In 2009, Jaimal Yogis wrote Saltwater Buddha, a gripping autobiographical tale about running away from his Sacramento home as a junior in high school in search of something more. Landing on Maui with a copy of Siddhartha and just enough money for a surfboard, Yogis found something in surfing that would set him on a path. He later discovered meditation as a tool to deal with grief, struggle, and the obstacles of life. And the story expertly weaves the two together – what Yogis calls “a love affair with the ocean viewed through zen-colored glasses.”
Ten years later, Yogis has taken the foundational stories of his breakout book and put them to film to be shared and absorbed in a different medium.
“Whether you live for the ocean and love it beyond words or are too freaked out about sharks to ever get wet,” the film’s description reads, “Jaimal Yogis’ story – from jungle communes to zen monasteries to the vast Pacific and beyond – is the most deeply beautiful and wise immersion in the mysterious pull and healing powers of the ocean.”
