though man. By the way, where was the bionic looking Macho Man pic you used to use from? 

[DudeAbides 1983]

I like to think the dude is never really afraid, it's just that he realizes that this stuff is not worth it.

Like the scene where they are confronted by the nihilists...the dude just wanted to give them a few bucks and let it go. In the long run what are a few dollars? I get the fact that "what's mine is mine" as Walter said. In retrospect though, the excitement from the scuffle lead to a myocardial infarction for Donny. I would pay a few bucks to keep a friend safe from risking harm. Although ill-prepared those crazed Germans techno junkies did have a sword as well. Fuck that. Pay them. I think for me dudeism is the ultimate expression of fuck it, let what's not worth is truly slide. I know that last line is a little Fight Club.