Dudeism is a

religion Religion is usually defined as a social- cultural system of designated behaviors and practices, morals, beliefs, worldviews, texts, sanctified places, prophecies, ethics, or organizations, that generally relates humanity to supernatural, ...

, philosophy, or lifestyle inspired by "The Dude", the protagonist of the

Coen Brothers Joel Daniel Coen (born November 29, 1954) and Ethan Jesse Coen (born September 21, 1957),State of Minnesota. ''Minnesota Birth Index, 1935–2002''. Minnesota Department of Health. collectively known as the Coen brothers (), are American film ...

' 1998 film ''

The Big Lebowski ''The Big Lebowski'' () is a 1998 crime comedy film written, produced, and directed by Joel and Ethan Coen. It stars Jeff Bridges as Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a Los Angeles slacker and avid bowler. He is assaulted as a result of mistaken ...

''. Dudeism's stated primary objective is to promote a modern form of Chinese

Taoism Taoism (, ) or Daoism () refers to either a school of philosophical thought (道家; ''daojia'') or to a religion (道教; ''daojiao''), both of which share ideas and concepts of Chinese origin and emphasize living in harmony with the '' Ta ...

, outlined in ''

Tao Te Ching The ''Tao Te Ching'' (, ; ) is a Chinese classic text written around 400 BC and traditionally credited to the sage Laozi, though the text's authorship, date of composition and date of compilation are debated. The oldest excavated portion d ...

'' by Laozi (6th century BCE), blended with concepts from the Ancient Greek philosopher Epicurus (341–270 BCE), and presented in a style as personified by the character of Jeffrey "The Dude" Lebowski, a fictional character portrayed by

Jeff Bridges Jeffrey Leon Bridges (born December 4, 1949) is an American actor. He has received various accolades throughout his career spanning over seven decades, including an Academy Award and two Golden Globe Awards. Bridges comes from a prominent ac ...

in the film. Dudeism has sometimes been regarded as a mock religion due to its use of comedic film references and occasional criticism of religion in its traditional sense, but its founder and many adherents take the underlying philosophy somewhat (although not overly) seriously.

March 6 Events Pre-1600 * 12 BCE – The Roman emperor Augustus is named Pontifex Maximus, incorporating the position into that of the emperor. * 632 – The Farewell Sermon (Khutbah, Khutbatul Wada') of the Islamic prophet Muhammad. * 845 & ...

is the annual sacred high holy day of Dudeism: The Day of the Dude; the same day the film released in the US.

Formation

Founded in 2005 by Oliver Benjamin, a journalist based in Chiang Mai, Thailand, Dudeism's official organizational name is ''The Church of the Latter-Day Dude''. An estimated 450,000 Dudeist Priests have been ordained worldwide as of May 2017 and marriages have been officiated legally by Dudeist clergy in some US states. Although Dudeism primarily makes use of iconography and narrative from ''The Big Lebowski'', adherents believe that the Dudeist worldview has existed since the beginnings of civilization, primarily to correct societal tendencies towards aggression and excess. They list individuals such as Laozi, Epicurus,

Heraclitus Heraclitus of Ephesus (; grc-gre, Ἡράκλειτος , "Glory of Hera"; ) was an ancient Greek pre-Socratic philosopher from the city of Ephesus, which was then part of the Persian Empire. Little is known of Heraclitus's life. He wrot ...

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha, was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist tradition, he was born in L ...

, and the pre- ecclesiastical

Jesus Christ Jesus, likely from he, יֵשׁוּעַ, translit=Yēšūaʿ, label=Hebrew/Aramaic ( AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ or Jesus of Nazareth (among other names and titles), was a first-century Jewish preacher and religious ...

as examples of "Great Dudes in History". More recent antecedents include pillars of American Transcendentalism such as

Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, abolitionist, and poet who led the transcendentalist movement of the mid-19th century. He was seen as a champ ...

and

Walt Whitman Walter Whitman (; May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist and journalist. A humanist, he was a part of the transition between transcendentalism and realism, incorporating both views in his works. Whitman is among ...

and humanists such as

Kurt Vonnegut Kurt Vonnegut Jr. (November 11, 1922 – April 11, 2007) was an American writer known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. In a career spanning over 50 years, he published fourteen novels, three short-story collections, five plays, and ...

and Mark Twain.

Philosophy

The Dudeist belief system is essentially a modernized form of

stripped of all of its metaphysical and medical doctrines. Dudeism advocates and encourages the practice of "going with the flow", "being cool headed", and "taking it easy" in the face of life's difficulties, believing that this is the only way to live in harmony with our inner nature and the challenges of interacting with other people. It also aims to assuage feelings of inadequacy that arise in societies which place a heavy emphasis on achievement and personal fortune. Consequently, simple everyday pleasures like bathing, bowling, and hanging out with friends are seen as far preferable to the accumulation of wealth and the spending of money as a means to achieve happiness and spiritual fulfillment. As the Dude himself says in the film: "the dude abides," which essentially just means one should relax, enjoy the simple pleasures of life, be generally tolerant of others, maintain equanimity in the face of adversity, and encourage others to do the same.

Publications

The Church of the Latter-Day Dude launched its official publication, ''The Dudespaper'', in the fall of 2008. A Dudeist holy book, ''The Tao Dude Ching'', went online in July 2009. It was renamed ''The Dude De Ching'' in December 2009 to avoid being confused with an upcoming book by Oliver Benjamin called ''The Tao of the Dude''. ''The Dude De Ching'' is a reinterpretation of Peter Merel's translation of the ''

'' using dialogue and story elements from ''The Big Lebowski''. In 2016, ''The Dude De Ching'' was completely re-written by Benjamin, featuring a new ''Tao Te Ching'' translation and essays interpreting each verse. In August 2011, ''The Abide Guide''—a "Dudeist self-help book" employing life lessons from ''The Big Lebowski'' and other sources, was published by Ulysses Press. Written by Benjamin and the Arch Dudeship Dwayne Eutsey, it also contains material by other members of The Church of the Latter-Day Dude. An Italian translation was released in November 2013 under the title ''Il vangelo secondo Lebowski''. In November 2013, ''Lebowski 101'' a compilation of mostly scholarly essays edited by Benjamin which dissected and celebrated ''The Big Lebowski'' was published by the Church. Over 80 writers and illustrators contributed to the book. In April 2015 ''The Tao of the Dude'' was published, featuring essays and illustrations by Benjamin as well as quotes from various philosophers and writers throughout history. The objective of the book is to show that Dudeism is a philosophy that has existed since the dawn of civilization. ''The Dude and the Zen Master'', a 2013 book by Jeff Bridges and Buddhist teacher

Bernie Glassman Bernie Glassman (January 18, 1939 – November 4, 2018) was an American Zen Buddhist roshi and founder of the Zen Peacemakers (previously the Zen Community of New York), an organization established in 1980. In 1996, he co-founded the Zen Peace ...

, uses the character as a starting point for philosophical discussion. Asked at a promotional event what The Dude would think of Dudeism, Bridges replied, "He'd be flabbergasted. And he would dig it." On December 16, 2018, ''The Dudespaper'' announced an indefinite hiatus on its publication in favor of other means of disseminating the philosophy.

References

External links

* {{official website, http://dudeism.com/
''The Dudespaper''
- The official publication of Dudeism
VW 'Dudeism' ad bowls into cinemas: Mini-film exploring 'religion' inspired by movie The Big Lebowski trails Volkswagen's support for independent cinema
- ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' article with link to video of Volkswagen advertisement featuring Dudeism.
Only A Game, Saturday, July 11, 2009
- Discussion of Dudeism and brief audio interview with Oliver Benjamin on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's Only A Game - at 46:11
Dude Awakening
- ''

Sunday Herald The ''Sunday Herald'' was a Scottish Sunday newspaper, published between 7 February 1999 and 2 September 2018. Originally a broadsheet, it was published in compact format from 20 November 2005. The paper was known for having combined a centre- ...

'' article featuring Dudeism Religious parodies and satires Fictional philosophies 2005 introductions The Big Lebowski Taoism in popular culture Taoist schools