r/Dudeism

Are crocs actually the perfect footwear for a Dudeist Priest? Goofy looking and unfashionable, but comfy and versatile and easy going. Idk just a dumb thought lol

I have so many friends here. I love the culture and the music but am starting to believe in Catholicism and also love the Jewish food and love and culture and language. I dislike the sexism in Hasidic culture as well as the rightwing stuff. I don’t want to give up black suit and black hat

Hey Dudes!

This Sunday, I turned forty. A good friend of mine a little farther down the path shared that forty is “the Y2K of birthdays. There’s a lot of noise and worry, but nothing happens!”

I had to chuckle at that, but I’m not so sure. 

I feel like I’ve begun my gentle descent down the mountain, and I like it. The strenuous climb upwards has been replaced by an appreciation of the view and a new way of walking. A bit more sure-footed, yet also surrendering to gravity and giving the terrain its due. No longer a path to be conquered but a companion to be enjoyed.

My special lady friend and I were talking about this. In trying to understand why I feel so accepting of this next stage, I landed on something that draws me to The Dude and gives me comfort.

In a world in which many people focus on what they are, The Dude spends time understanding who he is. 

Think of the first question many folks ask in the US when meeting someone new: What do you do? It’s so achievement-oriented, so focused on productivity and contribution. It’s not wrong-headed, just limited.

The Dude is outright dismissive about what he’s done. "Employed?" He’s more interested in who he is. And that self-understanding leads to self-acceptance, which leads to a fourth decade that’s decidedly chill for him. 

That question of who I am has always meant more than what I am and what I do. I’m hoping that this decade gives me more time to focus on that. 

For in learning to abide myself, I can better abide the world around me.

Regardless, I’m grateful for all of you who’ve been compeers on this journey. Here’s to seeing you on the road ahead.

Hope yer all abiding as well as you can,

Rev. Ross

[edit: style]

While I know ultimately Dudeism isn't one for the more overt supernatural, the fact remains the Tao/Dao or our preferred nomenclature The Dude Way, as a concept already lends itself to the metaphysical and mystical. If only by sheer virtue of even describing the universe in such a manner as it does. My explorarions of The Dude de Ching was the key to realizing this fact and helping me understand Dudeisms philosophical and religious forerunner, Taoism.

All this being said, for those Dudeists like me who happen to be a believer in the mystical and metaphysical side of the world... much like Taoism before it, is Dudeism capable of a more mystical side? Not saying we should mix our caucasians with mercury or anything! Like more or less adding some ritual elements from Taoism and what have you.

Just a question from a Dudeist Priest who has been contemplating a lot while taking 'er easy

Hey there, dudes. I've noticed that a good few of us have posted questions and general rambles over fictional Dudes, or historical Dudes on this here meeting of the minds over time, and felt like a slight change of pace might help centre us all a little.

That's why I thought it might do us all good to look a little closer to home.

I'd love to hear from you, my fellow Dudes and what have yous, about the Dudley people who have touched your lives personally. The folks who have guided you by example. Not in a preachy way, not through directions or edicts, but by just abiding there way through life.

For me, this was my grandfather. He worked as a coal miner, got vibration white finger and Parkinson's for his efforts, and retired at 50 when the pit was closed. That isn't who he was though, they were just things that happened to him. Who he was was somebody who never met a stranger. He could, and did, make friends with everyone who met him, because he gave them his time and genuinely took interest in everything they said or did. He showed up. He lived through times when the world around him got so uptight it looked to most like it might end, but he never let that get on top of him. He abides through it all.

He was a pacifist, and couldn't even bring himself to hunt an animal for food. He never pulled a gun on the proverbial lane, hardly even raised his voice, and had the strength and capacity to forgive even the most heinous shit others dumped on him. He always had a metric shit tonne of jokes to share. Was never afraid to cry from happiness or sorrow. And loved more freely and unashamedly than anyone I have ever known.

In his later years, he suffered greatly with his health, but never let it stop him from making others smile, and didn't bat an eye at being the butt of a joke himself. He'd just laugh along as loudly and as honestly as ever.

When he passed, he was on his feet in the arms of his wife of 60+ years. His final words were, "I've had a good night".

I remember feeling something break in me when I got the call that he'd died, begging my stepdad on the phone to take it back, and weeping uncontrollably for weeks after. At his funeral, though, that's when I saw the real power of the Dude he was. The chapel of rest wasn't big enough to fit all the mourners who came. They crowded outside the open doors, overflowed the pub at his wake, and nothing but peace and love encompassed all of it.

Without even trying my grandad, James "Jimmy bod" Marriott, touched the lives of so many, and always for the better. By putting himself last, and listening over speaking, he instinctively abided through his entire life.

He showed me the path I do my best to walk to this day. He was the truest Dude I have ever had the actual honour to know.

Now, I want to hear about the Dudes you guys know. Who in your lives abide? Maybe they aren't with you anymore. Maybe you only met them once. Maybe they abide in different ways. Whatever it is, I hope you all have at least one to tell us all about. And, if not, I'm quietly confident that in time you will.

Abide, my Dudes, abide,

Rev. Josh 😎

Hey Dudes!

Much has been said about Leonardo DiCaprio’s portrayal of Bob in One Battle After Another and how, in outfits and mannerisms, he resembles The Dude. 

But I’d like to linger a bit on another character who I think has Dudely lessons to share. I’m talking about Benicio Del Toro’s character, Sensei Sergio St. Carlos…hereafter referred to as Sensei. 

I think Sensei shows us Dudeists how to abide while also staying engaged while the whole world’s gone crazy. Here are some observations, with some light spoilers for One Battle After Another:

• Stay connected to your community, but don’t make a big show of it. Sensei seems to know everyone in his community and everyone seems to know him. But he doesn’t strut around. Additionally, when he needs folks to help him out and help Bob, they step up, which suggests he’s put in the work and garnered goodwill. 
• Don’t be surprised when the plane crashes into the mountain. Whereas Bob spends the film in a perpetual state of panic, Sensei is the embodiment of “Nothing is fucked, here.” When the reactionaries come for him and his community, he sets his plan in motion, and stays calm all the while. Bob has a reason to be stressed, but so does Sensei. The only difference is Sensei must’ve asked himself, “Will getting stressed out be helpful?” and answered with a resounding “No.”
• Show up for your friends. We don’t know the full history of Sensei’s relationship with Bob, like we don’t know the depth of The Dude’s relationship with Walter and Donny. But we know that, what’s true in both movies, is that they’re there for each other no matter what. A true friend takes comfort in that. 
• Even after the plane crashes into the mountain, there might be further catastrophes. …and still, nothing is fucked. Sensei’s plans don’t go perfectly. Bob is apprehended. His getaway car is pursued by the cops. Sensei is pulled over and arrested. Yet he still is “calmer than you are”. He recognizes that, even at life’s extremes, it’s all just a dance. Which is why he’s able to cha-cha real slow as he’s being cuffed.
• It’s not about your opinions, man. It’s about your actions. Sensei doesn’t pontificate like the other Lebowski. He doesn’t hold court like Walter. He doesn’t even seem to be Mitch for small talk. He acts.
• “Ocean waves. Ocean waves.” Probably the Dudeliest saying Sensei repeats to pacify Bob. Sensei frames his experience as an ocean cresting and falling. Sometimes the tide rises. Sometimes it recedes. Is it good or bad? Who knows? It’s just what the ocean does. Further, to paraphrase a piece of Zen wisdom, it’s all ocean and we’re but temporary waves. That means we’re all connected and we’re all only here for a short while. So best to follow the flow.

 

I hope yer all abiding as well as you can. 

Courage, Dudes. Courage. 

Rev. Ross

[edited for grammar]

There is no “Try”.

EOF

Hi Dudes!

I’ve spilled an ocean’s worth of digital ink writing about Dudeism and The Big Lebowski, and I thank you for your kind attention.

But I’ve been remiss. I haven’t written about Maude. Sure, I’ve referred to her as a foil to The Dude or to her goldbricking father, but she’s fascinating. And, as our community treats “Dude” as a gender-neutral appellation, Maude’s example is one I’ve long-overlooked and is deeply instructive.

So, let’s get down to cases.

It’s worth noting in the Tao Te Ching, that the Tao is assigned traditionally feminine qualities. It’s receptive, nurturing, and generative. But it’s not passive. And neither is Maude.

We’re first introduced to Maude as she works on her art. It’s a rendering of the feminine form, making use of the blank canvas and the paint upon it. It’s also interesting to note that the canvas rests on the floor while Maude floats above it. Like the Tao, Maude is both below and above The Dude – like Heaven and Earth, Yin and Yang, Maude’s double positioning orients The Dude as the connection between the upper and the lower.

Additionally, Maude is the one holding her family’s purse strings, which she inherited from her mother. Even though her father doesn’t agree with her lifestyle, she doesn’t cut him off. She allows him to live as he wishes to live: ostentatiously, full of puffed up virtues, with little substance behind the stuffiness. This is a kindness that he does not return, but she doesn’t seem to mind. Maude lives her life as she sees fit.

And sure, compared to The Dude, Maude might seem pretentious and affected, but who cares? It’s her role she chooses to play and she plays it well. It also allows her to gently chide The Dude when he’s feeling a little full of himself. When he makes the snarky comment about Karl Hungus “fixing the cable,” Maude dismisses him, stating “Don’t be fatuous, Jeffrey.” 

Indeed, Maude is the only character to consistently call The Dude by his given name, subtly pointing out that his laid-back sobriquet might be its own kind of affectation. As much as we love it.

Still, Maude has no qualms opening herself up to The Dude…metaphorically and literally. She shares his bed, makes love to him, and is transparent about not wanting him to be involved as a parent. While this might at first blush seem cold and transactional, it also belies Maude’s sensitivity to The Dude’s preferred way of living. The Dude gave no indication he’s interested in parenting, and Maude’s not about to make him. The arrangement benefits both of them, and is, in a way, beyond conventional notions of responsibility and duty. Besides, as any Dudeist cum Taoist might argue, responsibility and duty only appear when we lose sight of the Way.

There’s much more that can be written about Maude, and I’d be curious to read what you all think.

I hope yer all abiding as well as you can,

Rev. Ross      

Hey Dudes!

I came across a delightful and hilarious story in The New York Times. Soon after becoming pope, Leo XIV had to call his Chicago bank to transfer his account. He used his pre-papal name, Robert Prevost, and was prompted by the customer service agent to answer some security questions.

Apparently, his answers, while correct, weren’t sufficient, and the agent informed the former Bob Prevost he had to come in person to see the transaction through. Growing somewhat frustrated, he responded, “That would be very difficult. What if I told you I’ve recently been made the pope?”

The customer service agent hung up on him.

I mean, say what you will about the power of The Holy See, it doesn’t hold a candle to customer service.

But I think there’s a lesson here.

Like Pope Leo, The Dude is, well, The Dude, man. On this subreddit, we often associate the name Jeffrey Lebowski with the other Lebowski, the goldbricking one. And rightly so. We’re a loose affiliation of Dudeists, not Lebowski-ists. Like followers of Zeno are Stoics, not Zenoians. Or followers of Siddhartha Gautama are Buddhists, not Sid…ah, you get the point. There’s a quality of Dudeliness that is embodied in The Dude but transcends the person of Jeffrey Lebowski. As there is, for Catholics, a quality in The Pope that is both embodied and transcendent.

But that’s not the lesson I’m getting at.

The lesson is this: one might draw a lot of water in one domain, but be sucking at puddles in another. Even The Pope (THE POPE) is, to quote another Bob, “a complete unknown” to his bank. Heck, I’m sure that customer service rep has heard all the excuses for why someone can’t come in person. They weren’t trying to get scammed, man.

Likewise with The Dude. To his friends and the folks in the bowling alley, he’s The Dude. Everywhere else, he’s a dude. Despite their intimacy, Maude insists on calling him Jeffrey. As does the other Lebowski. To the sheriff of Malibu, he’s just a deadbeat.

That’s not to bring The Dude down. It’s to remind myself that in most spaces, I’m not The Dude. I’m, at best, a dude. I’m not my username. I’m not given the honorifics my students use with me. I’m not accorded the kindness of “Dad,” which my daughters apply.

And that’s cool. That’s how it should be. We’re all The Dudes of our own personal movies. And we’re all background characters in the movies of others.

That’s the humble rock upon which this Dudeist belief is built, friends.

I hope yer all abiding as well as you can,

Rev. Ross

So dudes, this is a question that might have been answered before, but couldn't find where. Now I know in the FAQ on the official website it says there's Christian Dudeists, Muslim Dudeists, Pagan Dudeists, so on and so forth, but in that vein what if someone wants a Dudeist Priest to utilize elements of another religion in their duties?

To give an example, a Christian Dudeist Priest is asked to work in more traditional Christian elements in a Christening or asked for a blessing on a house or even called in to help cleanse a house of a dark presence.

( Note I know that last one is VERY unlikely but eh already on the Christian example so eh)

Basically what would such a blend look like and would it be doable while still being Dudeist?

The full package has been ordered. I go to a Unitarian Universalist church to, which allows all faiths and practices... so being able to tell them I'm an ordained priest is gonna be a fuckin A moment!

I have been ordained for about 3 years now and I am going to be graduating college with my bachelor’s degree coming up here soon, is there any kind of cord/sash I can get to wear when I walk for my graduation?