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The Dr. of Badology Presents: How to Experience Nirvana
My blog compilation from JOIN THE SPIRITUAL EVOLUTION: LIVE BEYOND YOUR EGO, is entitled "The Dr. of Badology Presents The 'Bad' Path to Enlightenment -- Experience Nirvana by NOT Acting Like W.W."
To read the 3 out of 4 stars review, go to here:
http://forums.onlinebookclub.org/viewtopic.php?f=24&t=25577
SAMPLE OF THE EBOOK:
THE BEGINNING OF THE 'BAD'NESS
We could be living in a heaven on Earth right now. Crime, poverty, war, violence, conflict of all kinds, and hunger could be wiped out in an extremely short time if all human beings understood the truth of who they are, and who they aren't. Which is to say, individuals don't have a narrowly defined, separate self that divides them form all other sentient beings. There is no division between observer and the observed. As Zen Buddhists realize and practice the truth of unity – the original Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, gave us the Four Noble Truths. The centerpiece, the hub around which all other Buddhist principles revolve, is this: The cause of most human suffering is that people do not understand that nature of things.
That is to say, there truly is no difference between the observer and the observed despite appearances to the contrary.
Pilot
In the mega-hit cable TV series, "Breaking Bad" -- [link available in book] -- Walter's ego-generated pride shows when his transformation from high-school chemistry teacher to 304 meth cook begins. Embarrassed by the photos taken by one of his students and sick of his demeaning job at the car wash, and knowing he needs to make a lot more money to pay for his cancer and to make his family financially secure after he dies, Walter quits his job at car wash in dramatic fashion, yells at owner while grabbing his own crotch: "Wipe down this."
He goes on a drug bust with brother-in-law Hank, and sees former student Jesse Pinkman escape through a window. He later confronts Jesse, says Jesse can either let Walter be his partner or he'll turn Jesse into the police.
After Walter makes a batch of meth, Jesse samples it, exclaims, "You're a damn artist." This statement goes to Walter's head, specifically, to his ego-generated pride. Walter thinks he's really something special. This feeling that he's so great and talented at cooking meth, an illegal but vastly more exciting and lucrative activity than teaching high school chemistry, is a thread that shows up throughout the series.
But before I comment further on the misery and delusions that the egocentric mind, or Malignant Egophrenia, as Paul Levy ([link available in book]) as calls it, let's review the major events from the pilot:
A man (Walter White) dressed only in plain white underwear (tightie whities) drives a RV wildly down a desolate highway in 304 the New Mexico desert. An unconscious man (Jesse Pinkman) sits in the passenger's seat with a gas mask on, his head on the dashboard. Two more unconscious men slide across the Winnebago-like vehicle's floor until the RV veers into a ditch.
The hyperventilating Walter climbs out of vehicle, puts on shirt that hangs from sideview mirror, re-enters RV and retrieves video camera, wallet and a gun. He records a cryptic, hand-held farewell to his wife and son. "I just want you to know that no matter how it may look, I only had you in my heart." That said, he faces the oncoming sirens, gun in hand.
Flashback to his birthday three weeks earlier: Wife Skyler hands Walt a plate of eggs topped by veggie bacon that spells “50”, then banters with handicapped son Walter, Junior. Afterward, Walt drops Junior off at same high school where Senior teaches chemistry.
Later that day, one of Walt's more disrespectful students witnesses him moonlighting at a car wash for additional income.
The encounter is especially belittling since the student laughingly photographs his teacher as Walt wipes down tires on a customer's vehicle.
A now publicly humiliated Walt returns home where Skyler has organized a surprise birthday party for him. Among the guests is Walt's gregarious brother-in-law, Hank Schrader, a DEA agent on 304 the local news for busting a methamphetamine lab. Walt asks Hank how much money was recovered at the crime scene. Hank: "$700,000. Not a bad haul."
Hank then invites Walt to accompany him on a bust. Meanwhile, in the kitchen, a woman fusses over Skyler's pregnancy and notes that she's "hardly even showing."
Another day at the car wash and the financially strapped Walt collapses and is taken away by ambulance. At the hospital, a doctor verifies the worst. The non-smoking Walter has inoperable lung cancer.
The detached Walter says, “Best case scenario, I'll live maybe another couple years.”
To read the rest of the sample, go to http://onlinebookclub.org/samples/2833.html