One hundred and four years ago on this day, the 6th of January, 1915 Alan Wilson Watts was born in a village that is now a part of London. Searching my blog I note I referenced him in fifty-five different postings over the past decade. This becomes my fifty-sixth revisit. No doubt Mr Watts is an important figure in my life. And, more important I think he stands as a significant figure in the meeting of... Read more
It was on this day, the 3rd of January, in 1892 that John Ronald Reuel Tolkien was born into a middle class English family of German descent in Bloemfontein in what was then the Orange Free State and today South Africa. His father represented an English bank. At the age of three he, his younger brother and mother returned to England. His father had planned to join them shortly, but unexpectedly, died. While the poor relations,... Read more
Dear all, My goodness. 2019! Oh my… Things writ large are not particularly good. Our country and our world ever further down the road to catastrophe. As it always is. But, maybe, particularly in this moment, especially weird and terrible. And. This past year I turned seventy. I’m rather surprised at how that singular fact has hung in my consciousness. In some ways just a mark on a calendar. On the other hand by all our social... Read more
“What is REAL?” asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. “Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?” “Real isn’t how you are made,” said the Skin Horse. “It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but Really loves you, then you... Read more
The eve of the eve of a new year. Noticing how time really does pass through that glass quickly. And. I notice that it was on this day, the 30th of December in 1916 that Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin was killed by a small group of assassins. There’s a small connection for me. Many years ago when I was working at Wahrenbrock’s Book House in San Diego, I was offered the opportunity along with a few other clerks to... Read more
In our bathroom we have a small picture of Shide, co-conspirator on the matters of the heart with the poet Hanshan. I found it in a small antique shop in Seal Beach a lot of years ago. Sadly, they didn’t have the companion image of the old boy himself. On the other hand I like how I see Shide, grinning at me, and can’t help but recall the other. Sort of like the human mind... Read more
Once upon a time, a very long time ago, I wrote a sermon that had quite the half-life on the interwebs. I saw it was, for a time, referenced all around the globe. It was written while I served our Valley Unitarian Universalist Church in Tempe, Arizona. I no longer recall the exact circumstances around the why of it, but I suspect that Sunday was the 26th, as the subject and title of the sermon was “Boxing... Read more
Last night Jan & I decided to go to mass at St John’s the Episcopal cathedral for Los Angeles. Okay, I wanted to go, and Jan was happy enough to indulge me. As most who know me know, I am a Zen Buddhist and I am a Unitarian Universalist. Two things that might incline one that’s enough for one plate. But, life is messy. I believe the basic analysis of Zen Buddhism as the closest to... Read more
Of the various stories of the Christian tradition I am profoundly taken by the Christmas story in its various parts. And, of those contemporary images of Mary & Joseph on their way to that manger, this one by Everett Pattersen, with it many layers is my favorite. Of course in this time of desperate people seeking refuge those images of the holy family fleeing are also terribly moving. I close my eyes and I see those images, both... Read more
Gutei’s Finger The Gateless Gate, Case 3 Translated by Nyogen Senzaki & Paul Reps First Published in Zen Flesh, Zen Bones Together with Nyogen Senzaki’s commentaries, First published in Eloquent Silence The Case: Whenever he was asked a question about Zen, Gutei raised his finger. A young attendant began to imitate him. When anyone asked the boy about his master’s teaching, the boy would raise his finger. Gutei heard about the boy’s mischief He seized him and cut off his... Read more
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