Jai Uttal Read more

The transformation of the world is brought about by the transformation of oneself, because the self is the product and a part of the total process of human existence. To transform oneself, self-knowledge is essential; without knowing what you are, there is no basis for right thought, and without knowing yourself there cannot be transformation. One must know oneself as one is, not as one wishes to be, which is merely an ideal and therefore fictitious, unreal; it is only... Read more

One of the interesting projects at First U that has caught my imagination is the First Unitarian Village Task Force. It is a program inspired by the microcredit movement. In 2007 a band of congregants raised five thousand dollars and created a bank in Guatemala through the Foundation for International Community Assistance. Soon after they raised enough money to fund a second bank, also in Guatemala. This summer the Task Force started a third bank, this time in Haiti. Now,... Read more

Gratefully lifted from Danny Fisher’s always compelling blog… 21awake 2nd Wave American Buddhism A Hoodie Monk A Monk Amok A Simple Path Accidental Dharma Agam’s Gecko American Buddhist Perspective AMIDA-JI RETREAT TEMPLE ROMANIA Bad Buddha Barbara’s Buddhism Blog BEING Bernie’s Zen Blog Bhikkhu’s Blog Blogisattva Bodhi Tree Swaying The Buddha Diaries Buddha Space BuddhaJones Buddhist Art News The Buddhist Blog A Buddhist Catholic Blog Buddhist in Nebraska Buddhist Military Sangha Budding Buddhist ~C4Chaos The Center for Buddhist Studies Weblog change... Read more

I recently received this note and as I worked my way through a response, I felt it could be of interest to a wider readership, so, slightly modified from my original response, here it is… I’m interested in learning more about Soto school zen. My introduction to Soto was through the someone quirky book, “Hardcore Zen” which I read recently. I did some further reading on Soto, and so far it has rung “true” for me. I, too, am quite... Read more

Modou Gaye Read more

Orestes Augustus Brownson was born on this day in 1803 in Stockbridge, Vermont. He came from an impoverished background and educated himself. A restless and questing spirit, Orestes Brownson was a precursor, to my mind, of our contemporary spirituality; kaleidoscopic, experimental, and rarely, if ever, settled. He was variously a Presbyterian, a Universalist minister, a Unitarian clergyman, a leader in the Transcendentalist movement, and eventually, a Roman Catholic. He was a significant figure first as a Transcendentalist thinker and then... Read more

Like many religions Unitarian Universalism has struggled over the years with balancing its concern with the quest for meaning and its intuition that spiritual community should somehow be engaged in the concerns of the world. Our various liberal congregations have staked out various positions, so one church might be better known as focused within the “spiritual” while another might be seen as all about “social justice.” (This is setting aside for the moment our rather interesting approach to the spiritual... Read more

For those like me who no longer stay up late enough to see such live… Read more

COME, COME, WHOEVER YOU ARE Reflections on the Spiritual Life Within a Liberal Faith A Sermon byJames Ishmael Ford 14 September 2008FirstUnitarianChurchProvidence,Rhode Island Text So the hymn comes to a close with an unsteady amen, and the organist gestures the choir to sit down. Fresh from breakfast with his wife and children and a quick run through of the Sunday papers, the preacher climbs the steps to the pulpit with his sermon in hand. He hikes his black robe at... Read more