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“(W)hen I say “God”, it is poetry, not theology. Nothing that any theologian ever wrote about God has helped me much, but everything that poets have written about flowers, and birds, and skies, and seas, and the saviors of the race, and God — whoever that may be — has at one time or another reached my soul. The theologians gather dust upon the shelves of my library, but the poets are stained with my fingers and blotted with my... Read more

The question of Zen’s kensho has come up several times in the last few weeks. That’s just the circles I move in, I guess. Kensho or satori are the experiences (although some will challenge, and for good reasons, the use of that word experience) of insight into our deepest reality. While perhaps most closely associated with the Zen tradition, if there’s a natural insight into reality, then obviously it is owned by no religion. One of the coolest things for... Read more

Every once in a while something happens that confuses and heartens at the same time. I was surprised to learn that Exodus International apologized to the GBLTQ community. And, then, now, has shut down… Their attempt to “cure” gay and lesbian people was predicated upon a long discredited psychological model that homosexuality was a disease to be cured. After inflicting terrible things upon many people for something near forty years, they noticed. It is a miracle when people notice. And,... Read more

The Unitarian Universalist Ministers Association gathers just ahead of the annual UU General Assembly, this year in Lousville. This morning UUMA worship featured, as is the tradition, two speakers, one who has served twenty-five years and the other fifty years. The fifty year homilist this year was Robert Senghas. Bob has been a Zen practitioner for something more than a quarter of a century. Among many other things along the way, including serving as acting president of the denomination for... Read more

Buddhist Voices in Unitarian Universalism Edited by Wayne Arnason & Sam Trumbore Forward by Lama Surya Das Skinner House Books, Boston, 2013 I received a copy of this book in the mail last week. I stuffed it into my bags as I prepared to fly first to Houston for a Zen teachers conference, and from there, directly to Louisville for the Unitarian Universalist Association General Assembly. I started reading it on the plane from Houston to Louisville. In Kentucky, I... Read more

Click on image for the full picture Front row: Stan Lombardo, Myoun Ford, Gaelyn Godwin, David Rynick Middle row: Haju Sunim, Mary Mocine, Ruben Habito, Ryodo Hawley, Karin Kempe, Genjo Marinello Back row: Kristen Larson, Judy Roitman, Gentei Stewart, Eshin Godfrey Not pictured: Kaijaku Kinst, Jane Schneider, Kosho McCall, Lee Ann Nail, Myozen Blacker, Peggy Sheehan, Peter Schnider, Shinshu Roberts Read more

We’re now about half way through the 2013 gathering of the American Zen Teachers Association. This year we’re hosted by the Houston Zen Center, a sangha in the San Francisco Zen Center lineage, led by the always generous and wise Setsuan Gaelyn Godwin. While there are somewhere in the neighborhood of two hundred members of the AZTA, I don’t think we’ve ever had more than fifty show up to one of these annual gatherings. And when they’re not on the... Read more

Not long ago on Facebook, a fellow Unitarian Universalist minister, as I recall, mentioned visiting a new city and seeing announcements for worship services for the two most liberal congregations. The UU church advertised the sermon title as “On Consciousness,” while the progressive Christian congregation had a sermon advertised as “Bad Girls of the Bible.” The minister asked, “Which one would you attend?” Now, I actually would have been interested in that reflection on consciousness. But I take the colleague’s... Read more

FOLLOWING THE SCENTED GRASSES A Meditation 9 June 2013 James Ishmael Ford First Unitarian Church Providence, Rhode Island Text One day Changsha went off to wander in the mountains. When he returned, the temple director met him at the gate and asked, “So, where have you been?” Changsha replied, “I’ve been strolling about in the hills.” “Which way did you go?” “I went out following the scented grasses and came back chasing the falling flowers.” The director smiled. “That’s exactly... Read more