University of the West of England

Alexander College

BA Graphic Design
Independent Research Project

Nicoletta Zacharia
Critical Review

Title: Taoism concepts in Dudeism

Dudeism is a religion and philosophy organized officially in 2005 with the Church of the Latter-Day
Dude. Since then, nearly 450,000 have become Dudeist Priests worldwide. It is inspired by the
laidback way of life of "The Dude", leading character of the 1998s film: The Big Lebowski. “The
Dude is an example of the (mostly) ideal practitioner of Dudeism, which Dudeists mean has existed
throughout the ages, expressed differently by different systems of belief and behaviour while
retaining an essential Dudeistic spirit.”

The Big Lebowski (1998) – The Dude

With a superficial overlook at this belief system and behaviour we notice many similarities between
them and early Taoism, a religion supported from Dudeism itself. Lao Tzu, who is the founder of
philosophical Taoism and believed to be the writer of the holy book of Taoists (Tao Te Ching), is
perceived from Dudeists as one of the earliest Great Dudes in history. The Dude De Ching is
considered the holy book of Dudeism and it is actually a translation of Tao Te Ching with the
difference that it uses lines from The Big Lebowski to adapt the ancient and challenging poems to
the contemporary needs of our era. Generally, Dudeism’s concepts are clearly inspired or borrowed
from work already said. However, it is possible that this whole new religion, sourced and expressed
through a motion picture, represents a Western reinterpretation of Taoism. This is something that
this critical review aims to find but to do so it is essential to first determine the relevant forms of
Taoism and the view that Dudeism has of Taoism.

Chinese Taoism –also known as Daoism– emphasizes in the harmonious living with Tao, which
literally translates to “the Path” or “the Way” but its meaning here is indefinable. It teaches that
each person can discover “the Tao” according to their own conditions. They do not believe in the
existence of a superior being beyond the cosmos who supposedly created and controls everything
in the universe. The universe originates from the Tao and the Tao guides things on their way.
However, the Tao neither is god nor worshipped by Taoists. It is considered an atheist religion of
unity and opposites - also known as Yin and Yang. Tao chia (Daojia) translates as Linage(s) of the
Way and Tao chiao (Daojiao) as Teaching(s) of the Way and has been used by Taoists
“…interchangeably to denote what we call ‘Taoism’, and sometimes separately to distinguish the
teachings of the Daode jing (and a few other works including the Zhuangzi) from ‘all the
rest.’”(Pregadio, F., 2008. p. xvi) Nevertheless, this has mostly provoked the interest of Western
scholars who tend to separate the Tao Te Ching and the other works from “…those whom we can
only regard as representatives of quaint, but moribund superstition” (Welch, H., 1966. p. 163).
Contemporary Taoist scholars are noticeably annoyed from this Western view of “Philosophical
Taoism” and “Religious Taoism” as they are more fascinated from their following 2000 years of
tradition rather than its simply existence/development. As found in the prologue of Pregardio’s
encyclopedia of Taoism:

“Whereas in earlier times Taoism was deemed by Western scholars to be nothing but a philosophy,
and any involvement in the domain of religion was either denied or classified as “superstition,” in
the last few decades Taoist scholarship has shifted to the opposite extreme, sometimes even going
so far as to deny any foundational role to a work like the Daode jing (the latter opinion has been
held only by a few scholars working primarily in the broader field of Chinese religion rather than
Taoism).” (Pregadio, F., 2008. p. xvi)
Daojia was not a formal “school” indicates the work of Lao Tzu and Chuang Tzu, as well as some
other partisans. This philosophy and its concepts when analysed it can present clearly underneath
its fundamentals the similarities with the easy-going manifesto of Dudeism. Daojia, as Pregadio
suggests, encloses approximately “all the rest”, which means that in order to be fully summarized
it needs more than a whole essay unto itself. Aside from the works of Daojia, included in Daozang
(Taoist Canon), there are also concepts and practices which, as mentioned by Welch, consist of
“…all those groups that have taken immortality as their goal – alchemists, hygienists, magicians,
eclectics, and in particular, the members of the Taoist church.” (Welch, H., 1966. p. 163) The Taoist
church, as he summarizes it, includes: “… the science of alchemy; maritime expeditions in search
of the Isles of the Blest; an indigenous Chinese form of yoga; a cult of wine and poetry; collective
sexual orgies; church armies defending a theocratic state; revolutionary secret societies; and the
philosophy of Lao Tzu.” (Welch, H., 1966. p. 88) This synopsis of Daojia and Daojiao is enough to
demonstrate what not part of Dudeism is. “The main difference between daojia and daojiao is
perhaps that daojiao primarily aims at establishing a connection with the sacred, either as a
relationship with deities and spirits or as the attainment of personal transcendence.” (Pregadio, F.,
2008. p. 7) However, the sanctity of the Daojiao cannot be found anywhere in Dudeism. The Church
of the Latter-Day Dude stated on “What is Dudeism”: “Probably the earliest form of Dudeism was
the original form of Chinese Taoism, before it went all weird with magic tricks and body fluids.”
(dudeism.com/whatisdudeism) For this apparent reason, we will concentrate more to the
comparison between Daojia and Dudeism to see the close relation between the different
perceptions of Tao Te Ching and The Big Lebowski.

The Big Lebowski is overflowing with religious ideas and various major world religions will be
determined and evaluated, then separately considered in relation to Dudeism. Walter Sobchak is a
clear depiction of Judaism. He is an angry Vietnam veteran who converted to Judaism through his
marriage to his ex-wife. However, he values the religion fanatically, probably as a way to stay close
to his ex-wife. He is presented to be clingy to tradition opposed to the Dude who makes fun of it
and adds another parallel to a casual dressed pacifist. His whole look with the robe, sandals, long
hair and beard reminds a modern figure of Jesus Christ which is fascinating when compared to a
character of the movie named Jesus. Jesus Quintana is openly a sexual bowler with a criminal
record as pederast. His appearance in the film is short. He represents a member of the opposing
bowling team and his few lines in the script only aim to offend the Dude and Walter.

Buddhism, along with Taoism, is not directly articulated but it the Dude is evidently following an
Eastern way of living through tai-chi, meditation, and specific parts of his talking. Despite that, he
does not present the discipline that essentially exists in Buddhism. Consequently he is in variance
with many of the Buddha’s teachings, for instance: he consumes drugs (marihuana, alcohol), he
comfortably lies several times in the film and he shows attachment towards things like his rug or
his car (materiality).

It is noticeable that many similarities exist between the Tao of Lao Tzu and the Tao of the Dude.
The Dude and The Big Lebowski appear to embody many of the concepts that Lao Tzu presents in
the Tao Te Ching. Many of them have also helped shape the fundamentals of what is called
Dudeism. The opening lines of the Tao Te Ching are usually interpreted as “If the name of this Tao
can be defined with words, then it is not the constant, eternally unchanging name of the true Tao.”
(Lin, D., Chapter 1) It essentially demonstrates the hopelessness in trying to verbally explain the
Tao. Therefore, our knowledge of the Tao is addressed in a contradictory way. The Dude Way is
not easy to explain through words either as its consistency varies in relation to its use. Throughout
The Big Lebowski we can notice that the Dude do not demonstrate his philosophy clearly.
According to the Abide Guide people forgot the Dude Way when “… their thinking about the
purpose of life became too uptight.” (Benjamin, O., Eutsey, D., 2011. p.12) When the demands of
society emerged and capitalism appeared, the need for success got bigger and the humans who
were simply being, had aimed at being perfect. According to The Tao of the Dude the action of
inaction – Wu Wei – is the fundamental element of the Dude Way.

Wu Wei is one of the most important concepts of Taoism. It is translated as “non-action” and even
though it faulty implies that nothing gets done, it actually wants to cover the idea that one should
not be over planning a situation. Welch believes that Lao Tzu’s context was one must act without
aggression:
 “Wu Wei does not mean to avoid all action, but rather all hostile, aggressive action. Many
kinds of action are innocent. Eating and drinking, making love, ploughing a wheat-field,
running a lathe – these may be aggressive acts, but generally they are not. Conversely, acts
which are generally aggressive, like the use of military force, may be committed with such
an attitude that they perfectly exemplify Wu Wei. The Taoist understands the Law of
Aggression and the indirect ways that it can operate. He knows that virtuousness or non-
conformity can be as aggressive as insults or silence. He knows that even to be non-
aggressive can be aggression, if by one’s non-aggressiveness one makes others feel
inferior. It is to make another person feel inferior that is the essence of aggression.”

In The Tao of the Dude, Benjamin indicates that “… even a skilled Taoist like the Dude repeatedly
got it wrong.” (Benjamin, O., 2015. p. 99) We can actually confirm that from the film where we spot
him being panicked and annoyed by Walter. However, we can notice that most of the times he
recuperates quickly from that kind of feelings, usually through dudeitation (also known as
meditation in Taoism).

Tao Te Ching, in chapter eight, uses water as an element that a person should imitate. It might be
flowing naturally and gently but this also enables it to penetrate through hard rocks. This can
perfectly describe the religion or philosophy of going with the flow, which Dudeism embraces. In
the film, Dude’s merely goal is to restore the status-quo, something that is clearly recognised in his
persistence to get his soiled rug replaced. In The Tao of the Dude this is compared to “water
seeking its level”, a statement which reflects the Tao Te Ching. In point of fact, the plot would have
turned out differently if it had not been for the aggressive Walter constantly insisting that the Dude
must seek repairs from the Big Lebowski. Eventually, he does not even retrieve his rug, which as
Benjamin describes is “…the price he pays for going against the flow”. Dudeism has undoubtedly
adopted Lao Tzu’s Wu Wei without alternation to the concept itself aside minor linguistic
adjustments to match the Dudeist language. Actually, Benjamin declares that the Dude’s story “is
a perfect illustration of the mechanics of Wu Wei, or as some of us Dudeists like to call it, ‘Dude
Way’”.

Lao Tzu’s Wu Wei and Dudeism’s ultimate acceptance of it are both related to yin-yang. Yin-yang
is the principle which claims that the world is consisted with complementary forces (e.g. night and
day, black and white, female and male) that exist within each other. The
symbol of Taoism is usually represented with Taijitu (“divided circle”)
which consists of two (black and a white) swirling parts that fit each other
to form a perfect circle. In the modern culture, each swirl contains a part
of the other one, therefore there is a black dot in the white shape and a
white dot in the black shape. Yin is dark and passive while yang is bright
and active. Lao Tzu aims attention on how one should impersonate the
Gregory Maxwell, yin, the female, which practices Wu Wei as opposed to yang’s male
Modern "yin-yang symbol” aggression.

In Dudeism, the concept of yin-yang is represented by the relationship of the Dude and Walter
(Dude-Undude). During the development of the film, Walter portrays aggression and hostility,
talking about worthy enemies and drawing his weapon to enforce his perception of the rules. It was
only though his insistence that their unfortunate adventure in The Big Lebowksi begun. It never
came into the Dude’s mind to request a replacement for his ruined rug, in spite the fact that he
expressed grief for its loss. Walter is also characterized by his authoritarian and dominant actions.
In brief, Walter represents the Undude, by his aggressive and authoritarian attitude, trying to control
every situation he experience and impose his opinion by threatening or even using violence.
 The Big Lebowski (1998) Walter Sobchak

The Dude is a pacifist and his requests in life are very limited. Throughout his Wu Wei practices, he
cleaves closer to yin as well as its passivity. When Jesus (noted character of the Big Lebowski)
insults him, the Dude replies with his infamous quote “Well, yeah, that’s just, like, uh, your opinion,
man”. This is an obvious indication that, unlike Walter, he just goes with the flow without
aggressively and ambitiously pursue to take control. The Big Lebowski portrays a very stressful
chapter in the Dude’s life. He sporadically acts very “undude”, for instance, his panic when he fails
to deliver the ransom for Lebowski’s wife or when he lets himself get upset over Walter’s behaviour.
Regardless of this, he has never been spotted trying to control or dominate a situation. Welch
demonstrates Wu Wei and its disapproval feeling to aggression as something “..to make another
person feel inferior that is the essence of aggression.” Whenever Walter is observed to abuse
Donny (their friend) verbally or physically, the Dude does not. According to Welch’s assumption
that “Kings will have kingdoms and warriors, wars”, then the Dude will have peace alone, not even
a rug.

Dudeism is overflowing with puns and wordplay as a way to reference The Big Lebowski in any
way or form. It is not *** to have their own version of meditation to be called Dudeitation. *** Hidden
behind the groan inducing pun however ther is a relevant connection to Taoism.

Dudeitation, like most aspects of Dudeism, is firmly established in the practice of Wu Wei.
Reportedly in The Abide Guide (Dudeism book), dudeitation aims to making yourself comfortable
and your mind more flexible. It is recommended that one should dudeitate often but there is no
required amount of time to do so. It is supposed to be a remedy to society’s stress and demands
over you to “Do something!”. This is something that The Abide Guide characterises as very
“undude”, considering, as mentioned before, that one should just go with the flow. Except for the
clear connection of a way of meditation, Dudeism and Taoism also commonly believe that
meditation is needed due to the stressful and demanding nature of human society. This is more
comprehensible in Welch’s hypothetical Lao Tzu:

“’I say to you, your success is failure and your competition drives half your people mad with praise
while it drives the other half mad with blame. You justify this by calling it the way to produce the
greatest quantity and highest quality of goods and services – as though any goods and services
were more important than the people to whom they are supposed to give a happy life, but do not!’”

This review is more appealing to Dudeism’s worries about modern day society, which appears to
focus more on the destructiveness of desire, wealth and generally status. The Dude has declared
the expectations of society through his daily practice of Wu Wei and dudeitation. Dudeism supports
that happiness and peace of mind can be easily achieved by not achieving. When life gets stressful
all someone has to do is dudeitate to calm their troubled waters. This is a regular act of the dude.
Dudeitation on his rug while listening to old bowling recordings or in the bathtub to the sound of
whale-song. This is what empowers him to recover from the stressful events, occurring throughout
the film.

The Sage includes all the concepts form the Tao Te Ching, previously mentioned. He is the one
who practices Wu Wei and stands by the Yin. Therefore, as the latter is described in the Tao Te
Ching, many qualities are commonly seen in the Dude and the Sage. To reduce the Sage to these
simple elements is an injustice to the ideal. The relation between the Sage, the Tao and his view
of the world could be explained in great detail, even if it would repeat earlier points.

Welch’s description of the Sage include two verses from the Tao Te Ching. In these, the Sage
asserts that “Mine is indeed the mind of a very idiot; So dull am I” and “All men can be put to some
use; I alone am intractable and boorish.” These are certainly some unflattering descriptions for
one’s self, but it can also define the Dude. There is seen very little difference between the Dude’s
open-mindedness and his idiocy, as he is consciously not very useful, for instance a productive
member of society.

The Dude is obviously the Sage of Dudeism, the sample of imitation if one is to live in harmony with
the Tao or the Dude Way. However, the Dude is not the only example of this. The concept of the
Great Dudes of History is one of the main ideas in Dudeism. This includes, Lao Tzu, Buddha
Gautama, Jesus Christ, Mark Twain, Emily Dickinson, Bob Marley and even Jeff Bridges (the actor
who impersonates the Dude). Welch interprets the Sage similarly, reminding us that the Sage
himself is a part of humanity as it recognises it’s unkind and cruel nature. This evidently makes the
Sage an example to emulate and the same thing respectively applies for the Dude and the Great
Dudes of the History.

In conclusion, Dudeism is primarily influenced from The Big Lebowski and Tao Te Ching.
Combined, these two pieces are the main sources of Dudeism’s religious history. While religions
are displayed, the Judeo-Christian ** overcomes Taoism in the film as the Dude. The index of the
film (parlance, quotes, characters, themes) help to interpret the concepts of the ancient text while
providing them an exceptional, and often comical, nature. Occasionally, these concepts have been
adjusted to fit either our modern times, Western society, or The Big Lebowski, often illustrated
through various characters (mostly the Dude and Walter) to put theory into practice. The Dude
demonstrates several of these concepts, not always in a perfect way, but he could be characterized
as the humanly impression of the Sage in our contemporary world. Dudeism is the representation
of an extremely interesting new form of religion that combines popular culture (cult film) with an
ancient religious and philosophical ideas. Undoubtedly this religion has compelling potentials both
behind and ahead of it.