Buddha on the Backstretch: The Spiritual Wisdom of Driving 200 MPH Book

By using Buddhism as a lens to examine NASCAR racingand NASCAR as a means to illustrate Buddhist teachings, Buddha on the Backstretch provides a unique new perspective to the field of sports and spirituality. Not aimed solely at either Buddhists or race fans, the work's message of self-improvement via popular culture serves as a Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for a new generation. Buddha on the Backstretch considers mindfulness, handling setbacks, patience, discipline, heightened awareness, impermanence, equanimity, and how we face death. The work looks at why we need heroes, and how we can take a hero's story and use it for our own growth. Like an anthropologist, the author can take a story about loose radiator bolts and red North Carolina clay and tease out of it three different Buddhist elements of mindfulness. The aim is to show readers how to examine all facets of culture and all the people around them, and be able to find, profound lessons on how to live.