Bodhi Tree Bookstore
The Bodhi Tree Bookstore, originally Bodhi Tree Book and Tea Shop, was an independent bookstore specializing in world religions, wisdom traditions, metaphysics, psychology, philosophy, and health. It opened in 1970 in Los Angeles, California. According to Buddhist tradition, the Bodhi Tree was the tree under which Siddhārtha Gautama sat in meditation until he attained enlightenment and became a Buddha. The motto of the bookstore was: "Books to Illuminate the Heart and Mind".
The bookstore became widely known through the 1983 book Out On A Limb by Shirley MacLaine and the subsequent eponymous 1987 television series. In her book, MacLaine declares that her "decision to visit an unusual bookstore was one of the most important decisions of my life". The Bodhi Tree Bookstore was on Melrose Avenue in West Hollywood, near the Pacific Design Center. The bookstore closed its physical location on December 31, 2011 and continued under new ownership as an online bookstore thereafter.
In May 1994, the bookstore and the co–owners received numerous commendations: the bookstore was named Business of the Year in 1994 by the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce; the co–owners – Stan Madson and Phil Thompson – were both honored with Certificates of Recognition from the California State Senate – signed by California State Senator Tom Hayden – in recognition of their "extraordinary contribution of knowledge in art and spirituality and excellence in service to the city of West Hollywood and its citizens"; and the co–owners were named the 1994 Business Persons of the Year by the City of West Hollywood. The bookstore served as a community center for information about events, teachers, practitioners, and places for the spiritual community at large. It had the reputation of being "the spiritual heart" of Los Angeles, "the spiritual superstore, the grand central station for New Agers," and "L.A.'s premier New Age shop".
Founding and early years (1970s)
The Bodhi Tree Bookstore was founded on July 10, 1970 by Dan and Marj Morris, Stan and Fran Madson, and Phil and Elsa Thompson. The original name of the bookstore was the Bodhi Tree Book and Tea Shop. When the bookstore incorporated in 1972, the name changed to the Bodhi Tree Bookstore.In the 1970s in America, spiritual books were not readily available in most bookstores. The Bodhi Tree Bookstore gathered them together and made them accessible. The Bodhi Tree bookstore was located at 8585 Melrose Avenue, West Hollywood, CA. It was a stucco, flat–roofed building, originally a two–bedroom residence that had been converted into commercial property. The neighborhood was residential but Melrose Avenue itself was low key commercial, consisting of a number of one– or two–story buildings containing a variety of businesses, primarily antique shops.
Starting in 1971, the Bodhi Tree Bookstore featured a number of bookstore Tuesday and Sunday public events where authors, educators, spiritual leaders, or musicians would make presentations. On one evening, Nan Fuchs, the famous Herb Lady, spoke on Herbs and the Body. On another evening, D. W. Harding, author of On Having No Head, gave an informal lecture on the possibilities of losing one's own head. Another well-attended event was by Herb Soloman, who gave an introduction and demonstration of the Arica Work. Vimala Thakar gave a talk called Towards Total Transformation. Chӧgyam Trungpa made two public talks, The Battle of the Ego and The Open Way, at the Embassy Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles and presented a talk at the Bodhi Tree Bookstore. Maezumi Roshi, head of the Los Angeles Zen Center, presented Zen Buddhism in America: What is Zen in America Today and How Is It Practiced. The Yasutani Roshi gave a dharma talk.
One of the founding members, Dan and Marj Morris decided to leave the bookstore for personal reasons. Stan and Fran Madson and Phil and Elsa Thompson formed the corporation "Bodhi Tree Bookstore, Inc." on November 30, 1972.
One of the earliest pieces of news coverage was an article called "Spellbinders for the Ancient Mystic Arts" by John Fleischman. The article reported on the rise of interest in the 'occult', 'esoterica', or 'mysticism' in the Los Angeles area, stating, "The Bodhi Tree Book and Tea Shop... is the city's key occult specialty bookstore." The February 1975 issue of Los Angeles Magazine featured an article by Devra Hill Zucker about "Romantic Places" in Los Angeles in which she included The Bodhi Tree Bookstore: "Three aerospace engineers converted this Spanish–style Melrose Avenue home into a bookstore with a strong Eastern bent. The Bodhi Tree embraces all directions of spiritual awakening and is also a place to read among plants and sip a complimentary herb tea." In 1976, a profile appeared in The Movement, published by Movement of Spiritual Inner Awareness. The author described the article as being, "about the people who created this sanctuary or book oasis in the middle of Los Angeles. Today, the Bodhi Tree can be considered one of, if not the main source of literature on consciousness, a term which extends from occult sciences and mysticism to psychology, self-healing, tai chi, and more."
Bodhi Tree Used Bookstore (1975)
In 1975, Areta Ferrell, the owner of a clothing store located adjacent to the Bodhi Tree Bookstore, closed her business and the bookstore took over the building lease. On September 18, 1975 the used book part of the Bodhi Tree Bookstore was opened.The bookstore grew into a flourishing landmark with its roots strongly grounded in the spiritual community. The bookstore was composed of four buildings: The New Books building, the Used Book building, and two storage buildings. Then, in 1979, the land and buildings of the Bodhi Tree Bookstore were purchased.
In 1979, the Bodhi Tree Bookstore was included as a favorite bookstore in Brady & Lawless's Favorite Bookstores.
Expansion and increased notoriety (1980s and 1990s)
The Bodhi Tree Bookstore was an information center for the spiritual community. In 1980, the booklet Bodhi Tree Directory: a Guide to Community Resources was published and updated yearly. The Bodhi Tree Directory grew to have over 51 subject areas and had a print run of 2,000 copies per issue.In 1981, the Los Angeles Times published an article by John Dart, in which he wrote, "As a bookstore, the Bodhi Tree can be a sensuous experience, offering the taste of free herb tea, the sound of soft 'un-elevator' music, the chance to sit while book browsing, and the scent of incense. As a well–stocked 'New Age' way station, it provides a psychic rest stop between gurus or a simple refueling for the eclectic wisdom seeker. In this unofficial way-station role, the bookstore is also a sensory device for picking up the direction of mystical–metaphysical traffic and the spiritual–speculative signal away from mainline religion."
A major remodel started in 1982, designed by architect Barry Gittelson. The project added significant floor space and a second story addition and improved the Used Book building. The two storage buildings were removed, opening up the rear area for parking. The remodeled result was a distinctive modernist rounded–edge rectangle with a big, round window facing Melrose Avenue near the entrance door, along with a pyramid skylight in the West wing.
In a small area to the rear of the bookstore, grew a Ficus religiosa, given to the bookstore in the early 1970s by a neighbor who had raised it from a seed. By 2008, it stood at nearly three stories high.
Shirley MacLaine's book Out On A Limb discussed her experiences at the bookstore. A subsequent mini-series was filmed partially at the bookstore. Subsequently, the bookstore gained a local, national, and international identity and the number of customers increased dramatically. Many customers desired to explore the same subjects that inspired Shirley MacLaine.
''Bodhi Tree Book Review'' magazine (1991–2002)
The bookstore published a book review magazine with the first issue appearing in late 1991. Bodhi Tree Bookstore staffers Dana LaFontaine and Mark Kenaston were the creators and first editors along with editorial assistant Mariam Angel. The magazine contained feature articles by noteworthy authors, best seller lists, and short reviews of recently published books, CDs, and video cassettes. The magazine started as a quarterly but eventually was published two times a year, in the spring and fall. At its peak, 40,000 copies of each issue were printed. About 50% were mailed out to customers and the other 50% given away to customers at the store. The first issues of the magazine featured interviews initiated by the editors, Mark Kenaston and Dana LaFontaine. A complete archive of the magazine is freely available online.- Issue 1 contained an interview with the guitar duo of Strunz & Farah that give texture and shape to the sound of their world music.
- Issue 2 included a feature article that was an interview with Marianne Williamson.
- Issue 3 the feature article was an interview of Huston Smith by Mark Kenaston.
The Bodhi Tree Bookstore meeting room
In 1994, the bookstore acquired the adjacent storefront at 8383 Melrose Avenue. This building became a meeting room for author readings, book signing events, and a wide variety of workshops.The Bodhi Tree Bookstore offered almost daily events or workshops in the Annex building. "The Artist’s Way Workshop" conducted by Kelly Morgan was a twelve-week lecture series, drawing on the work pioneered by Julia Cameron. The program, designed for creative people in all walks of life, integrated the spiritual path of the artist into ones daily routine using exercises and a supportive group to recover creative flow from excessive self–criticism, perfectionism, jealousy, limiting beliefs, addictions and other inhibiting blocks. Educator Roger Weir taught several cycles of his "Yoga of Civilization". Weir was noted for his dynamic, broad–reaching cosmic lectures that ranged from the most esoteric spiritual teachings to the latest in scientific exploration while planting the seeds of dynamic personal transformation and nurturing self–education. The Krishnamurti Foundation of America conducted monthly workshops, starting in 2002. They explored the work of J. Krishnamurti, one of the most influential and independent spiritual teachers of the 1900s, by showing one of his archived talks followed by a dialogue discussion. Yudhishtara, the spiritual son of Poonjaji, an enlightened Indian master, conducted monthly meetings to a large group of devotees in the Bodhi Tree Bookstore meeting room. Sacred Poetry, produced by poet Doraine Poretz, presented reading performances of sacred poetry from a variety of traditions and eras of world spirituality.
Some of the notable authors who made book presentations at the bookstore were: Margot Anand, Ted Andrews, Stephen Batchelor, Harold Bloomfield, Julia Cameron, Mantak Chia, Paulo Coelho, Phyllis Curott, Nancy Cooke de Herrera, Guy Finley, Thom Hartmann, Andrew Harvey, Jamake Highwater, James Hillman, Lex Hixon, Jean Houston, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Rodger Kamenetz, Jonathan Kirsch, Thomas Laird, Terence McKenna, Michael Meade, Dan Millman, Robert Moss, Michael Murphy, Caroline Myss, Robin Norwood, Judith Orloff, Daniel Quinn, James Redfield, Layne Redmond, Malidoma Patrice Somé, Hyemeyohsts Storm, Frank Tipler, Kriyananda, Andrew Weil, Roger Weir, and Marianne Williamson among numerous others.
In May 1994, as part of the Small Business week, the Bodhi Tree Bookstore was named the Business of the Year by the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, celebrating 34 years of service to the community. The City of West Hollywood named Stan Madson and Phil Thompson as the Business Persons of the Year. The California State Senate gave the Bodhi Tree Bookstore a Certificate of Recognition signed by Tom Hayden.