My friend Ken Ireland, one time Jesuit, long time Zen practitioner, blogger, and now moving into long time resident at McLeod Ganj in Dharamsala sent me the following, saying it was inspired by some of my recent ruminations around the Psalms. He generously agreed to my request to post them here… *** The McLeod Ganj Psalter Songs One to Four Kenneth Ireland Psalm 24, Raise High your Gates O Jerusalem Psalm 23, Following the Flock from Palampur to... Read more

    Yesterday on Facebook I wrote: Soliciting sartorial advice. Probably a mistake on Facebook. But, I’m going to give it a shot. I’m thinking of how to class up my retirement act a bit. Even though I live in SoCal and shorts are as common as seagulls here, I give ’em a pass. Fat old white men are incapable of looking anything but silly in short pants. I am fond of my Hawaiian shirt collection, almost exclusively high end... Read more

      As some of my friends know, I’m visiting an old colleague and friend who identifies as a Unitarian Universalist Christian.  Suffering from a mass of strokes he can’t really communicate much. So, we’ve ended up reading the Psalms together. I’ve pulled about fifty-two from various recommendations of what might be considered the nub of that ancient collection. With my friend I take one and then read the King James Version, then the Jewish Publications Society version, followed... Read more

        In a shove and push situation an honest assessment of how I understand the world is as a kind of Mahayana Buddhist. (Details linked here for your ease, should you be interested) I am so grateful for having found this perspective. And I have seen how my spiritual tradition comes with, well, more than some baggage. As I’ve observed and reflected on the nature of religions for an age. And what I’ve learned is that religions... Read more

      WHO AM I? The Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi Translation by T.M.P.Mahadevan INTRODUCTION “Who am I?” is the title given to a set of questions and answers bearing on Self-enquiry. The questions were put to Bhagavan Sri Ramana Maharshi by one Sri M. Sivaprakasam Pillai about the year 1902. Sri Pillai, a graduate in Philosophy, was at the time employed in the Revenue Department of the South Arcot Collectorate. During his visit to Tiruvannamalai in 1902... Read more

INTRARELIGIOUS REALIZATION Ruminations of an American Zen Buddhist Robert Aitken (Me, I’m fascinated by the meeting of religions and the inevitability of syncretisms and synthesis of various sorts. On the other hand there are numerous problems. The wonderful Zen teacher Robert Aitken offers a view which is important to consider…) I threw up my hands when I was invited to respond to pronouncements by His Holiness John Paul II on the subject of Buddhism. I felt that his Christianity was... Read more

      I’m always happy when there’s a new posting from Andrew Henry’s wonderful wonderful Youtube channel, Religion for Breakfast. If you’re not familiar with it and you care at all for a scholarly approach to the matters of religion, you are in for a treat. You’re welcome. On the 18th of this month, Dr Henry dropped a video exploring the gospel passage from Mark 10:25 “It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a... Read more

      The Xinxin Ming Attributed to Sengcan Xinxin Ming (alternate spellings Xin Xin Ming or Xinxinming) (Chinese: 信心銘; Pīnyīn: Xìnxīn Míng; Wade–Giles: Hsin Hsin Ming; Romanji: Shinjinmei), meaning “Faith in Mind”, is a poem attributed to the Third Chinese Chán Patriarch Jianzhi Sengcan (Chinese: 鑑智僧璨; Pīnyīn: Jiànzhì Sēngcàn; Wade–Giles: Chien-chih Seng-ts’an; Romaji: Kanchi Sōsan) and one of the earliest Chinese Chan expressions of the Buddhist mind training practice. The Zen teacher Dosho Port suggests “If anyone finds a dozen to be a bit too many, I’d recommend the Stan Lombardo translation. If you really like to dance, try the Rochester... Read more

        Carlos Duarte Costa was born in Rio de Janeiro on this day, the 21st of July, in 1888. He became a prominent Brazilian Roman Catholic clergyman, eventually Bishop of Botucatu. The bishop denounced the corruption of the civil authorities. And was a central figure in the the Constitutionalist Revolution. He also denounced clerical corruption and complicity in governmental corruption. In the years running up to the Second World War he denounced Nazi and fascist movements. In these... Read more