The Lone Ranger and Tonto Meet Buddha: Masks, Meditation, and Improvised Play to Induce Liberated States

Peter Coyote, an actor, narrator, and Zen Buddhist priest, shares mindfulness techniques and acting exercises to release self-doubt and fixed ideas of who you think you are. He developed a synthesis of mask-based improv games and Zen practices to create an ego-suppressed state akin to meditation or psychedelics. Coyote likens this state to "Enlightenment-lite" and draws on Buddhist philosophy to explain how the exercises work and how to make the newly awakened and confident self part of daily life. The narrative includes a lighthearted parable of an out-of-work Lone Ranger and Tonto who meet Buddha and experience spiritual awakening.

Format: Paperback / softback
Length: 192 pages
Publication date: 28 April 2022
Publisher: Inner Traditions Bear and Company

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 minds 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.

Weight: 354g
Dimension: 229 x 152 x 15 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781644113561