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  • The Bodhi Tree Grows in L.A.: Tales of a Buddhist Monk in America by Bhante Walpola Piyananda book cover
  • The Bodhi Tree Grows in L.A.: Tales of a Buddhist Monk in America by Bhante Walpola Piyananda book cover
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The Bodhi Tree Grows in L.A.: Tales of a Buddhist Monk in America

by Bhante Walpola Piyananda

Buddhist Practice in an Urban American Setting

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AlbakiReads Editorial

Buddhist Practice in an Urban American Setting

Bhante Walpola Piyananda’s account draws on his work as an abbot in inner-city Los Angeles, where temple life intersects with urgent neighborhood concerns and unexpected encounters. Episodes involving a man considering a gun, a disruption in the meditation hall, and gamblers seeking change frame the book’s reflections on applying Buddhist teachings to everyday circumstances. Piyananda also addresses broader social and political subjects, including racial tension following the Rodney King trial and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues. The collection connects personal experiences in a local community with questions about Buddhist practice and public life.

Good fit for readers who enjoy

  • Readers interested in accounts of Buddhist monastic life in the United States.
  • Those seeking reflections on applying Theravada Buddhist teachings amid community and social concerns.
  • Readers interested in the intersection of religion and urban life.

Themes

Theravada BuddhismMonastic life in AmericaCommunity engagementRace and social issuesReligion and public life

Based on publisher information and book metadata.

Book overview

Truth is regularly stranger than fiction for the abbot of a Buddhist temple in the far-from-tranquil inner city of Los Angeles, California. Whether he is talking a dangerously unbalanced man out of buying a gun, confronting a naked woman in his meditation hall, or helping gamblers reform, Bhante Walpola Piyananda demonstrates that every experience can be an opportunity for learning and appreciating the Buddha's teachings.

Bhante Piyananda also reflects on social and political issues such as the racial tension in his neighborhood after the Rodney King trial and the destruction of the Bamiyan Buddha statues in Afganistan.
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