Nebuchadnezzar II Takes Jerusalem & With That Sets a Magical Stage

Last updated on: July 29, 2017 at 3:59 pm By James Ford

According to those good people at Wikipedia, following an eighteen month siege, it was on this day in the year 597 before our common era that Nebuchadnezzar II’s army breached the defenses of Jerusalem. As this was in fact a revolt against him and a previously established “alliance” in a much larger conflict between the Chaldean or sometimes named Neo-Babylonian empire and Egypt, this time the king took drastic actions. Two things. First, the Nebuchadnezzar Chronicles give us dates that are probably accurate.... Read more

Meredith Garmon’s Koan Index

Last updated on: July 28, 2017 at 12:44 pm By James Ford

Koan Index Meredith Garmon An amazing resource put together by the Reverend Meredith Garmon, a dharma teacher with Boundless Way Zen as well as senior minister of the Community Unitarian Universalist Congregation at White Plains, New York. This index lists the koans of the three central collections used in Harada-Yasutani lineages of Zen: GG: Gateless Gate (a.k.a. Wumenguan, Wu-men-kuan, Mumonkan) – 48 cases BCR: Blue Cliff Record (a.k.a. Biyan Lu, Pi-yen Lu, Hekiganroku) – 100 cases BOS: Book of Serenity... Read more

Trying to Create a Zen Buddhist Liturgical Calendar for North America

Last updated on: September 17, 2022 at 11:26 am By James Ford

I’ve found myself thinking about the emergence of a North American Zen Buddhist liturgical calendar. Several questions bubble up with this. What ceremonies make sense carrying forward from East Asia? For instance such as the Buddha’s birth, enlightenment, and death. Which celebrations might best be folded into pre-existing holidays? Such as Obon and whether it could be folded into Halloween. And if marking founders of Zen in the West what do we do about problematic figures? Should everyone be noted,... Read more

Go Wash Your Bowls: A Meditation on Generosity in Buddhism

Last updated on: July 26, 2017 at 3:08 pm By James Ford

Go Wash Your Bowls: A Meditation on Generosity in Buddhism James Ishmael Ford A student of the way came to Master Zhaozhou and said, “I have just entered your monastery. Please give me instruction.” Zhaozhou asked, “Have you eaten your rice gruel?” The students said, “yes.” Zhaozhou responded, “Wash your bowl.” With this the student had an insight. Gateless Gate (Wumenguan) Case Seven I’ve always loved this case in the Wumenguan, that grand twelfth century... Read more

Valerian: Popcorn and Spectacale

Last updated on: July 24, 2017 at 11:34 am By James Ford

Yesterday Jan & I saw Valerian. We believed we knew what we’re in for. The consensus among those of our friends who liked to comment on such things hit three points. Horribly miscast stars, a tissue of a plot barely solid enough to take the film from beginning to end, and a visual spectacle possibly unmatched in film history. Now we’ve seen it. And, yep, pretty much said it all. At Rotten Tomatoes we are duly warned. Of one hundred... Read more

Enter Raymond Chandler: Master of L.A. Noire

Last updated on: July 23, 2017 at 1:47 pm By James Ford

The immortal Raymond Chandler was born in Chicago, on this day, the 23rd of July, in 1888. He spent much of his childhood and youth in England. After passing on going to University, he worked briefly for the Admiralty, then as a journalist for the Daily Express and then the Bristol Western Gazette. Chandler returned to the land of his birth in 1912, ending up in Los Angeles. He fought with the Canadians during the First World War. With the end... Read more

A Meditation on the Magdalene: Apostle to, and Maybe Even of the Apostles

Last updated on: July 22, 2017 at 7:26 am By James Ford

In pretty much all sacramental Christian churches today, the 22nd of July, is marked out as a feast for Mary Magdalene. Me, I find her pretty much endlessly fascinating. She was arguably the closest of Jesus’ various disciples. According to some sources, admittedly mostly at the fringes of the canonical texts, she is considered his true successor. Mary enters the canonical narrative as profoundly troubled. In Luke she is said to have been possessed by seven demons, which Jesus drove... Read more

A Small Step for (a) Man

Last updated on: July 20, 2017 at 5:34 pm By James Ford

It was on this day, the 21st of July, in 1969, at 2:56 UTC (Coordinated Universal Time) the American astronaut Neil Armstrong put his foot on the surface of the moon. And with that he became the first human being to walk on a natural surface other than the Earth. Yesterday, I reflected a little on how this and the day before when the Apollo 11 spacecraft landed touches my own heart and imagination. Wikipedia gives us the details: Although the... Read more

Armless, Legless Man: A Zen Reflection on Case Five of the Gateless Gate

Last updated on: July 21, 2017 at 7:03 am By James Ford

Armless, Legless Man A Reflection on Case Five of the Gateless Gate Glenn Taylor Webb, Osho Text The priest Xiangyan (Kyogen) said, “It is as though you were up in a tree, hanging from a branch with your teeth. Your hands and feet can’t touch any branch. Someone appears beneath the tree and asks, ‘What is the meaning of Bodhidharma’s coming from the West?’ If you do not answer, you evade your responsibility. If you do answer, you lose your... Read more

Is Our Destiny in the Stars? A Small, Mostly Zen Meditation

Last updated on: July 20, 2017 at 8:41 am By James Ford

It was forty-eight years ago on this day in 1969 that Apollo 11 successfully landed on the moon. The next day Neil Armstrong and then Buzz Aldrin would be the first humans to walk on the surface of a natural body other than the Earth. Seven years later on this same day the unmanned Viking 1 successfully landed on the surface of Mars. I love these facts. Me. As a child I would look up to the stars... Read more