On this day, May 14th, 1878. that the last trial on a charge of witchcraft was initiated in an American court. Somewhat awkwardly for all concerned, the case was heard in Salem, Massachusetts. Lucretia Brown of Ipswich, Massachusetts was a life long invalid. At the age of fifty she embraced Christian Science and its promises of cures for matters physical as well as spiritual. She quickly reported how she was cured of her painful spinal injury. However... Read more
(I’m working on some articles that we post at our Empty Moon Zen Network website. Some are new. And, some, like this, heavily reworked from materials already posted. Like the article I posted yesterday, it occurred to me that this might be of use to people not looking to learn about a particular sangha. So, for you, the inquirer as to what Zen actually is, here you go…) What is Zen? Really? James Myoun... Read more
ZEN PRACTICE FOR EVERYONE James Myoun Ford (Just finished this for our Empty Moon Zen Network website. It occurred to me its a reflection that might be of interest to folk beyond those interested specifically in our community.) I am a Zen priest. More specifically I am a Soto Zen Buddhist priest. There are many more aspects to who I am, but that priest thing is very important. And, I constantly think about dis-robing, stopping being a priest. There are... Read more
Well, our Empty Moon project, the Anaheim Zen Sangha is off and running! We’re still experiencing hiccups along the way. But, me, I’m feeling excited as the broad contours of our community are becoming apparent. Our core and foundation is the opportunity for Zen meditation and koan introspection. We’re offering this every Tuesday evening and Saturday morning. We’re also introducing liturgy, on Saturday mornings in the traditional Soto manner, and on Tuesday evenings more informally as adapted in the... Read more
I’m sad to learn of the death of the Reverend Doctor Gene Reeves yesterday, May 8th, 2019. Gene was a Unitarian Universalist minister as well as a Buddhist scholar & teacher. He once wrote, “I was raised Christian. At twenty I became a Unitarian. At thirty I became a Unitarian Universalist. And at fifty I became a Buddhist. But not once did I think of those becomings as a conversion from one faith to another.... Read more
Happy birthday, Gary! He once sang to us: Ah to be alive on a mid-September morn fording a stream barefoot, pants rolled up, holding boots, pack on, sunshine, ice in the shallows, northern rockies. Rustle and shimmer of icy creek waters stones turn underfoot, small and hard as toes cold nose dripping singing inside creek music, heart music, smell of sun on gravel. I pledge allegiance I pledge allegiance to the soil of Turtle Island, and to the... Read more
Rabindranath Tagore was born on this day the 6th of May,1861. He was a Bengali poet, a musicians, and an artist. Tagore was the first non-European to win the Nobel Prize for literature, in 1913. His Wikipedia article noted how he was a “humanist, universalist, internationalist, and ardent anti-nationalist.” He was also active in the Indian liberation movement seeking to throw off the yoke of English imperialism. Of particular interest to me is how following his father, a... Read more
Zen Meditation: A Quick Outline of Silent Illumination by Barry Farrin Forest Way Zen (Barry Ferrin is a Zen teacher in the Diamond Sangha tradition, a dharma successor to my dharma sibling Subhana Barzaghi. He leads the Forest Way Zen community in Doonan, Queensland, in Australia. Printed with permission of the author…) I am posting this brief paper so you can all have an alternative way of seeing and modelling your practice of Zazen. I found that Shikantaza... Read more
WHY CINCO DE MAYO MATTERS A Meditation on the Places In Between Places James Ishmael Ford Today is Cinco de Mayo. It’s one of our more peculiar civic holidays. Out on the inter webs, if you’re moving in circles similar to mine, you’re probably inundated with memes and video clips all making sure you know that today is not Mexican Independence Day. Good information. True fact. Unfortunately, the presentations are largely without nuance. Lots of finger waging,... Read more
I’ve admired Maia Duerr for ages. She’s a long time Zen practitioner, a trained anthropologist, keen observer of the human condition, one time executive director of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship, and an all around good human being. She’s also smart as a whip. And thinks about important things, as well as putting the fruit of her reflections into action. And, on occasion, into words. I especially like her “Five Noble Truths.” I find them the Zen of Engaged Buddhism. And... Read more
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