The one who realizes in anguish his condition as being thrown into a responsibility which extends to his very abandonment has no longer either remorse or regret or excuse; he is no longer anything but a freedom which perfectly reveals itself and whose being resides in this very revelation. But as we pointed out at the beginning of this work, most of the time we flee anguish in bad faith (Being and Nothingness, p.711). Part of my (barely surviving) MA... Read more
I haven’t blogged much lately, for reasons to follow. I have simply lived lately and have found little time or need to reflect, to gather my thoughts, to write them so as to know them. Reflection is, after all, a sign of breakdown, a breakdown of flow of life that is pulling at us all. Perhaps not. Perhaps one may reflect and write in the flow. Yes, of course. As I have mentioned before, love and death are sure to... Read more
Just a short update: things are great. I’ve been spending a great deal of time lately with a wonderful woman as well as a few very good, wise friends. I moved out of the chaos-house and into a Dharma center, letting go of and leaving behind lots of junk/baggage – both physically and psychically. I have been running, rafting, tubing, hiking (more), and soon I’ll be back in Bikrams Yoga for my last 45 or so days here in Missoula.... Read more
I am here not only to evade for a while the clamor and filth and confusion of the cultural apparatus but also to confront, immediately and directly if it’s possible, the bare bones of existence, the elemental and fundamental, the bedrock which sustains us. – Edward Abbey (Desert Solitaire: A Season in the Wilderness, p.6) Why spend time in the wilderness? Why seek everyday wildness? To find yourself, the emptiness of you, the spontaneity of reality. Life is the effortless... Read more
A tribute to Richard Rorty, one of America’s greatest philosophers. He died June 8th, at the age of 75. Rorty was one of the brilliant minds who broke free of Analytic Philosophy, along with MacIntyre, Quine, and others. He boldly restated the pragmatist philosophy, “shut up about Truth already, and just get something done!” I haven’t studied a great deal of pragmatism – it still hasn’t caught on in mainstream philosophical academia. But my boss at the Ethics Center is... Read more
First an update on my thesis…. There is progress! 🙂 This weekend (FINALLY) I pulled myself together and began rigorously reading/writing. It’s only five or so pages, but my (all too kind) advisor says its good. And now back to the good stuff: (from an email from Christopher Kelley at Columbia University, via a Buddhist discussion group I am in) >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> The Center for Buddhist Studiesat Columbia University www.cbs.columbia.edu June Update – 2007 ————————————————- New Podcasts & Posts: 1. “The... Read more
One of my growing obsessions is the question of identities, the identities we ascribe to ourselves. Think about it. Think about the last time you uttered the words, “I am…”How did you complete that sentence? For instance, most people I know and who read this blog are American. We could all say, “I am an American.” What does that mean though? What, specifically, does it mean for the way I live in the world? Does it mean that I wave... Read more
hmm… a little contest… For a 12oz bag of Millstone ground Chocolate Velvet Decaf coffee and “Roaring Silence: Discovering the Mind of Dzogchen” mailed to you from me… Who said: “Sooner or later, the professional philosopher and the professional theologian will be forced to realize what it is that people expect of them. This expectation far surpasses the external trappings of scholarship. People expect answers to the great questions of life: deep down, what does it mean to be a... Read more
While I’m not out saving the world with philosophy or conquering existential crises with meditation, I can sometimes be found hanging out with my lovely family (pictured below). Here we all are after a day in Philipsburg, MT mining for sapphires. Better yet though, here I am with my Dad (photo by sister Eve) prepping for some clay bird-killing.T-shirt of choice? Of course, my Dalai Lama shirt from Arizona in ’05! One needs meditative focus to smoke them ther’ birdies,... Read more
I don’t know why, but sometimes movies, even movies I don’t really like much, have this powerful effect on me. I just watched “The Fountain” and was never pulled into the movie in the way that I was with “Pan’s Labyrinth” and “Big Fish” (both movies dealing with very similar themes of death, fantasy, and acceptance). Each of those movies left a rock in my heart too heavy to lift. I suppose I would throw in “Life is Beautiful” as... Read more
American Buddhist Perspectives
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