Its almost inevitable that living the life of a surfer will lead to a search; whether its a search for the perfect wave or sometimes its a search to validate, understand or explain the act of surfing itself. The latter is the intangible goal which author Jaimal Yogis has, in part, set out to attain in his nonfiction saga, Saltwater Buddha.
Many surfers who write (or even writers who surf!) have tried to capture the feeling of riding a wave in the written word and some have even likened surfing to a religion, but none that I know of have used religon as a metaphor or comparison, to imbibe a sense of meaning into what it feels like to surf a wave or be a surfer. Yogis has done just that by drawing parallels with his journey to surf and travel, with his study of Buddhism and quest for Zen.
Yogis story draws heavily on his buddhist influences which is conveyed in a genuine, self-effacing narrative style which explores a personal voyage of both physical and spiritual discovery. Its an engaging tale of a restless young man looking for direction in life through study, travel and a desire to surf, which sees the author living and surfing in Hawaii, France, Santa Cruz, New York and more.
Saltwater Buddha's Zen/surfing analogy gives a fresh perspective to the joy of riding a wave, set within an intelligent, thought provoking story which expertly captures emotions and situations which all surfers will relate to.
The quality of Yogis writing is up there with, amongst others, Daniel Duane, Allan Weisbecker, Kem Nunn, Tim Winton etc. Surfers and searchers alike will love it. Out in May 2009....reserve a copy! www.jaimalyogis.com.
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