Of course today is Bastille Day. And a tip of the hat to that revolution marked by the storming of the prison in 1789. It is also the anniversary of another uprising of sorts, a counter riot to the spirit of that revolution which also took place on the 14th of July, but two years later in England. It is commonly called the “Priestley Riots.” Joseph Priestley is much more than the patron saint... Read more
By calculations noted at good old Wikipedia today, the 13the of July, marks the conclusion of the siege of Jerusalem and its sacking by Nebuchadnezzar’s Babylonian army. As the actual year isn’t precisely certain, it could be 597 before our common era or maybe 596, I’m not especially comfortable dating it precisely beyond saying it was the summer of one or the other year. Jerusalem’s king was forced to watch his sons all be executed before he was blinded.... Read more
It was on this day, the 10th of July, 1871, that Valentin Louis Georges Eugene Marcel Proust was born in Paris. His was a well to do family, his father Catholic, his mother Jewish. It is said that as he aged, Proust became “an atheist and was something of a mystic.” I rather like that combination of contradictions. It can invite a life of mysteries. The well to do proved critical for him. Except for a brief period... Read more
So, my old friend in the dharma, the Zen teacher Dosho Port send me a note saying how he enjoyed my retelling the koan like parable of the laborers in the Vineyard, noting how it reminded him of the traditional koan “Sushan’s Memorial Tower.” And. Well. One thing leads to another. And. Here’s a retelling of that one… The Unicorn in the Garden A Traditional koan retold James Myoun Ford Once upon a time long ago and... Read more
A Letter Asking Buddhist Leaders to Support Tsuru for Solidarity Tsuru for Solidarity, a nonviolent and direct action project, was initially created by Japanese American community leaders Satsuki Ina, Nancy Ukai, and Mike Ishii in conjunction with the March 2019 Pilgrimage to Crystal City, a former WWII internment camp in Texas that housed over 2,000 persons of Japanese ancestry, and Protest at the South Texas Family Residential Center (located 40 miles away in Dilley, Texas). The Dilley facility holds over a... Read more
Zen, Lists, and Finding the Heart of the World James Myoun Ford So, what is Zen? I was just reading the manuscript for a book coming out from Shambhala Publications. Naked in the Zendo by Grace Schireson. It’s really good. When it comes out, I recommend buying it. And, reading it. There’s something in it for the beginning Zen student and for the old hand. She speaks in it of two kinds of Zen, “uptight” and “wild-ass.” And,... Read more
According to a story we like to tell, two hundred and forty-three years ago our republic was born. Of course, like all stories, at least the good ones, dig in a bit and it’s actually, always more complicated. We were founded by people who didn’t like they way things were, nor who was in charge. There was an astonishing amount of high idealism, and along with it some serious sharp dealing. They dreamed a republic that proclaimed our common humanity... Read more
Not Knowing (retold from the Blue Cliff Record, Case 1, by James Ishmael Ford) Once upon a time long ago and far away the Emperor was visited by the Sage Awakened Way. The Emperor had converted to the intimate way, well as converted as one can and still remain an emperor. And he had done many good things, established monasteries, built hospitals, and endowed schools. He told the sage about these things. Then, because he really cared, and hoped... Read more
The Sage Wonderful & the Vineyard A Zen Priest Retells an Ancient Koan James Ishmael Ford Once upon a time long ago and far away there was a carpenter named Wonderful. He was also a sage who had a following among the poorer members of his community. One day just as he was finishing plaining a plank for a table a large splinter flew up and lodged in the middle of his left palm. He stopped, shocked by... Read more
Soto Zen in Long Beach & Orange County The other day I received a note from the Reverend Gyokei Yokoyama together with a link to his blog “Soto Zen Mission in North America.” It is mostly concerned with the activities he leads as minister at the Long Beach Buddhist Church, priest at Sozenji Temple, and as secretary to the Sotoshu in North America. Things that interest me. At the end of the note, with his signature he added in... Read more
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