So, here we are in the great mid winter holiday season. Pretty much all religions have a holiday or two to mark this time of year. And, of course, in our culture, Christmas looms largest of them all. I’m always interested in religion, but it does go into overdrive during these holidays. One thing it sparks is the whole question of God. Let me make a small confession. Me, I’m a big fan of critical thinking. I believe it has... Read more
Here we are winging into the Christmas season. And with it comes Christmas music. Frankly, some of it puts my teeth on edge. Occasionally I fear diabetes just hearing the melody. And, some of it moves me deeply. I kind of like how some chestnuts have passed along over generations, for instance Bing Cosby’s White Christmas. I don’t particularly like the song. I don’t like “secular” Christmas music. Although I don’t particularly mind it in the background, you know, as part... Read more
Martin Scorsese’s latest offering, Silence, actually enjoyed a special initial release for the pope at Vatican City. It will officially open on the 23rd of December. Last night Jan and I went to Paramount Studios for a screening of Silence for journalists and bloggers. Frankly, I think people might find it an odd Christmas movie. As we walked out Jan said, “Now, that was harrowing.” There are two brief quotes from reviewers that I believe taken together say what one... Read more
And, well, this is Monkey Mind. According to the good folk at Wikipedia, “Monkey Day is an unofficial holiday celebrated internationally on December 14. While the holiday is mainly about monkeys, it also celebrates other non-human primates such as apes, tarsiers, and lemurs. Monkey Day was created and popularized by artists Casey Sorrow and Eric Millikin, in order to spread awareness for the animals, and to show love and care for them. It is celebrated worldwide and often known as... Read more
Manchester by the Sea isn’t my sort of movie. I find broadcast news, newspapers and the general dealings of life sad enough without wanting to volunteer to encounter it again when Jan & I go out for our Sunday movie & dinner. However, sometimes I miss the cues telegraphing that one film or another is going to be that sort. That happened this time. And, I have to admit, I’m glad I missed the cues, and that I saw the... Read more
Form is emptiness, emptiness is form. Form is exactly emptiness, emptiness is exactly form. Heart Sutra I was talking with a friend about some of the pitfalls on the Zen way. And I thought perhaps some of what we discussed could be of use for others who also walk this way. Our conversation turned on two issues, closely related. One issue is the samadhi junkie. The other turns on several misunderstandings about sunyata, at least as what it means in... Read more
In 2013 the Unitarian Universalist General Assembly was held in Louisville. And so for me that UU convention became a Thomas Merton pilgrimage. I drove out to the Abbey of Gethsemani twice, once with my friend and colleague Erik Wikstrom, and once on my own. When Erik and I were there we brought flowers for Father Merton’s grave. The other spot for me, and in some ways more compelling was right in downtown Louisville, where there’s a marker. As far... Read more
I am currently re-reading Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop. Early on the young bishop encounters a native priest who tells him the story of Our Lady of Guadalupe. And, well, it happens that in the legend, it was today, the 9th of December, one day after the traditional celebration of the Buddha’s great awakening, that the peasant Juan Diego had the first of four encounters with Our Lady. She told him to go to the bishop and tell... Read more
I so love telling the story. That wonderful old story. And, so, once again… 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 words were spoken, they started being... Read more
Personally I’m not one of those folk who re-read novels. Said, as someone who the other day picked up Willa Cather’s Death Comes for the Archbishop for a second read. Perhaps it should count that I first read it fifteen, possibly twenty years ago. It is one of those rare things that hangs in the memory like a faint perfume, rich with innuendo, half a dream. And then I notice that today is also Ms Cather’s birthday. Just a delight.... Read more
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