SuttaCentral
Anthony Bourdain was not a Buddhist, yet he was respectful of every Buddhist country and culture he visited, while shedding light on all of them for a Western audience.
The Buddhism of Bourdain’s friend and travel partner Eric Ripert was also featured on the show:
Bourdain spent his final days filming again with Ripert.
May his death be a reminder of life’s impermanence, that we may be grateful for this precious human birth.
There are three valuable lessons in Bourdain’s death that will hopefully get a lot of publicity:
Many people all around any given person are suffering from anxiety or depression. Both are common.
Depression ( or anxiety ) do not have to be dependent on bad circumstances. People should go get professional help for anything other than the mild blues.
Fame, wealth, exotic trips, exotic food, good looks, and an instagram worthy life are not necessary for happiness. In fact scientists who research happiness have found that some of the happiest populations of people are among the poorest. Scientists have also put together lists of what happy people have in common in their lives. Big screen TVs and travel blog worthy vacations aren’t on there. Google on “Happiness Research” to discover more.
That’s also one of the things Westerners were able to see on his shows, how people in impoverished and desperate conditions all over the world were often able to make the best of their circumstances.
