The Text Now the serpent was more crafty than any other wild animal that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, ‘Did God say, “You shall not eat from any tree in the garden”?’ 2The woman said to the serpent, ‘We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden; 3but God said, “You shall not eat of the fruit of the tree that is in the middle of the garden, nor shall you touch... Read more

I live profligately. Dispensebig words for free.Buy books for a single phraseand then return, like some oddfish, again and againto the the source. I am promiscuous.I leave books in my bed,fall asleep clutching storiesI’ve only just met.They wake me laterbut never remember my name. Mad women love this way,and thieves, giving everythingfor style, for the flashin the mind, the pullat the gut. Risking everything –old loves, old views,for the day’s perfect word,a phrase that caresses. Don’t mock me.There is a... Read more

I think this is a very important article. Read more

What a day this is! According to my lovely handbook This Day in Unitarian Universalist History on this day in 1654 the British Parliament declared John Biddle’s unitarian Two-Fold Catechism heretical. All copies were to be collected and burned and Mr Biddle was thrown into prison. Also, on this day the wonderful Unitarian minister and theologian Frederick Henry Hedge was born in Cambridge, MA. He served our (now) UU congregations in Arlington and Brookline, MA, Bangor, ME & Providence, RI.... Read more

I am such a fan of Christine Robinson! Read more

Some say UU ministers meditating is just a story people tell. But here’s what appears to be photographic proof provided by Zen vagabond Victor Lapuszynski. Of course no one is sure who it is. Among the possible candidates are Meredith Garmon and Wayne Arnason, both of whom various people claim to have seen meditating in the Zen style. Others claim it’s James Ford. But everyone knows that while he talks a good game no one has actually ever seen him... Read more

John Murray was born on this day in 1741. One of the great early Universalists in North America he is sometimes called the Father of American Universalism. While his theology remained trinitarian and he had confidence in the stories of miracles and believed in angels and all of what might be considered the normative Protestant Christianity of his age (he was at first a Methodist preacher), he had one startling experience that pushed him to the edge of that “normative”... Read more

I’m exhausted, glad to have gone and glad to be back from sesshin (a Japanese word that is usually translated as “to touch the heart/mind,” a Zen retreat…) So far our Boundless Way Zen sangha has only been able to mount three-day retreats for our annual celebration of the Buddha’s enlightenment rather than the traditional seven (or, in some cases, eight days). And this was no different. Nonetheless it was a wonderful experience. As we had once again a new... Read more

At both of the Zen teacher listservs to which I belong there has been a bit of a brouhaha of late around the question of doctrinal purity apparently being enforced at the venerable E-Sangha Buddhist Portal. Started in Singapore the project seems to be mostly in the hands of Tibetan Buddhist practitioners. It’s quite an operation, with many thousands of participants all around the world. All well and good, of course. Them Tibetans is good people in my book, if... Read more

Today is the feast of Nicholas, late bishop of Myra. For those not in the know, also called Santa Claus in this neck of the woods. He is the patron of children, sailors, merchants and pawnbrokers. He also, I gather, is particularly the protector of highwaymen. And with all the irony of the spiritual path, also the protector of their victims… Read more