On this day in 1963 John F. Kennedy gave his great speech speaking of human dignity and freedom. Four months later he would be murdered in Dallas. I must admit while I have no love for communism, I’m not much more a fan of capitalism. The human heart calls for freedom and responsibility, for the individual and the communal, and any system of human relationship must account for both. The problem with both communism and capitalism is how each ignores... Read more

So, General Assembly, the annual convention of the Unitarian Universalist Association has been going strong for several days. Jan & I arrived on Monday and took in some sights and had dinner with two old and increasingly dear Zen friends before my buckling down for minister stuff on Tuesday and then our launching into the full assembly on Wednesday. I’m not exactly sure what day it is, I do know we’re running on not quite enough sleep. I don’t know... Read more

One of the more interesting problems in Zen is what to do with that pesky ego. Okay, it’s kind of the perennial problem of the human condition. What to do about our egos? And all the ill that follows our egos… Over the millennia much of Zen training, following classical Vinaya monasticism, has been simply to step on it. One Zen line, a classic, is: “Just put it down.” Not exactly the same as stepping on or crushing, although in... Read more

Two letters. The first in response to a note from a monastic reader, and then a response to his response…Dear I meant to underscore that there is something very powerful going on in the Japanese-derived Bodhisattva ordination. It is another form of practice and service which I think is best characterized as priesthood or ministry. I am less familiar with the Korean Taego Order which is also an attempt at reforming the monastic system. From the limited resources I’ve been... Read more

A Modest Call for A Reformation of Ordained Zen Leadership in the West James Ishmael Ford The Vinaya, the Buddhist monastic code can be traced to its founder, Gautama Siddhartha. It is a strict code of behavior monitoring most every action and even thought of those who embrace it. It remains the normative form of Buddhist leadership throughout most of the world to this day. Over the years, however, there have been various attempts at reformation of this model. This... Read more

I usually go from my home in the Oak Hill neighborhood of Pawtucket to the church on College Hill in Providence’s East Side by driving along Hope Street, which follows along the spine of the large hill that is the East Side. Along my way I pass a Baptist church. It has one of those message boards. Often the sayings posted are barely truisms, trite, obvious, and occasionally embarrassing for the constricted view they expose. I like them because they... Read more

Theophilus Lindsey was born on this day in 1723. It addition to having the coolest name, he is the founder of institutional Unitarianism in Great Britain. He certainly wasn’t the first Unitarian, the list of people holding unitarian views before him is in fact quite long. An Anglican priest, Lindsey joined with a total of two hundred and fifty clergy, including bishops, who petitioned Parliament to lift the requirement that candidates for holy orders in the Church subscribe to the... Read more

Aung San Suu Kyi turned sixty-five today. The last freely elected prime minister of Burma, she has spent fifteen of her past twenty birthdays either in prison or under house arrest. It could be worse. She resides in the countryside in a crumbling mansion in a decaying compound surrounded by troops. But it isn’t good. In the ensuing years her exiled husband has died, her children have grown and given birth to their children. All with her imprisoned. And her... Read more

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Our local NPR station has a series called “This I Believe” which features local people spouting on various things. It can be silly, and it can be quite moving. While I mainly listen to the radio while driving somewhere and so don’t actually follow any shows or even segments of shows, it is among the bits I feel particularly pleased to capture on my Mr Toad’s wild rides around town… The other day a rabbi I know and rather admire... Read more