Between the Lines has a new interview with Soto Zen priest Shodo Spring about her “Compassionate Earth Walk” from the Tar Sands of Alberta to Nebraska. You can read it here. Shodo’s Compassionate Earth Walks are “a physical walk through the heart of North America, a moving spiritual community dedicating our energy to nourishing the earth, and an invitation to all humans to wake up, end the destruction, and return to our home in the community of life.” I previously blogged... Read more
This past week saw the 5th Khoryug Conference on Environmental Protection for Tibetan Buddhist Monasteries and Nunneries in the Himalayas take place in New Delhi, India. Organized by the World Wildlife Fund’s Sacred Earth program and Khoryug, a network of 50 Buddhist monasteries, the event focused on “fresh water conservation and preservation of the fragile ecosystem in the high Himalayan ranges and the Tibetan plateau.” His Holiness the 17th Karmapa, Ogyen Trinley Dorje, told Voice of America: Among particular concerns I think the... Read more
The Star reported recently on the International Buddhist-Muslim Forum on Peace and Sustainability, held recently at the Institute of Islamic Understanding in Malaysia. Noteworthy for readers of this blog were statements from Dr. Harsha Kumara Navaratne, chairman of the International Network for Engaged Buddhists, who was quoted as saying to the gathering: The people in Sri Lanka live in separate areas, attend separate schools and speak separate languages. This isolation contributes to mistrust and fear… If Buddhist and Muslim communities can overcome the... Read more
Recently, at University of the West, the Buddhist-inspired institution of higher education where I direct a Master of Divinity in Buddhist Chaplaincy program, an altar of the dead (pictured above) appeared for Día de Los Muertos (the “Day of the Dead”). Created by a group of students, staff, and faculty, under the leadership of Alma Ramon, our Administrative Assistant to Academic Program Heads and Human Resources Assistant, the altar became the center of our campus’s first celebration of the Mexican holiday. Wanting... Read more
This year, I’m once again participating in Buddhist Global Relief’s “Walk to Feed the Hungry” in Santa Monica. My fundraising goal is $1,000, and I’m already 33% of the way there. The walk is on November 17th, and you can donate until then right here. I hope you’ll consider donating to support an outstanding cause. Founded by my friend Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, BGR is the visionary, Buddhist-inspired humanitarian organization that contributes to various relief and justice efforts worldwide, and does, I think,... Read more
My wife Steph and I were tickled pink to discover ourselves in the above picture posted on Homeboy Industries’ Facebook page (and then their official website) the other day — especially since it is our favorite local charity / lunch spot, and Fr. Gregory Boyle (the organization’s founder and director) is Steph’s hero (and one of mine too). When the photo was taken, we were there on a class field-trip for the “Buddhist Ministry and the Prison-Industrial Complex” course that... Read more
As I write this, the U.S. government shutdown is in its 12th day and 12th hour. Even though the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (H.R. 3590) – derisively called “Obamacare” by the right – was passed into law, and its constitutionality upheld by the Supreme Court, House Republicans have attempted (unsuccessfully) to repeal it 41 times. With democracy standing in their way, the G.O.P. has now decided to force this shutdown on all of us. This is more than simply... Read more
…and if you’re looking for a way to mark the occasion, I strongly suggest supporting the cause of educating girls and women. As Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn have written so powerfully: In the 19th century, the paramount moral challenge was slavery. In the 20th century, it was totalitarianism. In this century, it is the brutality inflicted on so many women and girls around the globe: sex trafficking, acid attacks, bride burnings and mass rape. Yet if the injustices that... Read more
At his Wikipedia page, Brad Warner is described as “an American Sōtō Zen priest, author, blogger, documentarian and punk rock bass guitarist.” Trained and ordained by Gudo Wafu Nishijima in Japan, he is also the founder of Dogen Sangha Los Angeles. Brad is also the author of such dharma books as Hardcore Zen: Punk Rock, Monster Movies & the Truth About Reality; Sit Down and Shut Up: Punk Rock Commentaries on Buddha, God, Truth, Sex, Death, and Dogen’s Treasury of the... Read more
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