Saltwater Buddha : A Surfer's Quest to Find Zen on the Sea

Fed up with his suburban teenage life, at age sixteen Jaimal Yogis ran off to Hawaii with little more than a copy of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and enough cash for a surfboard. His wandering, searching journey is a comingof-age tale that takes him from Hawaiian communes to French monasteries to the icy New York shore. Equal parts spiritual memoir and surfer's tale, this is his chronicle of finding meditative focus in the barrel of a wave. Trying to find Zen in the rhythmic crashing of waves, Yogis eventually discovers something of eternal truth in the great salty blue. Saltwater Buddha melds Zen insights with surf wisdom and stories in a clear, confiding, and frequently humorous voice.

Jaimal Yogis is an award-winning journalist and photographer who spends a good deal of his spare time surfing and traveling the globe. He has a master's degree in journalism from Columbia University in New York City and his work has been published in The Washington Post, The Chicago Tribune, The Toronto Star, Beliefnet, Tricycle, and many more. He lives in San Francisco and is a regular contributor for San Francisco Magazine.
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