Excerpts

Please click one of the links for further chapters in pdf form.

Sangha and the Z Warriors | Shugyo | A Super Man (NEW!)

Foreword

Of all the entertainment cultural phenomenon in the world, one of them—and this may surprise many media observers—eclipses by a fair measure the popularity of the rest. It's not Star Wars, nor Star Trek, the Matrix, or The Lord of the Rings. It's Dragon Ball. Combining the fan popularity of these four heavyweights, their movie attendance, TV audience, franchise spinoff book and toy deals, they still don’t reach the global saturation of Dragon Ball.

And this may be a curious phenomenon, as Star Trek, Star Wars, The Matrix and The Lord of the Rings are all fairly deeply embedded in western culture, philosophy and entertainment genres. Star Wars, for instance, takes the classic cowboy horse opera to space. The Matrix has some metaphysical bridges that arch into eastern thought of matter/energy-as-illusion and how one reality can be completely nested in another reality. Yet, Dragon Ball (and even its name is so oriental) draws deeply into the well of eastern culture, philosophy/psychology and entertainment conduits. As a result it became the predominant entertainment blockbuster of Earth.

Dragon Ball takes fantastic martial arts prowess and supra-physical powers, fuses it with a quest with complicated characters toward a mythic goal, builds in the tension of non-good, aggressive enemies and threatener's to large-scale environments (as well the dark side of the main hero’s nature) and spins it all into a captivating, riveting, fun and instructive animated and comic book series. Dragon Ball is the kind of epic journey that invites you inside, takes you right in to the action and challenges and dilemmas.

If you could fly through air at super sonic speeds, punch through a mountain with your bare hands, control energy beams mentally, and even disintegrate entire planets... would you? Or would you harness these abilities for a greater good and teach others how to do the same?

This is a book about Dragon Ball, the world’s most popular Japanese animated television show and comic book. It is titled “The Dao of Dragon Ball” because it's focus is on the history, spiritual psychology (including martial arts), spirituality and religions that the series (and the creator Akira Toriyama) drew its inspiration from. Translated from Chinese, the “Dao” stands for “The Way,” or the path. It symbolizes a journey, an experience, wisdom and adventure.

Why write a book about Dragon Ball? Because I love it, and it deserves a comprehensive and readable book. I was shocked to find there is not a single book that actually takes a serious look at the series. There was no book that focused on Dragon Ball's spirituality, martial arts and religious perspectives, moral and philosophical dilemmas, and overall essence. None even came close. All that I found were basic descriptions of the cast and plots, trivia that could be gleaned through a roaming night on Google. No, that was not good enough. This book needed to be written. Certainly nobody else had taken the initiative, and I wasn't going to wait around for them to do so.

If you're looking for a book that goes beyond the short definitions of “Kamehameha” and “Super Saiya-jin” (terms quite popular in Dragon Ball), then you've found it.

Is Dragon Ball worth writing about, and more importantly for you, is it worth reading about? I answer that with a persuasive yes. Not because it will sell more copies of the book, but because it's the compelling truth (at least how I see it). Nobody would have been surprised if, as an Asian Studies major, I chose to write my first book about Confucius and his often times quoted Analects. The teachings of Lao Zi or Shakyamuni Buddha are common topics. That's what most “scholars” of this area tend to focus on, so why not start there you might ask? Simple answer...

Been there, done that.

Walk into any general book store and head to the section on East Asian Religions and what do you see? Row after row of the same thing. Expositions on the Buddha, treatises on emptiness, how to use Feng Shui to turn your dreams into reality. Perhaps the stores will include some Tai Chi or Yoga for Seniors on the same shelves. Name something Asian and spiritual and chances are high some one has written about it. But not Dragon Ball. You won't find that anywhere but in the comic book section of the young reader’s area.

When there are so many powerful, deep, insightful, even legendary topics to discuss that come from countries brimming with ancient mysteries, why would I choose a pop culture icon from Japan that hit its prime in the late 90's? Because it is vitally relevant. Even today.

People tend not to read about the analyzed teachings of a dead philosopher or monk if it doesn't relate to their own lives. They read such works because they feel that the investment will lead to an improvement in their lives today. This is one of the reasons that you don't find published master's theses for “Chinese Oracle Bones and Animal Based Methods of Fortune Telling” on the New York Times best sellers list. People don’t relate to that, no matter how much it may affect the rest of their lives.

The books that find interest are the ones that speak to the reader, to a part curious to know more about not only the subject and satellite interests of the book, but about themselves and how they relate to their world. All that can be expected from a reader is curiosity and a desire to know more. It is this same curiosity that led to this book’s creation.

My only hope is that by exposing the inner workings of something so infinitely complex and grand in scope in what appears to be a simple comic book and animated television show, that people will recognize the grandeur and scope from which the series’ creator Toriyama himself drew inspiration. To see that from nothing can come everything, and to make all those fans and non-fans alike say “Yes, now I understand.”

-Derek Padula, author of “The Dao of Dragon Ball”