HUGE thanks to reader Ben Hutchison who once again sends quite the Dharma-Burger. He writes:

“I have another juicy dharma burger for ya! So once again I was in Target, perusing the dvd section when I came upon the children’s new release endcap. Skimming over the titles, a new Tom and Jerry Cartoon collection caught my eye. As a child I must have been stupid. I never put two and two together to realize that Tom was actually a zen monk who was constantly pestered by his neighbor Jerry. What was I thinking! I must have turned a blind eye to the lotus postures he was always seated in (as it is prominently displayed on the cover).

“Anyway, I thought maybe it was some sort of fluke when I saw this. Maybe I was projecting my views on this innocent cartoon dvd. But when I turned the box over, it sealed the deal. Tom and Jerry in ‘Zent Out of Shape!’ If only Buddha Cat could see the effect he’s had on the feline community!”

Thanks to reader Norbert H., who sends this Burger-sighting. He writes:

“Dear TWH,
Today’s submission is just a German variant of the mainstream Buddha kitsch that you are probably used to from Walmart or Target. I sort of liked it though:

“The Story: Tchibo, a huge German chain of coffee stores, do weekly sales of leisure- and household items, assorted to specific themes (“Every week a new world.”). [One recent week was] about yoga and wellness: The stores sport the motto “The power from your center.” And instead of kitchen accessories or skiing gear there’s now yoga clothing, meditation
cushions, incense, Buddha statues and even a six foot “XXL Buddha poster” offered – and coffee of course.

“The statues are – as always – a disappointment. I didn’t check the origin of the 17 inch allegedly hand-carved Buddhas, but the geometrical design and the ebony-like finish give them an odd African feel. So I’ll probably opt for the perfumed candles or the colour-changing LED-light.

“Gassho and kind regards,
Norbert H.”

Gassho and kind regards back, Norbert.

Thanks to reader Elizabeth H, who sent on a scan of a new mailing from mega-retailer Target. (Or, as you may you call it, Tarjay.)

She writes:

“Target included this in a recent mailing. If shopping from home is what it’s all about, I don’t guess I’m ready for enlightenment yet. I love reading the Horse.
Bows, or _/|\_ ”

Thanks, Elizabeth, and _/|\_ to you, too.

…Funny thing about this one: when it first came thru via email, the image was so big that we didn’t see the little “very zen”* headline — we just saw the big yoga practitioner. Which led us to ask: Is this a Dharma-Burger? Or is it maybe a Yoga-Burger?

I’ve wondered for a while whether or not the Horse wanted to get into the business of documenting Yoga-Burgers. Dharma-Burgers may be popping up in the most surprising places, but Yoga-Burgers? They’re EVERYWHERE. …I’d never be able to leave the house!

So I’m not sure if we’ll be including them. I want to stay on point, as it were. But if you guys send stuff that’s on the line, it’ll likely make the cut, just as this one did.

In the meantime, thanks to you all… and don’t forget to keep your mind, body, and budget balanced.

(Ecccch.)

* As if the word “Zen” hadn’t been co-opted beyond belief already — notice how it appears in lower-case in this ad? The Horse predicts that we’ll all be seeing a lot more of that kind of thing…