I have been reading Alan Watts and listening to his lectures since the early nineties. This led me to the Suzukis and to additional Buddhist literature, which I devoured over the course of the years. I found Zen philosophy very appealing, and I always called myself a Buddhist. But practice makes a Buddhist, not study. And yet, I did not practice for many years.

What got me to practice was the portrayal of Zen in popular culture. Although it may seem odd, I started sitting after seeing the movie "Fight Club," which has nothing to do with sitting but plenty to do with Zen (in an odd sort of way). My call to the cushion, so to speak, came the first time I heard Tyler Durden utter these words: "you are not special. You are not a beautiful or unique snowflake. You are the same decaying organic matter as everything else."

strange story, but true. Anyone else motivated by a popular culture reference?

gassho (and thank you for indulging me),
william