Dorothy Day died on the 29th of November, in 1980. If she were officially recognized as a saint, and more than a few people believe she was, this would normally be her feast day. I mean to note this when the day rolls around. I’ve not been as successful in this aspiration as I wish. This year, I’ve caught it. And I offer the cumulative reflections I’ve gathered. In my youth there were two Catholic Christians who particularly influenced me.... Read more
I try to offer a few words on our American Thanksgiving from a Zen Buddhist perspective when the holiday rolls around. What follows is that, tweaked, and then tweaked again. Eventually, I hope, I’ll get this mess right. After all, every day is a good day… Our first American Thanksgiving was proclaimed by George Washington on the 26th of November, 1789. It might be worth noting it was not connected to the Pilgrim story. Washington called out for a day... Read more
Keiji Nishitani died on the 24th of November, in 1990. I mean to mark this day as it rolls around and take advantage of it to remind those who knew of his work, and to introduce him to those who were unfamiliar with this remarkable person and the “school” with which he is closely associated. I’m sorry I’ve not been quite as faithful to this intention as I could or should be. But, at least this year, I’ve caught the... Read more
Alan Watts died on the 16th of November. in 1973. For many reasons, some good, some less so, he continues to be a presence at that edge of North American spirituality where what has long been called East and West meet. Watts had a significant place in the earlier years of my spiritual life, and even today remains, if not so central, still significant. Again, for good reasons, and not so good. And, perhaps more important I believe he stands... Read more
What is now many years ago when Jan & I first moved to New England’s rocky and lovely soil, Jan wanted to go to the Cambridge cemetery to put a rose on Henry James’ grave. I was more than happy to join her as I wanted to put a flower on William’s grave. You know the brothers, one wrote like a psychologist, the other like a novelist… After consulting some guides we bought a small bouquet of roses and drove... Read more
Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle was born into a Huguenot family on this day, the 11th of November, in 1898 in Gut Externbrock, in Westphalia. I try to remember this remarkable person as his birthday rolls around. Although I’m also aware as a remarkable spiritual figure perhaps his death date would be the most appropriate time to pause and reflect and celebrate his life. Actually some years I do both. On the 11th of November in 2024 he would have been 126 years... Read more
(At our half day sit with Empty Moon Zen today, our guiding teacher Roshi Edward Sanshin Oberholtzer gave the dharma talk. He unveils the miracle promised in Dongshan’s Five Ranks, a promise which reconciles the absolute and relative, the essential and the contingent, form and emptiness. I asked if I could reprint it at my Monkey Mind blog and he graciously agreed. Well worth a read…) In philosophy departments the pre-Socratics are often treated as precursors to the philosophical greats,... Read more
On Sunday Jan and I took in the new film, Conclave. It’s advertised as a mystery-thriller. That seems a bit of misdirection. I suspect in part because for a Hollywood production, it’s pretty much outside the conventional boxes. And how to characterize it is difficult for the advertising people. It’s based upon the 2016 novel of the same name by the British novelist Robert Harris. The script is written by Academy award nominated screenwriter Peter Straughan. The director is Edward... Read more
There are people I try to remember on either their birthdays or the anniversaries of their deaths. People who have in some way touched the spiritual life. And out of that have brought some kind of healing to the world. One such person is R H Blyth, who died on the 28th of October, in 1964. Reginald Horace Blyth was born on the 3rd of December, in 1898. He was the... Read more
I have an interest in the thesis that the Heart Sutra, beloved of the Mahayana, and chanted in Zen temples and centers basically every day, was in fact a Chinese composition, which was later back translated into Sanskrit. Best I can tell this theory was kicked off by the formidable scholar Jan Nattier. But of the various scholars who’ve dug into this question, possibly none has done so with as much diligence as Jayarava Attwood. He has shifted me from... Read more
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