AUDIOBOOK
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Meet Buddha
Masks, Meditation, and Improvised Play to Induce Liberated States
Peter Coyote(0)
About
• Shares a series of mindfulness techniques and improv exercises with masks to suppress the ego, calm the mind, and allow spontaneous playfulness and spaciousness to arise from your deepest nature
• Draws on Buddhist philosophy to describe how and why the exercises work
• Woven throughout with a lighthearted parable of an overweight and out-of-work Lone Ranger and Tonto who meet Buddha and experience spiritual awakening
Sharing a series of mindfulness techniques and acting exercises that show how malleable the self can be, award-winning actor, narrator, and Zen Buddhist priest Peter Coyote reveals how to use masks, meditation, and improvisation to free yourself from fixed ideas of who you think you are and help you release your ego from constant defensive strategizing, calm the mind's overactivity, and allow spontaneous playfulness to arise out of your deepest nature. Developed through 40 years of research and personal study, Coyote's synthesis of mask-based improv games and Zen practices is specifically designed to create an ego-suppressed state akin to the mystical experiences of meditation or the spiritual awakenings of psychedelics. After preparatory exercises, seeing yourself in a mask will temporarily displace your familiar self and the spirit of the mask will take over.
Likening the liberated state induced by mask work to "Enlightenment-lite," Coyote draws on Buddhist philosophy to describe how and why the exercises work as well as how to make your newly awakened and confident self part of daily life. In true Zen form, woven throughout the narrative is a lighthearted parable of an out-of-work Lone Ranger and Tonto, who meet Buddha and experience spiritual awakening. Illuminating the lessons of mask work, the transformation of the Lone Ranger mirrors that of the individual pursuing this practice, revealing how you will come to realize that the world is more magical and vaster than you thought possible. Peter Coyote is an award-winning actor, author, director, screenwriter, and narrator who has worked with some of the world's most distinguished filmmakers. Recognized for his narration work, he narrated the PBS series The Pacific Century, winning an Emmy Award, as well as eight Ken Burns documentaries, including The Roosevelts, for which he won a second Emmy. In 2011 he was ordained as a Zen Buddhist priest and in 2015 received "transmission" from his teacher, making him an independent Zen teacher. The author of several books, he lives in northern California. From Chapter 3. Working with Masks
Without some training, simply placing a mask over your face and looking in a mirror may paralyze rather than liberate your imagination. Occasionally, the experience of "disappearing" proves unsettling to some. One night, a seasoned Zen student, was visiting and insisted on trying on a mask. Despite having done no warm-ups or preparations, I was curious to see what might occur and agreed.
When he encountered his masked reflection, he became emotionally frozen. He could describe what he felt arising from the mirror, but some emotional detachment prevented him from expressing his feelings as behavior. He could not integrate new impulses into his body or psyche in any way, nor could he express any intention. The "self" is a strict master and has to be either exhausted or seduced to let go.
Old psychic wounds and impressions, once too important to forget, are deeply buried in our muscles and ligaments. Like landmines abandoned after a war, they remain hidden, their potential for damage undiminished by time. A psychiatrist once told me, "In the unconscious, it's always this morning," meaning that the unconscious has no sense of time. All its memories are pungent and immediate. However, even in the extreme case of my Zen friend, wearing a mask highlighted a path by identifying a problem he could not deny. Suffice it to say, since then, I have never short-changed warm-up games and exercise
• Draws on Buddhist philosophy to describe how and why the exercises work
• Woven throughout with a lighthearted parable of an overweight and out-of-work Lone Ranger and Tonto who meet Buddha and experience spiritual awakening
Sharing a series of mindfulness techniques and acting exercises that show how malleable the self can be, award-winning actor, narrator, and Zen Buddhist priest Peter Coyote reveals how to use masks, meditation, and improvisation to free yourself from fixed ideas of who you think you are and help you release your ego from constant defensive strategizing, calm the mind's overactivity, and allow spontaneous playfulness to arise out of your deepest nature. Developed through 40 years of research and personal study, Coyote's synthesis of mask-based improv games and Zen practices is specifically designed to create an ego-suppressed state akin to the mystical experiences of meditation or the spiritual awakenings of psychedelics. After preparatory exercises, seeing yourself in a mask will temporarily displace your familiar self and the spirit of the mask will take over.
Likening the liberated state induced by mask work to "Enlightenment-lite," Coyote draws on Buddhist philosophy to describe how and why the exercises work as well as how to make your newly awakened and confident self part of daily life. In true Zen form, woven throughout the narrative is a lighthearted parable of an out-of-work Lone Ranger and Tonto, who meet Buddha and experience spiritual awakening. Illuminating the lessons of mask work, the transformation of the Lone Ranger mirrors that of the individual pursuing this practice, revealing how you will come to realize that the world is more magical and vaster than you thought possible. Peter Coyote is an award-winning actor, author, director, screenwriter, and narrator who has worked with some of the world's most distinguished filmmakers. Recognized for his narration work, he narrated the PBS series The Pacific Century, winning an Emmy Award, as well as eight Ken Burns documentaries, including The Roosevelts, for which he won a second Emmy. In 2011 he was ordained as a Zen Buddhist priest and in 2015 received "transmission" from his teacher, making him an independent Zen teacher. The author of several books, he lives in northern California. From Chapter 3. Working with Masks
Without some training, simply placing a mask over your face and looking in a mirror may paralyze rather than liberate your imagination. Occasionally, the experience of "disappearing" proves unsettling to some. One night, a seasoned Zen student, was visiting and insisted on trying on a mask. Despite having done no warm-ups or preparations, I was curious to see what might occur and agreed.
When he encountered his masked reflection, he became emotionally frozen. He could describe what he felt arising from the mirror, but some emotional detachment prevented him from expressing his feelings as behavior. He could not integrate new impulses into his body or psyche in any way, nor could he express any intention. The "self" is a strict master and has to be either exhausted or seduced to let go.
Old psychic wounds and impressions, once too important to forget, are deeply buried in our muscles and ligaments. Like landmines abandoned after a war, they remain hidden, their potential for damage undiminished by time. A psychiatrist once told me, "In the unconscious, it's always this morning," meaning that the unconscious has no sense of time. All its memories are pungent and immediate. However, even in the extreme case of my Zen friend, wearing a mask highlighted a path by identifying a problem he could not deny. Suffice it to say, since then, I have never short-changed warm-up games and exercise