I wrote this for Bodhi day in 2015. Reprinted, okay with a few minor tweaks, for today. Gautama Siddhartha lived somewhere between the sixth and fourth centuries before the common era near what today is the border between India and Nepal. He had some experiences, and he taught, he preached sermons that were memorized and no doubt polished by those who transmitted them, and then polished some more. Finally, some four hundred or so years after these... Read more
Burning burning burning burning O Lord Thou Pluckest me out O Lord thou pluckest T. S. Eliot, the Waste Land Jan and I live in the land of smog and dreams, also known as the Los Angles basin. After a quarter of a century out of state, mostly in New England, our retirement plan gradually became returning home to California. We ended up in Long Beach. But, we retired to SoCal specifically to be near Jan’s mom,... Read more
Shakyamuni’s Enlightenment & Ours by Devin Seigaku Amato As Jodo-E, or Bodhi Day is on December 8th, I would like to talk about the story of Shakyamuni’s enlightenment and what it is that this enlightenment means. First briefly I would like to share the story of Buddha’s practice. Shakyamuni Buddha, realizing the transience of life, and the inevitability of suffering at all stages of our life decided to search for a way out. A way out... Read more
In the solar calendar December 8th is marked as Bodhi Day or Rohatsu, a time to celebrate the Buddha’s great awakening. My friend Paul Paul Bloch has put together a Wiki with a variety of resources people can draw upon in creating celebrations for themselves, their families, and larger communities. It’s dynamic and will be growing over time, and perhaps eventually be given a home at another site. For now: Resources for Celebrating Bodhi Day Read more
There are two Suzukis who stand large at the dawn of Zen breaking forth into North American culture. The first is Daisetsu Teitaro Suzuki, best known as D. T. Suzuki, a scholar, translator, and essayist, whose writings both directly and through the popularizations by his sometime disciple Alan Watts, first introduced many of the basic principles of Zen Buddhism to the American public. The other is Shunryu Suzuki, Soto Zen priest and missionary teacher who introduced Zen... Read more
These are past dangerous times. The world’s human population has probably already passed carrying capacity. And we live on a planet where our actions have set climactic changes into motion that are already past recalling. For too many poverty, hunger, and ignorance are the cards we get to play. And those who have the power to do otherwise are preoccupied. There is a currently popular television show, which I haven’t watched, but which I understand involves various parties fighting over... Read more
I have friends who suggest anything they really like doing is a spiritual practice. When they’re not just being cute or ironic, as some of my friends do, the principle they seem to rely upon for this assertion 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. I have little argument with such observations, and... Read more
The other night for about the ten thousandth time I introduced the raw basics of Zen meditation to a small group of people. Beyond the basics of posture and some suggestions about breath counting I attempted to quickly summarize the “essences” of the practice. To do this I spoke of it as “olly olly oxen free.” There are variations on that phrase but this seems the most common use. The term “Olly olly oxen free,” for those who... Read more
As I often do, I was looking through Google’s what happened on a given date for today, the 28th of November. There I saw that it was on this day that Nancy Witcher Langhorne Astor, the Countess Astor was the first woman to take a seat as a member of Great Britain’s Parliament. Looking at her I notice she wasn’t a particularly attractive person. Look her up if you want more. I don’t particularly feel... Read more
Wishing you a blessed feast of the saints Barlaam & Josaphat! In the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic church as well as for those of the Eastern Churches who follow the revised Julian calendar, today, the 27th of November is the feast of Sts Barlaam and Josaphat. The Orthodox who continue to use the Julian calendar observe this feast on 26th of August. Or, used to. For the most part this holiday is no longer actually... Read more
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