Yellowstone Sandhill Cranes (more pics) This week, 7-1: causes and conditions, understanding the basis for our negative emotions to overcome them, and how our practice will set the foundation for positive feelings. In Buddhism everything happens for a reason. Or, better stated, everything happens based on causes and conditions.On one level we can say that the causes are what we bring to a given event or perception in our lives, while the conditions are the outside circumstances. These two come... Read more

It doesn’t get much better in life than late June in Montana. Something about the long days, the dry air, the lazy animals, or who knows what just seems to bring out the best in people – more energy, more smiles, more patience, more perspective on life. As I’ve said many times, watching a good sunset from Mount Sentinel can make almost any of my worries melt away. This week my good friend SJ is in town from Bristol, England... Read more

The Hubble Deep Field: The Most Important Image Ever Taken… (thanks to mercola.com) This video is a brilliant science lesson and meditation wrapped in one, absolutely worth watching and sharing. In peace. Read more

The morning sun rises over my mountain (they call it Mount Sentinel for now, but I’m working on renaming it Justin’s Mountain, ha!). I sip my second cup of coffee. Regina Spektor comes through the speakers. I am all dressed to run to the gym, but suddenly I feel quite content right where I am. So, to kill some time and soak up some sun…. A bit of what I am grateful for today: Little things – like Maggie (Magnus,... Read more

The UM Campus Sangha, a non-affiliated Buddhist meditation and discussion group, will be resuming weekly meetings and meditation at the Center for Ethics, 1000 E. Beckwith Ave. Gatherings will be Tuesday nights and begin at 7pm with a dharma talk and meditation beginning promptly at 7:15pm with discussion to follow. This summer we will be focusing on metta, the Buddhist practice of loving-kindness. The schedule (with fuller details below) will be as follows: 6-17: phases of the practice, understanding why... Read more

We all hear of the great Tibetan masters who, locked in Chinese prisons, tortured, in forced labor, find compassion and depth of practice. These rare and exceptional beings may serve as lights in the darkest of our spiritual nights. Yet for most of us, a prison or other state of heightened, extended stress will only bring out the worst in us (See the Stanford Prison Experiment). Part of spiritual practice is knowing our limits and being honest with ourselves and... Read more

Tonight I stumbled upon a quite remarkable sutta over at accesstoinsight. It is titled the lokavipatti sutta, the discourse on the Failings of the World. To be honest, I was searching for something – ostensibly inspirational – about failure. Something like, “‘always fall upward,’ says the Buddha.” Or, “don’t worry, be happy.” You see, I had a good talk with a friend last summer. He was and is by most any account a very successful man: excellent education, great job,... Read more

Back on track. I think a fair amount of the meat of my Ph.D. is already floating around, in rough form, on my various blogs. Time now to gather it! Aug 3, 2005: Kantian and Buddhist Ethics, thinking out loud: An outline (for my MA): Why Kant – Deontology? Beware the pitfalls of comparative philosophy/ethics. Keown’s understanding of Buddhist Ethics (Aristotelian) Kant vs Aristotle Kant’s Ethics Feelings/Respect — Freedom/Autonomy — Duty Politics/Self-Development — Result: Kingdom of Ends Buddhism as Kantian... Read more

Summer is heating up here (not literally just yet), but as I settle in here in beautiful Missoula, I am finding plenty to keep me engaged and busy. Some things I need to get cracking on: Annual Progress Report for my Ph.D. – How would I rate my progress? Somewhere between ‘satisfactory’ and ‘some cause for concern’, but I think I’ll be generous and go with the former. I’ve been lucky to have phenomenal support from my advisor(s), and I... Read more

A sparrow (I think, though I’m not sure which variety) from my Vipassana Retreat, Camp Child, MT. Cool rain drops ripple in puddles outside, a lone bird sings, and npr tells me what’s going on in the world. Unemployment is up, an errant US bomb kills Pakistani allies, Kucinich introduces articles of impeachment against Bush. I think I’ll listen to that bird some more. In the meantime, here are some things I’m thankful for this week: Practice – meditation. My... Read more