Zen Peacemakers’ co-founder, Bernie Glassman, met renowned actor Jeff Bridges in the late nineties at a dinner party in Santa Barbara. They hit it off and were close friends for almost twenty-years.
A longtime advocate of ending child hunger, Jeff resonated with Bernie’s social action work with Zen Peacemakers and “the Zen of action, of living freely in the world without causing harm, of relieving our own suffering and the suffering of others.”
Inspired by the wisdom of Jeff’s most iconic role, Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski in The Great Lebowski, they wrote The Dude and The Zen Master together in 2013.
Bernie was so fond of the Dude that his infamous sayings — “That’s just, like, your opinion, man” — became a key part of Bernie’s Zen teachings.
From The Dude and the Zen Master:
The Dude Abides and The Dude is Not In
JEFF: I dig the Dude; he’s very authentic. He can be angry and upset, but he’s comfortable in his skin. And in his inimitable way, he has grace. He exudes it in every relationship: an unexpected kindness, unmerited good will, giving someone a break when he doesn’t deserve it, showing up even when he has a bad attitude just because it means so much to the rest of the team. Hugging it out instead of slugging it out…
The Dude abides.
According to Merriam-Webster’s official definition, to abide means to wait patiently for something, or to endure without yielding, accept without objection. That is no easy feat, especially in a culture that is success-driven, instant-gratification-oriented, and impatient, like ours…
BERNIE: At the same time, the Dude’s a lot like us. Stuff upsets him, like when someone pees on his rug. He has thoughts, frustrations, and everything that we all have, but he doesn’t work from them. He works from where he is.
JEFF: He does his thing, he’s very authentic, but the chaos of life throws him off time after time. He’s rowing his boat merrily, but new things always happen and he has to make an adjustment.
BERNIE: Because there’s no perfect place anywhere. One of the Buddha’s first teachings was that life is suffering… It doesn’t matter how good we have it or how basically happy we are, things arise every day that leave us feeling discontented or disappointed.
The movie opens up with a bit of suffering for the Dude because somebody peed on his rug, the rug that ties the room together… But the Dude abides, so it doesn’t take him too long to be at ease with the new situation.
Not so his bowling buddy Walter. Walter plays the Dude’s great foil: This won’t stand, man. He’s like all the rest of us. Someone just found out that he has cancer, or that his wife left him for someone else, or that he lost his job. Unexpected things keep happening… And what do we say? This won’t stand, man.
But that’s what life is, constant change, ups and downs.
And like the Dude, we have to abide. Walter, on the other hand, can’t accept that life is this way, so he keeps on suffering.
JEFF: People think the Dude is so unflappable and calm, but, in fact, the whole movie is about this loose, relaxed guy who gets all upset by life. But he’s not embarrassed about it, he’s not trying to live up to some persona, he’s always the Dude…
The Dude isn’t uncomfortable with his discomfort. He’s authentic, and he and Walter jam with each other. He can get pissed at Walter but he loves him at the same time…
BERNIE: Abiding nowhere, raise the mind of compassion.
The Dude abides nowhere, which is the same as saying that the Dude abides everywhere. The Dude is not attached to some self image, identity, or a life narrative. Since he abides nowhere, he is free to abide everywhere.
JEFF: As he says in his phone message, The Dude is not in.
BERNIE: If you abide in one particular place, you’re stuck, because you’re attached. On the other hand, if you abide everywhere, in the whole world, you’re not attached to anything, so you’re free.
As soon as you get attached — Hey, he peed on my rug! — you’re abiding somewhere and the suffering begins.
When you’re not attached to Jeff and I’m not attached to Bernie, when we see we’re not separate from each other and the rest of the world, we can now raise the mind of compassion, no longer working just on our own behalf but for the sake of all beings.
It’s no longer about me; it’s about everything and everyone in the universe.
That’s The Dude is not in.
Jeff Bridges will be with Zen Peacemakers for a live event December 11 to talk about the art of abiding and living a life that matters.
Register for the link to join - all are welcome!
The Dude and the Zen Master:
Living a Life that Matters
A Conversation with Jeff Bridges
Peacemakers Circle
Friday, December 11th, 2026
12:00 - 1:30pm EST
Jeff Bridges is an Oscar-winning actor, musician, photographer, painter, and sculptor. He is a co-founder of the End Hunger Network, spokesperson for No Kid Hungry, and on the Advisory Board for the Amazon Conservation Team. Check out his drawings, photography, music, charitable campaigns and other greater good at jeffbridges.com.
