On this day in 1793, the revolutionary French Convention proclaimed the investiture of a goddess of reason. Her image was installed on the high altar of the Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. Certainly an interesting eruption of rational religion in the midst of the revolution. Short lived, the atheistic cult of the goddess was suppressed by order of Robespierre who wanted a cult of the supreme being instead… Sadly, what could have been a very interesting experiment in rational... Read more

On this day in 1989 the Berlin Wall fell… A glorious day. No doubt. Full stop. And then we go on… And, sadly, I fear the wrong lessons have been held up. Rather than a celebration of human nobility, of our amazing possibilities, a narrow view of what we should be about crows its victory. In modern times it appears two extreme philosophies have pitted themselves against each other. The one based in fear and the other in greed. The... Read more

A MEDITATION ON ROSIE THE RIVETER The Divine Feminine and Liberal Religion and a Vision for a New World 8 November 2009 James Ishmael Ford First Unitarian Church Providence, Rhode Island Text The spirit of God has sent me to bring good news to the oppressed, to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to comfort all who mourn, to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead... Read more

Killing the Buddha is one of my favorite religion blogs. Check ’em out, they’re in the list to your right… This is an example. As someone almost always in bed well before The Daily Show & the Colbert Report air, I rarely see their shows. But thanks to the Buddha killers, we’re all warned… http://www.hulu.com/embed/jdOPMihzu0PcKnnB6pAJkw Read more

On the Utter, Complete, Total Ordinariness of Mu 2 November 2009 A Teisho by James Myoun Ford Benevolent Street Zendo Boundless Way Zen The Case A monk asked Chao-chou, “Has the dog Buddha nature or not?” Chao-chou said, “Mu.” Wu-Men’s Comment For the practice of Zen it is imperative that you pass through the barrier set up by the Ancestral Teachers. For subtle realization it is of the utmost importance that you cut off the mind road. If you do... Read more

By somebody’s calculation, on this day in 355 the Roman emperor Constantius II, appointed his cousin Julian a Caeser, which by this time in the history of the empire was a junior emperor position. It would lead five years later to Julian becoming Augustus of the Roman Empire. The brevity of his tenure as Emperor, a mere three years, together with his reaching intellect and his pagan restorationist desires, leaves us with one of those great “what ifs” of history.... Read more

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The Very Short Sutra on the Meeting of the Buddha and the Goddess Thus I have made up:Once the Buddha was walking along the forest path in the Oak Grove at Ojai, walking without arriving anywhereor having any thought of arriving or not arriving and lotuses shining with morning dewmiraculously appeared under every stepsoft as silk beneath the toes of the Buddha When suddenly, out of the turquoise sky,dancing in front of his half-shut inward-looking eyes, shimmering like a rainbowor... Read more

Jan and I awakened this morning to learn the referendum to reject Maine’s legislation to recognize same gender marriage passed. Jan sighed. I felt a wave of anger. This was so wrong. And of course, our feelings are nothing compared to those of so many people who have suffered from prejudice and worse legal sanction, and have once again seen their neighbors reject their full humanity. This is so sad. So sad… Now I know the wave of history will... Read more

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