As a light rain passes over campus, followed by bursting evening sun, I slowly realize that the semester is ending. <\/span><\/span>I haven\u2019t reflected much on teaching this term\u2026 too busy. I didn\u2019t much prepare this time around, foolishly, considering it was a completely new (to me) course. My plan, which more or less worked out, was to take a class when I should have been preparing and then to make it up creatively as I went because I would have one less class and more free time during the term\u2026<\/p>\n Unfortunately the semester still hit me like a ton of bricks: nearly 40 students in a class designed for 20, zero to little preparation, very little pre-reading of texts on my part, total lack of an overall \u2018vision\u2019 for the course. Of course I\u2019m my own hardest critic, or so I\u2019m told, but this is at least how it felt to me (I\u2019m sure I did<\/span> have some <\/span>prep\/reading\/vision). Despite all this I did manage to start the semester with some gusto, and apparently the free time to read and write about some Kant on the side<\/a>. I also had <\/span>a big happy ah ha! post<\/a> regarding philosophy of religion, the book of Genesis, and the stories we tell ourselves.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n But by mid-February I was blogging with topics like Life: life of a Buddhist madman<\/a> (where there is a bit <\/span>about teaching), and complaining that<\/a>: Our path is so destructive that our extermination is the natural, logical outcome\u2026. It is only a matter of time.<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n <\/span><\/span>The semester was beginning to get to me.<\/p>\n In March I found myself in the student newspaper<\/a>, and repeatedly trying to blog myself into sanity (\u201cBuddhism: slowing down, opening up<\/a>\u201c, \u201cLife: going native<\/a>\u201c, & \u201cPhilosophy: Balance, Striving, and Virtue<\/a>\u201c). But, before any of that could take hold, I was off to England<\/a> for a conference, to see friends (including my beloved Ana), and see about Ph.D. work in London. That was followed by my <\/span>nearly quitting all blogging<\/a> in the hope of <\/span>finding peace<\/a>. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n That didn\u2019t work. <\/span> In fact I think I started blogging more<\/span> after that. I tried to make some changes in life<\/a>, none of which really stuck, hehe\u2026 I did seem to find some peace, however, in blogging on Tibetan Buddhist practices of Dzogchen and Mahamudra<\/a>. I also got to work more on thoughts for my Ph.D. work on Buddhist Ethics<\/a>, and Buddhist Environmentalism<\/a> (and here<\/a>).<\/p>\n Finally I had to decide about London \u2013 to go, or not<\/a> \u2013 and finally fell on the \u2018go\u2019 side<\/a> of the fence.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n A post about posts. As a light rain passes over campus, followed by bursting evening sun, I slowly realize that the semester is ending. I haven\u2019t reflected much on teaching this term\u2026 too busy. I didn\u2019t much prepare this time around, foolishly, considering it was a completely new (to me) course. My plan, which more […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":118,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-638","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\n
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