Dharma Delight: A Visionary Post Pop Comic Guide to Buddhism and Zen

Fans of Greenblat’s video game and comic book characters (such as PaRappa the Rapper and Thunder Bunny) will recognize his whimsical style in this graphic book collecting his art related to Buddhism, particularly Zen. A walking, talking “sentient bean” (aka “being”) and wise guide Pandatsu (a Zen panda) help Musho (a self-inserted Greenblat) explain a variety of Buddhist concepts, including the Four Noble Truths, bodhisattvas, koans, and Jataka tales (traditionally stories of the Buddha’s past lives). The book concludes with a brief introduction to Zen practice. Particularly effective are Greenblat’s pages showing ways to behave like a bodhisattva in everyday life. Despite being roughly organized by topic, the content sometimes seems random; readers looking for a step-by-step introduction to this Eastern philosophy will be disoriented, and some aspects of Greenblat’s visual humor (including apparent in-jokes) may puzzle them. However, the creative exuberance, wild variety of art styles, information-packed pages, and playfully wise treatment of a seemingly serious subject should invite closer investigation by a range of readers interested in Buddhism. Answering the question, “What is Dharma Delight?”, Musho ably illustrates that “this very everyday world is the world of miracles and the unknown.” (May)