The Zen of R2-D2: Ancient Wisdom from a Galaxy Far, Far Away

by Matthew Bortolin

Overview

Entertaining and engaging, this new follow-up to Wisdom’s bestseller The Dharma of Star Wars stands on its own and will captivate a broad audience with the Star Wars story from a Buddhist perspective.

Did you ever wonder why R2-D2 is:

• Always calm and cool under pressure,
• The key to the rebellion’s survival,
• The one who never fails to save the day?

Could it be because he’s secretly a Zen master?

Discover your inner R2—and the truth about who you really are!

This delightful and illuminating romp unfolds in the form of a fictional dialogue between the author—a die-hard Star Wars devotee with a deep connection to Zen—and two cosplayers dressed as C-3PO and R2-D2 who insist on being called by their character names. Along the way, you’ll come to see what everyone’s favorite astromech can teach us about peace, happiness, and life’s true meaning.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614296201
Publisher:	Wisdom Publications MA
Publication date:	11/12/2019
Pages:	128
Sales rank:	621,681
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 7.90(h) x 0.50(d)

About the Author

Matthew Bortolin wears his personally made Jedi robes and lightsaber when he attends Star Wars Celebration, as he has to many Star Wars movies (including The Clone Wars). He has talked about the links between Star Wars and Zen with CNN, Newsweek, USA Today, Good Morning America, and several online magazines and fan websites. He is an ordained member of Thich Nhat Hanh's Zen community, the Order of Interbeing, and is the author of The Dharma of Star Wars.

Editorial Reviews

09/16/2019

In this fun guide, Bortollin (The Dharma of Star Wars), ordained member of Thich Nhat Hanh’s Zen community, divines parallels between the way of the Jedi—as exhibited in “astromech droid” R2-D2—and Zen Buddhism. Bortollin’s clever text takes the form of a dialogue among the author, C-3PO, and R2-D2, which references the style of traditional religious texts based on conversations between master and “padawan.” A self-described Star Wars nerd, Bortollin seamlessly weaves together the principles and practices of Zen (patience, persistence, connection to suffering) with the language of Star Wars and the wise bloops and bleeps of R2-D2 as he advises and calms down stressful situations. Bortollin draws many comparisons between R2-D2 and Buddhist monk Bodhidharma, the founder of Zen, who departed from India for China to teach that scriptures were not enough for enlightenment—what was needed was direct practice. For instance, Bodhidharma taught that “looking deeply” required “actively observing” by “wholeheartedly engaging the present moment,” a state exhibited by R2-D2 when he ignores C-3P0 to fix the Millennium Falcon’s hyperdrive during an attack and selflessly carries Princess Leia’s secret message to Obi-Wan Kenobi. This delightful introduction to the tenets and traditions of Zen Buddhism will appeal to Star Wars fans. (Nov.)

Publishers Weekly

”Delightfully refreshing! Each page of this book is like looking at the world through the lens of R2’s photoceptor.

Becca Benjamin