Buddhalan Brroklyn

By Richard C. Morais

About the book

A lively meditation on cross-cultural acceptance through the story of a reclusive Buddhist monk and his eccentric New York flock Oda’s boyhood is spent fishing in clear mountain streams, picking plums, and helping his parents run the family’s village inn on the slopes of Mount Nagata. But at age eleven, his parents hand him over to the monks at the nearby Buddhist monastery. Separated from his family and deeply lonely, the acolyte adjusts to monastic life by devoting himself to painting, poetry and prayer-and avoiding human contact. This safe and quiet existence is unexpectedly upended, however, when he reaches middle age and is ordered by his superior to open a temple in Brooklyn. Now, Reverend Oda must spiritually lead the ragtag army of eccentric New York Buddhists. This motley crew and their misguided practices provide for a host of hilarious cultural misunderstandings and mishaps. But when tragedy strikes, Oda’s rigid worldview is shattered and he finally understands his own long-buried sadness and personal shortcomings. It is only when he comes to appreciate the Americans, flaws and all, that Oda finds in Brooklyn the home he has always sought. Lively and vivid, Buddhaland Brooklyn is a meditation on the meaning and rewards of true acceptance.