Philosophy of Life Balance: Life needs a balance of activity and relaxation. I’ve lost balance lately and I’m hoping working to regain it. For a while we need goals to strive for and (dare I say) tasks. But we also need to transcend our goals and tasks, to develop an intense appreciation for this moment. In this moment there is no task, no goal, no you, no discomfort. Living here in this moment is a life of balance. So have... Read more

Last night I traveled with classmates to Arlee Montana for a Salish sweat lodge ceremony. There we met with Tachini (pictured, left), a young man from the Salish tribe. I had been expecting an elder, or at least a rough looking middle-aged man, and was happily surprised to see this young and vibrant man greet us with jokes and smiles. Upon our arrival, we (Kristi, Becca, Seth, and I) were led by two fellow classmates (Paul and Tony) who had... Read more

Once again, I’m trying to slow down a bit in life – to open up to the richness of every moment. I’m far too caught up in ‘monkey-mind’ these days, multitasking and sub-multitasking (setting aside three things that I’m working on so that I can work on two others from five different angles). There was a report on the radio the other day about how multitasking is a big waste of time. We become less and less efficient as we... Read more

Here’s the photo that accompanied the article about me in the student newspaper, the Kaimin. The article is part of a series on the greatest humans alive ordinary folks around campus, called “Faces of UM.” The article was very nicely done; and yes, by a student of mine (for no extra credit). I really didn’t know what to expect when he requested the interview. My ego being what it is, I just thought, ‘yea, sure’. I wasn’t sure if I... Read more

Towering over downtown Cincinnati, brown haze in the distance, glass and concrete as far as one could see, I peered from my luxurious hotel suite. I was at an Ethics conference, contemplating the ethics of my society. This wasn’t the best place to be doing this, or trying to write an essay on the wonderful novel Ishmael: An Adventure of the Mind and Spirit, previously blogged about here and here. (I was in the Omni Netherland Hilton, the taller building... Read more

Trashi Delek! This is a common Tibetan greeting, usually pronounced ta-shee day-lay by those from around Lhasa, but more phonetically (tra-shee day-layk) by rural Tibetans. Trashi means auspicious and Delek means good or well. So it is like saying, “good fortunes” as you meet a new person or see an old friend. Losar is New Year in Tibetan and since they follow the lunar calendar, it changes in respect to our calender each year, usually beginning in very late January... Read more

For those who like Tibetan Buddhism and have a sense of humor, this will be fun. https://youtube.com/watch?v=LUKwdy3jd18 Read more

I’ve been groaning a lot lately, a sure sign that I’m working too hard, meditating too little, and generally failing to take care of myself. It may also be a sign that I’m going mad. Today has been the first day in weeks that I’ve allowed myself to read, sit, walk, and eat in a leisurely manner. The result has been nice in some respects, but aggravating in others. Due to a general lack of discipline and focus, my mind... Read more

“The people of your culture cling with fanatical tenacity to the specialness of man. They want desperately to perceive a vast gulf between man and the rest of creation. This mythology of human superiority justifies their doing whatever they please with the world, just as Hitler’s mythology of Aryan superiority justified his doing whatever he pleased with Europe. But in the end this mythology is not deeply satisfying. [It leads to] a profoundly lonely people. The world for them is... Read more

The day started well and continues well. I spent the afternoon with Lama David Curtis of the Tibetan Language Institute here in Montana. He taught some Dharma from The Treasury of Precious Qualities, and then we chatted a bit. I had only met him about a week ago when I went to the house he is at to see if he was teaching Tibetan. He wasn’t actually teaching at the time, but invited me in and we ended up talking... Read more