A lovely brief video from Sotoshu, the Japanese Soto Zen denomination, introducing zazen or “seated Zen,” the basic meditation practice of all schools of Zen. A small addendum: In addition to sitting in a chair, the full lotus, and the half lotus addressed in the video, two other postures are often used in Zen meditation, a “quarter-lotus, where the foot rests on the calf, and “Burmese” where the foot is placed on the ground in front of the other, both... Read more

ON READING THE KORAN And Other Encounters With the Sacred James Ishmael Ford 31 May 2015 First Unitarian Church Providence, Rhode Island Text In the Name of God, the Merciful, the Compassionate. Praise belongs to God, the Lord of all Being, the All-merciful, the All-compassionate, the Master of the Day of Doom. Thee only we serve; to Thee alone we pray for succor. Guide us in the straight path, the path of those whom Thou hast blessed… From the opening... Read more

Leslie Townes Hope, better known to my parents and my generation as Bob Hope would have been one hundred and twelve today. Read more

The Diamond Sutra is one of the two most popular of the Prajnaparamita Sutra cycle, Mahayana Buddhist spiritual texts particularly associated with the Zen way. It has been said reading or hearing this text has the beneficial effect of opening hearts and minds to the workings of the world and our human hearts. Read more

As someone interested in the history of religions, I’ve observed how they often have multiple points of origin. So, for instance the Unitarian movement in North America might be said to have started when William Ellery Channing preached his famous “Baltimore sermon,” or, it could be said to have begun when the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court declared members of the parish who supported the church through taxes had the right to name the minister over those who were actually attenders... Read more

Alse Young was hung in Windsor, Connecticut, on this day in 1647, becoming the first person in the American colonies to die convicted of witchcraft. (Some scholars suspect Alice Young Beamon, who some thirty years later in Springfield, Massachusetts, was also tried for witchcraft may have been her daughter. Unlike Young, Beamon successfully defended herself against the charges…) We can go in any number of directions with this tidbit of information. For me today is a day to start by... Read more

Yesterday Jan & I were up for almost twenty-four hours in the madness of moving Jan & Helen the cat to our new home in Long Beach. I’ll remain here for a few days before returning East as we try to get a few things together in advance of the final full family move following services at the First Unitarian Church of Providence on the 14th of June. We may have been up for twenty-four hours, but nonetheless I find... Read more

TEN GUIDELINES TO TRUE CONTENTMENT Ezra Bayda Zen Center of San Diego Everyone wants to be happy, but rarely do simple formulas for happiness really help. To be genuinely happy—not just the superficial happiness that comes when things are going well—we must learn how to be fundamentally okay with our life just as it is. This is not so easy, but there are some specific guidelines that definitely can help. Here are ten that many have found helpful. · Examine... Read more

It is World Turtle Day! Okay, I’m not exactly sure what to do, beyond hugging a turtle. But, fortunately, others do. Here are some hints at other opportunities that might prove more useful… Read more

We had an event at our church in which a series of jokes were presented. The format in which they were presented was in the “Yo Mama” structure. When I first heard the phrase “Yo Mama,” I started. But then as the jokes were presented I relaxed as they were gentle, actually funny, and aimed totally at my community, who generally are considered a privileged lot. I settled into it. And then I posted them publicly. I noticed the comments... Read more