Chock full of moving and enlightening stories, The Chocolate Cake Sutra will help you let go of perfectionism and celebrate the sacred nature of the life you already have. “I love this book--the rooted spirit, the process of shedding everything in the gaining of it all. Geri Larkin is a human being, what a rare event.” - Stephen Levine, author of Gradual Awakening “Disarmingly blunt, direct, smart, and funny. I ate it in one sweet bite!” - Sylvia Boorstein, author of It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness. “What a brilliant idea--chocolate, carbs, and the spiritual life! Mix in Geri Larkin’s sense of humor and down-to-earth conversational style, and you’ve got a recipe for success. Larkin’s eight ingredients for a sweet life, with their pop culture references and understanding of contemporary life, are as useful as they are wise. Finally--pleasure without the guilt!” - Faith Adiele, author of Meeting Faith: An Inward Odyssey “Most really good cooks experiment, make mistakes, and learn what works as they go. Life is the experiment in The Chocolate Cake Sutra, a clear, easy to follow recipe for happiness. Even if you don’t like chocolate cake, you’ll like this funny, wise, and compassionate book.” - Sharon Salzberg, author of Lovingkindness;The Revolutionary Art of Happiness “I love this book! It is a luscious chocolate cake, but sugarless, gluten- and fat-free―with all the drawbacks missing. Simple, delicious, powerful, profound, tasty, helpful, and―fun!” - Anne Wilson Schaef, author of Meditations for Women Who Do Too Much “[A]rgues that when we’re stunned by life’s tragedies, that’s when we need to remember life’s potential for sweetness.” - Detroit Free Press Because everyone yearns for a recipe for a fruitful life, many may gravitate to this friendly, accessible “cookbook.” - Publishers Weekly Chock full of moving and enlightening stories, The Chocolate Cake Sutra will help you let go of perfectionism and celebrate the sacred nature of the life you already have. Geri Larkin gave up a successful career as a management consultant to become a Buddhist teacher. A practicing Buddhist since 1988, she completed seminary and was ordained in 1995. Four years later, she decided to start a Zen meditation center in the heart of inner-city Detroit. She is the author of Stumbling Toward Enlightenment , Building a Business the Buddhist Way , Tap Dancing in Zen , First You Shave Your Head , and The Still Point Dhammapada . The Chocolate Cake Sutra Ingredients for a Sweet Life By Geri Larkin HarperCollins Publishers, Inc. Copyright © 2008 Geri Larkin All right reserved. ISBN: 9780060859589 Chapter One The First Ingredient: Joy Those who perform good deeds do not experience remorse and woe. Instead they are happy now and they are happy later— in this world and the next they know bliss. —The Buddha I'm in Seattle for two weeks looking for a place to live. Suddenly fried clam necks are in all my dreams. Therapist friends would have a field day with this. I've had fried clam strips at least five times since I've been here, a personal record. It has been a long time since I've had access to so much hot, greasy, salty nuttiness in one bite. Better than toffee, closing in on chocolate cake. Right now I'm sitting at a tiny corner table in a family-owned café close to the locks—they sell only fried fish, chicken, chips, and drinks. A gallon-sized tip jar on the counter has a sign, Karma Jar, on it. The jar is almost full, so their karma must be pretty good. Halfway through more fried clams than I've ever eaten in one sitting a family comes in—mom, dad, two little girls. They order lunch then pull out a VISA to pay for it. The café doesn't take VISA. They also won't take a traveler's check. "Too many fakes." Between the two of them, the dad and mom don't have enough cash to pay for the meal. Within minutes everyone in the café is watching to see what the owners will do. The mom, visibly embarrassed, asks if they will take a personal check; she has plenty of identification. "No checks." The dad heads off to find an ATM machine, only to come back empty-handed. The money they had transferred into their account hasn't surfaced yet. We all hear the parents talking, voices raised. They're screwed. By now there are sixteen of us watching. The girls see their chicken and fries on the counter, ready to eat. The family behind the counter looks down. I hesitate for a minute. I don't have a job or even a home, for that matter. But how much can a lunch here cost? Walking up to the mother, I tell her, "I have some cash." I'm afraid she will start crying, she looks so relieved. They only need seventeen dollars. She insists on writing me a check for the money. It says twenty dollars. They get their food and sit down next to me. The mom introduces herself and asks if I've ever been to their town. "No." After some quiet she looks at me again. "People are good." I agree and realize that I'm