The Essential Crazy Wisdom

by Wes Nisker

Overview

Take a wild and rickety ride through the philosophies of the East and West to discover the madmen, dreamers, and unconventional wisdom seekers in the abridged, better-than-ever version of our best-selling cult classic. THE ESSENTIAL CRAZY WISDOM delivers the most significant, most lunatic, and most compelling insights of the ages. Scoop Nisker patches together the unorthodox teachings that have bubbled up through the words of such crazy visionaries as Rumi, Gautama the Buddha, Mark Twain, Lao Tzu, Albert Einstein, Mahatma Gandhi, Allen Ginsberg, and Lily Tomlin. Discover the common thread in these multiple perspectives and travel on this comedic course to enlightenment!• Original edition sold over 40,000 copies.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781580083461
Publisher:	Clarkson Potter/Ten Speed
Publication date:	12/19/2001
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	7.00(w) x 6.50(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

WES "SCOOP" NISKER is a Buddhist meditation teacher, journalist, and author. For over twenty years, he has been leading retreats and workshops worldwide in Buddhist insight meditation, humor, and philosophy. Before devoting himself to writing full time, he was a well-known radio announcer who went by the name of "Scoop." He calls Berkeley, California, home.

Table of Contents

	Acknowledgments	1
	Introduction	5
	In the Beginning...	9
	The Cast	29
	Crazy Eastern Wisdom	65
	Crazy Western Wisdom	85
	The Existential Get Down	101
	The Art of Crazy Wisdom	109
	How to Become Crazy and Wise	129
	Crazy Wisdom on the Road	151
	Crazy Wisdom in the Here and Now	207
	Crazy Wisdom Does the Dance of Death	227
	The End Is Also the Middle	237

Editorial Reviews

"CRAZY WISDOM is deeply wise . . . wonderfully insightful and delightfully humorous. . . . "a good place to begin . . . its strength lies in its wonderful assemblage of life-changing quotes and stories."
—Utne Reader

"A dim sum feast of perceptive and amusing morsels. Nisker succeeds in fashioning an original pattern from motley patches of wisdom."
—San Francisco Chronicle

"The author . . . takes us on a wild and lively ride through Eastern and Western philosophy and spirituality. Along the way, there are plenty of humorous sidebar quotations. . . . Now more than ever, we need this brand of wisdom that opens us to wonder and hospitality."
—Spirituality & Health

From the Publisher