Trying to Save the World, If not Quite Succeeding James Myoun Ford Empty Moon Zen Network “Everything changes; everything is connected; pay attention.” Jane Hirshfield Getting to the root problem seems the only effective way of addressing the issues of our lives. Many agree with this proposition. Does sort of makes sense, even if we have to work on the airplane even as we’re flying it. But then things diverge. People describe differing root causes. We can in... Read more
Today, the 26th of June, 2019, Jan Seymour-Ford and I have been married thirty-seven years. Thirty-seven is a prime number, one of several special kinds of prime numbers. That’s nice. It’s the atomic number for rubidium, an element with which I was not previously familiar. Although it turns out to be the twenty-third most common element found here on Earth. It is sometimes added to fireworks to produce a purple color. And, I gather, it has one or... Read more
It was on this day, the 25th of June in 1900 that the Daoist monk Wang Yuanlu, while trying to salvage ancient religious artwork in one of the ruined Caves of the Thousand Buddhas near Dunhuang, stumbled upon a long hidden door. He opened it, and that door opened into another cave now known as the renowned “Library Cave.” In that Library Cave he found a gigantic archive of documents. The archeologist Aurel Stein who was the first... Read more
“And David danced before the Lord with all his might…” 2 Samuel 6:14 According to the good folk at Wikipedia it was on this day, the 24th of June, in 1374 that a major, maybe the first major outbreak of St John’s Dance occurred in Aachen, Germany. St John’s Dance is also called St Vitus’ Dance, apparently for the rough dates upon which it occurred, was a form of dancing mania that popped up in Europe between... Read more
There is a term in Buddhism. “The world is on fire.” I believe this points to much of the reason for religions. Two complementary responses to this reality, Buddhism and Unitarian Universalism, encountered each other, and something new and wondrous is birthing. Is. This is a dynamic continuing to this day. Read more
Anaheim Zen Sangha practice calendar for (the tail end of June & the month of July) The Anaheim Zen Sangha is an Independent Soto Zen Buddhist community within the Empty Moon Zen Network. We are both lay and ordained (within the Japanese-derived Soto Zen tradition) Buddhists united by a common practice. We offer meditation in the Zen style, as well as koan introspection—the path of words and freedom within the constraints of our human condition. We have evening sitting periods, Saturday... Read more
Robert Baker Aitken was born on June the 10th, 1917 in Philadelphia. At five his family moved to Honolulu, where, with some times away, he would make his home for the rest of his life. He would grow up to become one of the most notable Western Zen teachers of the Twentieth century. While Aitken Roshi was the teacher of my koan teacher, for various reasons, not the least of which was geographic, I had little direct contact with him.... Read more
“Just outside the Oval Office hangs a painting depicting the night of December 31, 1862. “In it, African-American men, women, and children crowd around a single pocket watch, waiting for the clock to strike midnight and the Emancipation Proclamation to take effect. As the slaves huddle anxiously in the dimly lit room, we can sense how even two more minutes seems like an eternity to wait for one’s freedom. “But the slaves of Galveston, Texas, had to wait... Read more
Just a head’s up. The Zen priest Seigaku Amato is doing some very interesting work illustrating aspects of the Zen life. You might want to go visit his site. I believe he’s updating it regularly… Read more
The immortal James Weldon Johnson was born on this day, the 17th of June, in 1871 in Jacksonville, Florida. Me, I think of him as one of those wonderful examples where genius rises despite astonishing obstacles. Against a backdrop of terrible racism and bigotry he wove a life. James Weldon Johnson’s writings included the Autobiography of an Ex-Colored Man, Along the Way, and God’s Trombones. He also wrote the lyrics in a collaboration with his brother Rosamond for Lift Ev’ry... Read more
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