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Product Description
Review
"A heartfelt and honest work, whose lively, self-deprecating style enables the reader to empathise with Yogis at every stage of his journey."
--The Times, 6 June 2009
--The Times, 6 June 2009
Product Description
Fed up with teenage life, Jaimal Yogis ran off to Hawaii with little more than a copy of Hermann Hesse's Siddhartha and enough cash for a surfboard. His journey is a coming-of-age saga that takes him from communes to monasteries, from the warm Pacific to the icy New York shore. Equal parts spiritual memoir and surfer's tale, this is a chronicle of finding meditative focus in the barrel of a wave and eternal truth in the great salty blue
--This text refers to an alternate
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
19 of 20 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I'm not entirely sure how I came across this book; to emulate Jaimal's use of analagies, my memory on the subject is like the many waves of the sprawling ocean, rising and falling with no clear definite beginning. But I'm pretty sure Jaimal Yogis (the author of this wonderful book) added me on Facebook, probably through the many Buddhist-related facebook groups I am a member of (and yet fail to contribute to...). I had no idea who he was. I went on his profile, curious as to who this strange, Hawaiian-looking guy with long curly hair was. Turned out he was a journalist who had just written a book called Saltwater Buddha. Now, I am no surfer; I live in Surrey, which is not exactly surfing territory (the lack of a coast line probably contributing towards that fact). I've never surfed in my life. But I am a Buddhist (well, I say that, I'm really just extremely interested in Buddhism and try to follow its key tenets. In fact, I'm probably a lot like Jaimal was at my age in terms of my spirituality-intrigued, excited, but not too keen on sticking to one thing for longer than a few months!).
To cut a long, pointless story short, I eventually bought Jaimal's book (it was, and is right now, my summer holidays, and I had completely exhausted every single book, film and video game in my house. I needed something new and different) and I am glad I did. It's a very small book, split into absolutely tiny sections which each act as an individual pearl of wisdom. However, these often self-contained reasonings on the relationship between Zen and Surfing, or on turbulent or important times in Jaimal's life all come together to form a fascinating coming-of-age story about a young guy who didn't know who he was, what he wanted to do, or what he believed in. What he did know is that he was not going to spend his life in the neverending cycle of suffering that is ordinary, suburban living. (Of course, I think he eventually realised that there is only one escape from that cycle of suffering, and running away to Hawaii certainly isn't it!).
It's an easy-to-read book; it's written in a very conversational way, as if Jaimal himself were sitting there chatting to you about his life. It's constantly funny and, at times, absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious. It oozes with unbelievable passion for both meditation and surfing and, by the end of the book, I got the impression that if I ever had the chance to meet Jaimal, he would be a lovely guy. He's done the sorts of things in his life that many of us have dreamt of doing, but he had the chutzpah to actually go ahead and do it-he followed his dreams, regardless of the consequences.
If I can level any criticism at this book, it would be that I wanted it to be a bit longer. Although I understand that that isn't the point of this book, I felt that it sometimes skimped on the more minor details which, personally, I relish in. But then, I'm used to reading absolute epics; if you are someone who doesn't read much, this book will be perfect. I also felt like, because I didn't surf, some of the descriptions of surfing went a bit over my head. I think if you are a surfer, you will enjoy this book even more than I did (and I absolutely loved it!)
This book is an excellent introduction to Zen and its relationship with surfing, and also how to apply some Buddhist principles to your everyday life. It's also a wonderful coming-of-age story and a compelling read. Thoroughly recommended!
To cut a long, pointless story short, I eventually bought Jaimal's book (it was, and is right now, my summer holidays, and I had completely exhausted every single book, film and video game in my house. I needed something new and different) and I am glad I did. It's a very small book, split into absolutely tiny sections which each act as an individual pearl of wisdom. However, these often self-contained reasonings on the relationship between Zen and Surfing, or on turbulent or important times in Jaimal's life all come together to form a fascinating coming-of-age story about a young guy who didn't know who he was, what he wanted to do, or what he believed in. What he did know is that he was not going to spend his life in the neverending cycle of suffering that is ordinary, suburban living. (Of course, I think he eventually realised that there is only one escape from that cycle of suffering, and running away to Hawaii certainly isn't it!).
It's an easy-to-read book; it's written in a very conversational way, as if Jaimal himself were sitting there chatting to you about his life. It's constantly funny and, at times, absolutely laugh-out-loud hilarious. It oozes with unbelievable passion for both meditation and surfing and, by the end of the book, I got the impression that if I ever had the chance to meet Jaimal, he would be a lovely guy. He's done the sorts of things in his life that many of us have dreamt of doing, but he had the chutzpah to actually go ahead and do it-he followed his dreams, regardless of the consequences.
If I can level any criticism at this book, it would be that I wanted it to be a bit longer. Although I understand that that isn't the point of this book, I felt that it sometimes skimped on the more minor details which, personally, I relish in. But then, I'm used to reading absolute epics; if you are someone who doesn't read much, this book will be perfect. I also felt like, because I didn't surf, some of the descriptions of surfing went a bit over my head. I think if you are a surfer, you will enjoy this book even more than I did (and I absolutely loved it!)
This book is an excellent introduction to Zen and its relationship with surfing, and also how to apply some Buddhist principles to your everyday life. It's also a wonderful coming-of-age story and a compelling read. Thoroughly recommended!
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
first of all, i don't hate this book, the quality of writing is great, i like to surf too, so that appealed to me, i know a bit about buddhism and meditation, so i get that and i also like to travel a bit too, so on paper this book ticks all the boxes, i'm just not sure there is enough to go at with this book to make it a worthwhile exercise.
yogis biographical telling of his youth, surfing and spiritual enlghtenment always seemed to be too vague, i would've preferred him to write more, not skipping over details, more insight into his family life, upbringing, motivation etc. the book is over 200 pages, but there are too many chapters, sub-chapters, massive margins and text around 14 point with huge spacing. really this book is probably 50 pages or less at a typical 10 point novel text size. this alone makes me feel there's an element of insecurity and a lack of professionalism about the book and gave the impression it was aimed at a young audience, though i don't think it is.
yogis story is slightly predictable in terms of the links between spirituality and surfing, a touch of localism, a sketchy father/son relationship, he just doesn't go into enough detail about these things. it has all the potential of an exciting journey, years of travelling and surfing, searching out the very depths of yogis soul, his calling in life, but in the end becomes a list of places, a quick delve into buddhism, learning some surfing, then off to the next destination.
the thing with a sport like surfing is it's almost impossible to put into words without doing it, hence there being so few interesting surfing books. they rarely get past the stage of explaining to a non-surfer what surfing is like. you find this with other sport/lifestyle related books, that the author's exuberance and love for what they're doing doesn't quite translate through the writing in an interesting way, almost as if they think that what they're feeling will instantly be inpregnated into the ink. for this reason the book feels slightly thin of any real content, slightly like you've just skipped though 10 years of things happening over the space of 15 lines of text.
all in all, it isn't that i can't see the merits of this book, it's more that i can see yogis potential as a writer and as someone who has taken a unique path to their goal, just the book didn't give me enough of this to really find it that enthralling or exciting.
yogis biographical telling of his youth, surfing and spiritual enlghtenment always seemed to be too vague, i would've preferred him to write more, not skipping over details, more insight into his family life, upbringing, motivation etc. the book is over 200 pages, but there are too many chapters, sub-chapters, massive margins and text around 14 point with huge spacing. really this book is probably 50 pages or less at a typical 10 point novel text size. this alone makes me feel there's an element of insecurity and a lack of professionalism about the book and gave the impression it was aimed at a young audience, though i don't think it is.
yogis story is slightly predictable in terms of the links between spirituality and surfing, a touch of localism, a sketchy father/son relationship, he just doesn't go into enough detail about these things. it has all the potential of an exciting journey, years of travelling and surfing, searching out the very depths of yogis soul, his calling in life, but in the end becomes a list of places, a quick delve into buddhism, learning some surfing, then off to the next destination.
the thing with a sport like surfing is it's almost impossible to put into words without doing it, hence there being so few interesting surfing books. they rarely get past the stage of explaining to a non-surfer what surfing is like. you find this with other sport/lifestyle related books, that the author's exuberance and love for what they're doing doesn't quite translate through the writing in an interesting way, almost as if they think that what they're feeling will instantly be inpregnated into the ink. for this reason the book feels slightly thin of any real content, slightly like you've just skipped though 10 years of things happening over the space of 15 lines of text.
all in all, it isn't that i can't see the merits of this book, it's more that i can see yogis potential as a writer and as someone who has taken a unique path to their goal, just the book didn't give me enough of this to really find it that enthralling or exciting.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
First of all, forgive my english because I am from Spain.
As you can see the book must be easy to read so a spaniard can understand it.
Ok you can think...surf and zen??? YES it is obvious to be well integrated.
What a great book!! ADVISE: Only for surfers!!
If you are the kind of surfer that thinks you have passed the line and got into the world of obsession this is your book.
Its the life of Jaimal. How surfing gets to be the most important part of his life. Maybe the only one. And how he fights against it.
very few zen (just a way of explaining things) and a lot of personal-surfing living life.
RECOMENDED.
As you can see the book must be easy to read so a spaniard can understand it.
Ok you can think...surf and zen??? YES it is obvious to be well integrated.
What a great book!! ADVISE: Only for surfers!!
If you are the kind of surfer that thinks you have passed the line and got into the world of obsession this is your book.
Its the life of Jaimal. How surfing gets to be the most important part of his life. Maybe the only one. And how he fights against it.
very few zen (just a way of explaining things) and a lot of personal-surfing living life.
RECOMENDED.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great insight
been wondering for a while if is all worth it. loads of time spent at work and little buy the sea ad with my family. Read more
Published 2 months ago by MR christopher harvey
Delving Deep
Read this book in just two sittings.
A great book for the free thinking / open minded. Makes you feel like you're not on your own and that not everything that's good is... Read more
A great book for the free thinking / open minded. Makes you feel like you're not on your own and that not everything that's good is... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Gary L. Grey
Bit fluffy
Alright, quick quite easy read. Wish there was more about his surfing and less about zen. I wouldn't recommend to a friend but if you are into this type of fluffy stuff you might... Read more
Published 13 months ago by Bournesurfer
A Saltwater Journey
Is it travel lit? Is it a spiritual journey? Is it a surfer's tale? An autobiography?
It's all of the above & more. Read more
It's all of the above & more. Read more
Published 16 months ago by Nancy Carter
Surfers Locker
Jaimal Yogis from an early age had been exposed to spiritual teachings from the East. In particular, Buddhism - with the underlying aim of seeking spiritual truth, found resonance... Read more
Published 22 months ago by P. Purdie
Simple and elegant
The most refreshing aspect of SWB is that Yogis doesn't get too abstract or lost in nuance. It's almost as if zen permeates his style as well as is words. Read more
Published 23 months ago by TheNewReview
Read it!
Loved it, from the first page to the end. You definately don't have to be a surfer to enjoy this book, full of insight, humility and humour - cracking read.
Published 24 months ago by U. Watson
Great book
Easy to read coming of age story that neatly links surfing and some of lifes typical challenges through a light hearted lens. Great for surfers and non-surfers alike. Read more
Published on 14 May 2010 by Mr. Ctl Isherwood
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