DREAMING OUR FATHERS A Meditation 16 June 2019 James Ishmael Ford Unitarian Universalist Church in Anaheim At this point in my ministerial life, actually in my life, it is a rare subject of continuing interest to me that I haven’t addressed in a sermon, or blog posting, or article in some journal or other. So, I was a little surprised when as part of my normal preparation for this sermon I looked to see what I’ve written... Read more
The Church of England and the American Episcopal Church both observe today, the 15th of June, as a festival in honor of Evelyn Underhill, who died on this day in 1941. I try to note this every year. And, while I repeat the main bits, I usually find there’s something new I want to add, noticing a wrinkle or point I find helpful. Underhill was born on the 6th of December, 1875 in Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, in England.... Read more
Can Universalism Save the World? A Zen Buddhist meditation by James Ishmael Ford I notice that today, the 11th of June, is among many other things the anniversary of the Vietnamese monk Thich Quang Duc’s self-immolation on a road in Saigon. It’s now been fifty-six years. A photograph captured the horror of the moment and the world noticed. The immediate cause was the persecution of Buddhists by the Catholic controlled dictatorship in what was then South Vietnam.... Read more
The Abbess Huntress Tumbles Down a Hill (An anecdote from the life Teresa of Avila, re-imagined) James Ishmael Ford Once upon a time long ago and far away there was an abbess. Her name was Huntress. Huntress spent years on the intimate way and had come to be wise. She was also a powerful preacher and a subtle counselor and people flocked to her as their spiritual director. While she never suggested it was in any way superior, many... Read more
Dreaming a Cookbook & a Pie A Zen Story retold by James Ishmael Ford Once upon a time long ago and far away there was a follower of the intimate way named Mountain View. He had studied with many teachers until he found the one with whom he could dream. After dreaming together for a time, Mountain View was sent to wander a little and meet and learn more of the three worlds. After a particularly long walk into... Read more
John Eaton Calthorpe Blofeld died on this day, the 7th of June, in 1987. He would become an important early interpreter of both Zen and Tibetan Buddhism to the West. His mature life practice was within the Vajrayana tradition as an initiate of the Nyingma tradition. Blofeld was born into a middle class family London on the 2nd of April, 1913. In later years he would describe in childhood finding a small figurine of the Buddha and feeling an... Read more
The Americanization of Zen Chanting Stephen Slottow Pendragon Press, Hillsdale, NY, 2019 A review by James Ishmael Ford Stephen Slottow is currently associate professor of music theory at the College of Music at the University of North Texas. His doctorate was earned at the City University of New York. In the darker recesses of his past he has also been a professional “fiddler and banjo player.” Professor Slottow has also been a student of Zen for close to... Read more
An Ox Looks at Man They are more delicate even than shrubs and they run and run from one side to the other, always forgetting something. Surely they lack I don’t know what basic ingredient, though they present themselves as noble or serious, at times. Oh, terribly serious, even tragic. Poor things, one would say that they hear neither the song of the air nor the secrets of hay; likewise they seem not to see what is visible... Read more
Once upon a time, long ago, and far away there was a man. He’d been following the intimate way for many years. Eventually this led him on a pilgrimage. On that journey he encountered many teachers, and experienced things that captured his heart and redirected it from what he had long thought was true. Finally he was living in the desert, making his living by weaving baskets out of reeds, and selling them to passersby on the... Read more
I have friends who suggest anything they really like doing is a meditation. Often they’re just being cute or ironic because they know this is one of those things floating around the “spiritual” world that annoy me. When someone is saying this sincerely, the principle they seem to rely on is that such things as knitting, bowling, cooking, all involve concentration. And, at best, perhaps, an achieving of a sense of “oneness” with the object of their concentration. And,... Read more
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