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Turning the Wheel: Essays on Buddhism and Writing
"Were it not for the Buddhadharma, says Charles Johnson in his preface to Turning the Wheel, "I'm convinced that, as a black American and an artist, I would not have been able to successfully negotiate my last half century of life in this country. Or at least not with a high level of creative productivity." In this collection of provocative and intimate essays, Johnson writes of the profound connection between Buddhism and creativity, and of the role of Eastern philosophy in the quest for a free and thoughtful life.
In 1926, W. E. B. Du Bois asked African-Americans what they would most want were the color line miraculously forgotten. In Turning the Wheel, Johnson sets out to explore this question by examining his experiences both as a writer and as a practitioner of Buddhism.
He looks at basic Buddhist principles and practices, demonstrating how Buddhism is both the most revolutionary and most civilized of possible human choices. He discusses fundamental Buddhist practices such as the Eightfold Path, Taming the Mind, and Sangha and illuminates their place in the American Civil Rights movement.
Johnson moves from spiritual guides to spiritual writing. In essays touching on the role of the black intellectual, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Ralph Ellison, Johnson uses tools of Buddhist thinking to clarify difficult ideas. Powerful and revelatory, these essays confirm that writing and reading, along with Buddhism, are the basic components that make up a thoughtful life.
In 1926, W. E. B. Du Bois asked African-Americans what they would most want were the color line miraculously forgotten. In Turning the Wheel, Johnson sets out to explore this question by examining his experiences both as a writer and as a practitioner of Buddhism.
He looks at basic Buddhist principles and practices, demonstrating how Buddhism is both the most revolutionary and most civilized of possible human choices. He discusses fundamental Buddhist practices such as the Eightfold Path, Taming the Mind, and Sangha and illuminates their place in the American Civil Rights movement.
Johnson moves from spiritual guides to spiritual writing. In essays touching on the role of the black intellectual, Uncle Tom's Cabin, and Ralph Ellison, Johnson uses tools of Buddhist thinking to clarify difficult ideas. Powerful and revelatory, these essays confirm that writing and reading, along with Buddhism, are the basic components that make up a thoughtful life.
208 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2003
About the author
Charles R. Johnson
85 books246 followersCharles R. Johnson is an American scholar and author of novels, short stories, and essays. Johnson, an African-American, has directly addressed the issues of black life in America in novels such as Middle Passage and Dreamer. Johnson first came to prominence in the 1960s as a political cartoonist, at which time he was also involved in radical politics. In 1970, he published a collection of cartoons, and this led to a television series about cartooning on PBS.
1990 National Book Award Winner.
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
June 9, 2015
Erudite, wide-ranging, and accessible, Charles Johnson's essays have been a delightful early morning companion. Johnson is a cartoonist turned philosopher turned novelist who practices Buddhism in both his life and art. I plan to read everything this man has written.
We are responsible for the way the world appears before us, for its depth and richness (if we are open to others) or its poverty (if we are not), and for the impact our vision has on others.
--Charles Johnson, Turning the Wheel
The world experienced within any book is transcendent. It exists for consciousness alone. … The rare experience found in books is the “conjoint effor of author and reader.” It is dialectical. … Reading, Sartre tells us, is directed creation. A contract of sorts. … As readers, we invest the cold signs on the pages of Native Son with our own emotions, our understanding of poverty, oppression, and fear; then, in what is almost an act of thaumaturgy, the powerful figures and tropes Wright has created reward us richly by returning our subjective feelings to us transformed, refined, and alchemized by language into a new vision with the capacity to change our lives forever.
This magic rests in your hands, as readers. It is a power to co-create and travel through numerous imaginative and intellectual realms that one can invoke at any time, anywhere. A power that serves democracy itself. … Reading is the triumph of the individual consciousness and human freedom.
--Charles Johnson, Turning the Wheel
We are responsible for the way the world appears before us, for its depth and richness (if we are open to others) or its poverty (if we are not), and for the impact our vision has on others.
--Charles Johnson, Turning the Wheel
The world experienced within any book is transcendent. It exists for consciousness alone. … The rare experience found in books is the “conjoint effor of author and reader.” It is dialectical. … Reading, Sartre tells us, is directed creation. A contract of sorts. … As readers, we invest the cold signs on the pages of Native Son with our own emotions, our understanding of poverty, oppression, and fear; then, in what is almost an act of thaumaturgy, the powerful figures and tropes Wright has created reward us richly by returning our subjective feelings to us transformed, refined, and alchemized by language into a new vision with the capacity to change our lives forever.
This magic rests in your hands, as readers. It is a power to co-create and travel through numerous imaginative and intellectual realms that one can invoke at any time, anywhere. A power that serves democracy itself. … Reading is the triumph of the individual consciousness and human freedom.
--Charles Johnson, Turning the Wheel
June 12, 2022
What excellent company to be in: compassionate, erudite, critical, optimistic.
April 27, 2017
Neither a Buddhist guide book nor writing craft book, Dr. Johnson's essays contemplate experiences and specific writings. One essay within the 'On Buddhism' section examines the Book of Proverbs. The lead essay in the 'On Writing' section discusses the role of the Black Intellectual in the 21st Century.
Essays I am sure to revisit include 'Reading the Eightfold-Path' - a solid explanation of each step of the Fourth Noble Truth. Also of note are 'Progress in Literature' and 'The Beginner's Mind' in the 'On Writing' Section. In the former, Dr. Johnson formulates progress in literature, something more difficult than measuring progress in areas of science and technology, beginning with Ernest Hemingway's quote, "What a writer in our time has to do is write what hasn't been written before or beat dead men at what they have done." In the latter, he shares his wisdom gained from his early days of writing.
Though not quite the book I expected, I plan on reading his other books on writing and Buddhism; "Taming the Ox: Buddhist Stories and Reflections on Politics, Race, Culture, and Spiritual Practice," and the recently released "The Way of the Writer: Reflections on the Art and Craft of Storytelling."
Essays I am sure to revisit include 'Reading the Eightfold-Path' - a solid explanation of each step of the Fourth Noble Truth. Also of note are 'Progress in Literature' and 'The Beginner's Mind' in the 'On Writing' Section. In the former, Dr. Johnson formulates progress in literature, something more difficult than measuring progress in areas of science and technology, beginning with Ernest Hemingway's quote, "What a writer in our time has to do is write what hasn't been written before or beat dead men at what they have done." In the latter, he shares his wisdom gained from his early days of writing.
Though not quite the book I expected, I plan on reading his other books on writing and Buddhism; "Taming the Ox: Buddhist Stories and Reflections on Politics, Race, Culture, and Spiritual Practice," and the recently released "The Way of the Writer: Reflections on the Art and Craft of Storytelling."
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews