Hugo Enomiya-Lassalle was born into a Huguenot family on this day, the 11th of November, in 1898 in Gut Externbrock, in Westphalia. He experienced the horrors of trench warfare during the Great War. By the time he was twenty-one he had become a Catholic and entered the Jesuit Order. Ten years later he was assigned as a professor of German at the Jesuit Sophia University in Tokyo. Enomiya-Lassalle looked beyond his academic position and began working with the desperately... Read more

        It was on this day, the 10th of November, in 1793, that the revolutionary French Convention proclaimed the investiture of a goddess of reason. She was the central figure for a new state sponsored cult designed to replace Catholic Christianity. The deity’s image was installed on the high altar of the once (and future) Cathedral of Notre Dame in Paris. For some reason I am intrigued with this moment and have marked it at this blog... Read more

From the Chinese Zen Masters, Bodhidharma on the twofold entrance to the Tao. (1) Translated by D. T. Suzuki From the Manual of Zen Buddhism, page 73 and on There are many ways to enter the Path, but briefly speaking they are of two sorts only. The one is “Entrance by Reason” and the other “Entrance by Conduct”. (2) By “Entrance by Reason” we mean the realization of the spirit of Buddhism by the aid of the scriptural teaching. We then... Read more

    Recently I read of a Mexican approach to death with its three stages. I looked it up. It goes: 1) we die. 2) we’re buried, and 3) we’re forgotten. However, the version I read added in a wrinkle, 1) we realize we will die, 2) we die, 3) we are forgotten. I suspect the second version is a cultural variation. Or, perhaps its simply a misremembering. Whatever, I like them both. Although I really like the second one..... Read more

    I’m currently reflecting on the nature of the spiritual life. This pushes me into a consideration of whether there is a common thread to religions, or whether its a bunch of wildly different religions, each contending to be the only true The smart money seems to be that its all chaos. But, I don’t think so. For several reasons. One is the Golden Rule. Now, most, maybe none consider it their primary teaching. But they all have it,... Read more

    The Gateless Barrier (sometimes Gateless Gate) (無門關 Wúménguān; Japanese: 無門関 Mumonkan) was first published on this day, the 5th of November, in 1228. And with that seven hundred and ninety-three years of admonition, invitation, and general all around Zen hilarity ensues… The Gateless Barrier is an anthology of forty-eight koans, those brief and seemingly enigmatic objects of meditation and conversation with a spiritual director that are unique to the Zen schools. It was compiled by Wumen Huikai (1183-1260),... Read more

    In 1904 George Herbert, 5th Earl of Carnarvon and an enthusiastic Egyptologist employed the archeologist Howard Carter to supervise a major excavation in Thebes. They proved an able team. In 1914 the earl received the concession to excavate the Valley of the Kings. The war disrupted their work. But not even counting this disruption the work was a slog and, by 1922 he was getting ready to move on. Carter felt he was near something and convinced the earl... Read more

    Today, the 3rd of November, the Anglican communion honors Richard Hooker, priest and theologian in its calendar of feasts. He was a central figure in the establishment of Anglicanism as a via media, a middle way between Catholicism and Protestantism. Hooker was also a beautiful writer. He articulated a “threefold cord not quickly broken” of Bible, church, and reason. It would evolve with Anglicanism into the “three-legged stool” of scripture, tradition, and reason. (The historical nitpickers among us,... Read more

    Mu: A Love Letter Tom Wardle Empty Moon Zen The Gateless Gate, Case One: Zhaozhou’s Dog A student of the way asked Zhaozhou (Joshu), “Has the dog Buddha nature or not?” Zhaozhou said, “Mu.” The Verse  Dog, Buddha nature— The full presentation of the whole; With a bit of “has” or “has not” Body is lost, life is lost I am really excited to be giving this talk today and I have been inspired by the many in... Read more

      Out near where my mother in law lives there’s a church called “All Saint’s Lutheran.” They also sport a directional sign for parking. It reads “This way for All Saints.” And appended under that, someone thoughtfully added, “And sinners, too…” It never fails to make me smile. And. Today is the feast of all saints. It the Western tradition it follows All Hallows eve and precedes the feast for All Souls. Like shadow and dawn. I think of... Read more