Yesterday the Rhode Island State Senate passed a civil union bill. The Governor has promised to quickly sign it into law. For those of us who’ve been working hard for marriage equality this is a bittersweet and very small victory. I personally went out on a very long branch pushing my congregation to take a public stand this year for marriage equality. And bless them they did it. And it cost us in hurt and a sense of isolation on... Read more
The Toledo sesshin, long meditation retreat, culminated with a Jukai ceremony where ten people formally embraced the Bodhisattva way as it is presented within the Zen dharma. Let’s see. First a little unpacking. Sesshin is a Japanese word that translates as “to touch the heart mind.” It is the term for multiple day intensive meditation retreats in the Zen tradition. Jukai means “receiving the precepts.” It stands for the ceremony in which one undertakes the obligations of the Buddhist ethical/moral/practice... Read more
I do love sesshin. Although when I step back for a moment, there seems little logic to it. Basically, for the duration (in this case five days) one gets up early and does lots and lots of zazen. In most cases somewhere between eight and ten hours a day. Now, at this point in my practice, and because it is informed by the discipline of koan introspection, I spend much, most of it in the interview room working with people... Read more
On retreat in Toledo. Communication will be spotty at best for about a week. Enjoy! Read more
And about bloody time… Read more
Photographs by Richard Boober Read more
Yesterday members and friends of the First Unitarian Church marched in the annual Providence Gay Pride parade. My feet are killing me. And I’m still basking in the glow of how the community responds to a church that as we marched flew two banners: The first read “First Unitarian Church of Providence.” And right behind it “Standing on the Side of Love.” We also featured for the third time a float, okay a pickup truck stuffed with kids and others... Read more
I’ve said here and there how I tend to feel my web presence is a bit kinder and more thoughtful than the person I am in “real life.” Which has led me to consider a bit how we think of ourselves as selves, what is set and what is optional. A core part of my Buddhist led understanding of the way things are is that we are in fact constructs, moments in a flux of causal relationships. In a rubber... Read more
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