Media Review

Books: City Dharma by Arthur Jeon

Arthur Jeon's book City Dharma: Keeping Your Cool in the Chaos (published by Harmony Books) has been helping me through the last few weeks. The book jacket categorizes it as a self-help book, but being about Eastern Philosophies, it is not so much self-help as an updating of ancient texts and teachings to show us how they apply to life today and living in the city.

Jeon starts with a chapter called "Hell is Other People", a Jean-Paul Sartre quote, and shows through examples the power and presence of our individual conditioning. He effectively and quickly shows us where much of our thinking comes from, that we all have different conditioning (including racism, sexism and other less blatant forms of judgement) and that we are capable of recognizing and changing our conditioned thinking if we are willing to watch for it and do a little work.

Jeon repeats certain tenants over and over in the text including being in the present moment (we cannot be in the past or future, so the present moment is the only one that truly exists) and staying focused on yourself and how you are affected by your actions. Through this repetition he lets us know that it is a journey and a practice to become adept at these skills and that we have to remember to try constantly to reach the level we want. He does not fool us into thinking that it will be easy or instantaneous. The repetition of concepts in the book has a way of seeping into your consciousness and then coming up in moments when you need it.

Eastern philosophies are purposely not called religions. They are a way of living that applies to the individual pursuing them and do not try to force others to their way. Jeon's book shares and tries to teach those who are seeking knowledge and help in the areas he covers, but he is never preaching or unyielding in what he says. He admits his own failings in his attempt to attain enlightenment and never pretends to be the ideal. In this way he is even more helpful as a teacher, as he is easy to relate to and does not alienate others.

The book is very accessible in a way that not all writing on ancient principles always is. Jeon has updated the information and applies it to road rage, nonstop and invasive noise, rudeness, public transportation, homelessness and the feelings it brings out in us, workaholism and the measure of success based on what we do for work, violence and other areas of modern life.

His book has helped me to stay calm when I am overtired, sick and frustrated with Natasha's whining and inability to tell me what is wrong. I recommend it for anyone who is dealing with any stress in their life.

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