I’m not a big one for Ash Wednesday. This part of the Christian calendar just doesn’t hold a lot of juice for me. On the other hand confessing one’s sins of action or omission is a good thing. Consciously acknowledging the mysterious weaving of our lives, whether on some tragectory toward death and resurrection, or, as I suspect, in entirely different directions, that moment of frank self-assessment is very important. So, to all the open hearted, bless you on this... Read more

Probably not a good idea to forget it… Read more

Why I Take Good Care of My Macintosh Gary Snyder Because it broods under its hood like a perched falcon, Because it jumps like a skittish horse and sometimes throws me, Because it is poky when cold, Because plastic is a sad, strong material that is charming to rodents, Because it is flighty, Because my mind flies into it through my fingers, Because it leaps forward and backward, is an endless sniffer and searcher, Because its keys click like hail... Read more

A MINISTRY OF LOVE James Ishmael Ford 14 February 2010 A Sermon Delivered at the First Unitarian Church in Providence, Rhode Island Text somewhere i have never travelled,gladly beyond any experience,your eyes have their silence: in your most frail gesture are things which enclose me, or which i cannot touch because they are too near your slightest look easily will unclose me though i have closed myself as fingers, you open always petal by petal myself as Spring opens (touching... Read more

Yesterday I received in the post the Spring 2010 issue of Buddhadharma. It was a complementary copy as I’d written the “Commentary,” a generally brief “editorial” that leads off any given issue. This one they titled “Who’s in the Club?” and was my ruminations on the emergence of lay leadership within the Western Zen sangha. I led off with an anecdote relating to my currently serving on the American Zen Teachers Association membership committee. I was vaguely curious as to... Read more

And thank you! Read more

On this day in 1531 Henry VIII was declared supreme head of the church in England. Now don’t get me wrong. I adore the Anglican communion, my absolute favorite among the “orthodox” Christian churches. But they do have their problems… Read more

Ruben Habito, a former Jesuit priest and now professor of world religions and spirituality at Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, is a Zen master in the Sanbo Kyodan reform of the Soto Zen tradition. A good guy. And I think an important Zen teacher. Here’s a pretty good example of why I think this… “Zen is an experience of unlimited love.”Ruben Habito Thank you, Glenda, for the pointer! Read more

I see that the great Schnozzola was born today in 1893. A vaudevillian who made the successful transitions first to radio and then to television; in his old age, but still working, Jimmy Durante was a fixture of my childhood. His quick wit was accentuated by a thick Brooklyn accent and a truly magnificent nose. Wikipedia gives an illustration of the professional, which also reveals a certain kindness in his character. “On August 4, 1955, The Jimmy Durante Show was... Read more

So, I’m in the vegetable department at Whole Foods trying to decide on whether to get a green pepper and a red pepper, or a green pepper, red pepper and a yellow pepper, when Three Dog Night starts singing to me… Okay, maybe they were singing to everyone. But, I have to admit beyond the small dash of nostalgia, I was glad for this little flash of joyous noise. Thought you might like it, too… Read more