Reading The Collected Letters of Alan Watts

Last updated on: November 28, 2017 at 8:55 am By James Ford

I recently searched my now decade and counting deep blog for “Alan Watts.” I discovered I’ve cited him forty-four different times. These references range from passing allusions, to appreciations of his wit and ironic eye like here, to considerations of his many books, like here, to some speculation on possible connections to alternative spiritualities like here, to full on considerations of who he was, is, and continues to be for many, including me, like here. He was a flawed figure. No doubt.... Read more

American Spirituality: The Remarkable Huntingtons: Grandfather, Father, Son

Last updated on: November 25, 2017 at 9:45 am By James Ford

In the Episcopal Church today is celebrated as a feast in honor of James Huntington. For me I can’t think of Father Huntington without also including his father and his grandfather. In my casual researched I cannot find when Dan Huntington was born. But he graduated from Yale in 1794, later returning to read theology with Timothy Dwight. Not long after he was ordained to the Congregational ministry. During the great tumult within Congregationalism that resulted in American Unitarianism, he... Read more

The Bodhisattva Spinoza is Born

Last updated on: November 24, 2017 at 11:36 am By James Ford

Benedito de Espinosa was born on this day, the 24th of November, in 1632. He would later be known as Baruch or Benedict de Spinoza. Raised in a Jewish family in Holland, Spinoza would become one of the foremost thinkers at the dawn of the Enlightenment, sometimes called the prince of philosophers. For me his rational mysticism has provided a bridge between my Western upbringing and my maturing (liberal and rational) Zen Buddhism. While arguably... Read more

Life, Love, Justice, Hope: On Listening to a Concert with Joan Baez

Last updated on: November 23, 2017 at 7:44 pm By James Ford

Jan had recorded a concert with Joan Baez marking her seventy-fifth birthday, and she’s playing it. While preparing dinner I half listened, half cooked, and, well, ruminated a little. Among my younger friends, particularly of a political turn I’ve noticed an inclination to critique my Boomer generation. And, no doubt we deserve a fair bit of castigation. But they throw a wildly diverse generation into a handful of boxes, for my crowd, mostly with something of a sneer... Read more

Why Thanksgiving: A Small Meditation on Myths & Gratitude

Last updated on: November 23, 2017 at 8:15 am By James Ford

Thanksgiving day a year or two ago I made an “emergency” run to the grocery store. Standing near an entrance, but not too near, was a youngish looking woman with two small children. She was holding up a sign asking for money to feed her children. It was heart breaking. (And yes, I know some people think there are alternatives to begging in this country. It’s complicated. And, it isn’t as easy as some who are comfortable seem to... Read more

A Meditation on Interdependence & the Zen Way

Last updated on: November 22, 2017 at 7:14 pm By James Ford

A Meditation on Interdependence & the Zen Way A talk delivered at Blue Cliff Zen Sangha Long Beach, California 21 November 2017 Jan Seymour-Ford Recently I was in the produce section at a downtown grocery store. A young man with kind eyes walked up to me and said, “Do you remember that time you fell down and hit your head and the ambulance came?” I was with him so far – yes this happened a few... Read more

The Culavedalla Sutta: The Nun Dhammadinna Explains Buddhism

Last updated on: November 22, 2017 at 8:50 am By James Ford

I’m a big fan of the Culavedalla Sutta, the 44th fascicle of the Majjihma Nikaya, the Collection of Middle-length Discourses attributed to the Buddha of history, Gautama Siddhartha. I first read it when looking for the earliest citation of the famous three-fold breakout of the eightfold path. It appears to be the source document. Although I admit I am not sure. It is also a very good summation of the principles at the foundation of classical Buddhism. There... Read more

The Monkey Is Reaching: Zen Master Hakuin Gives Us a Pointer

Last updated on: November 21, 2017 at 2:03 pm By James Ford

The monkey is reaching for the moon in the water. Until death overtakes him he’ll never give up. If he’d let go of the branch and disappear in the deep pool, the whole world would shine with dazzling pureness. Hakuin Ekaku And it this isn’t startlingly clear, here’s a brief comment by Zen teacher Henry Shukman Read more

Choose you this day whom you will serve: The Boston Declaration

Last updated on: November 21, 2017 at 2:03 pm By James Ford

Something over one hundred Christian leaders, bishops, and theologians issued the Boston Declaration on Monday the 20th of November. In an era where so many Christians seem to be apologists for the most shameful things including racism, sexual assault if done by the right people, and social policies that put them at direct odds with the welfare of the poor and disenfranchised, this is a breath of fresh air. I am particularly please four Unitarian Universalist Christian... Read more

angel Kyodo Williams on Zen Buddhism & a Possible Emerging American Zen

Last updated on: November 20, 2017 at 10:03 am By James Ford

I just stumbled upon this talk by the remarkable Zen priest and teacher angel Kyodo Williams at Youtube. From 2015. Really worth a watch… Read more