Monkey Mind

I think this is a very important article. … [Read more...]

What a day this is!According to my lovely handbook This Day in Unitarian Universalist History on this day in 1654 the British Parliament declared John Biddle's unitarian Two-Fold Catechism heretical. All copies were to be collected and burned and Mr Biddle was thrown into prison.Also, on this day the wonderful Unitarian minister and theologian Frederick Henry Hedge was born in Cambridge, MA. He served our (now) UU congregations in Arlington and Brookline, MA, Bangor, ME & Providence, RI. He … [Read more...]

I am such a fan of Christine Robinson! … [Read more...]

Some say UU ministers meditating is just a story people tell. But here's what appears to be photographic proof provided by Zen vagabond Victor Lapuszynski. Of course no one is sure who it is. Among the possible candidates are Meredith Garmon and Wayne Arnason, both of whom various people claim to have seen meditating in the Zen style. Others claim it's James Ford. But everyone knows that while he talks a good game no one has actually ever seen him on the pillow. Personally I'm inclined to think … [Read more...]

John Murray was born on this day in 1741. One of the great early Universalists in North America he is sometimes called the Father of American Universalism.While his theology remained trinitarian and he had confidence in the stories of miracles and believed in angels and all of what might be considered the normative Protestant Christianity of his age (he was at first a Methodist preacher), he had one startling experience that pushed him to the edge of that "normative" Christianity and would … [Read more...]

I'm exhausted, glad to have gone and glad to be back from sesshin (a Japanese word that is usually translated as "to touch the heart/mind," a Zen retreat...)So far our Boundless Way Zen sangha has only been able to mount three-day retreats for our annual celebration of the Buddha's enlightenment rather than the traditional seven (or, in some cases, eight days). And this was no different.Nonetheless it was a wonderful experience.As we had once again a new record for attendance (this time … [Read more...]

At both of the Zen teacher listservs to which I belong there has been a bit of a brouhaha of late around the question of doctrinal purity apparently being enforced at the venerable E-Sangha Buddhist Portal. Started in Singapore the project seems to be mostly in the hands of Tibetan Buddhist practitioners. It’s quite an operation, with many thousands of participants all around the world. All well and good, of course. Them Tibetans is good people in my book, if given a bit more to hoo-hah than I a … [Read more...]

Today is the feast of Nicholas, late bishop of Myra. For those not in the know, also called Santa Claus in this neck of the woods. He is the patron of children, sailors, merchants and pawnbrokers. He also, I gather, is particularly the protector of highwaymen. And with all the irony of the spiritual path, also the protector of their victims... … [Read more...]

He walks freely in the world,And goes just one way.From the eternal past to the eternal future,He is alone,No one accompanies him.If you ask him how old he is,He will look at you with a smile,And point to the endless sky.Jakushitsu (translated by Nyogen Senzaki) … [Read more...]

Jason Pitzel-Waters over at my favorite UU Pagan blog writes of the recent purchase of Beliefnet dot Com. All that follows is lifted from Jason's blog: According to Fishbowl NY, religious mega-site Beliefnet has been purchased by Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation (which owns Fox News, The Wall Street Journal, and MySpace)."Steve Waldman's belief paid off today when News Corp. purchased Beliefnet.com, the spirituality-based Web site Waldman founded in 1999 and has run as editor-in-chief since. In … [Read more...]