Oh my. I can hear him! Right now! The guy who drives through our neighborhood using a bullhorn to announce his one dollar tamales. He’s a recent addition to the neighborhood. And we haven’t yet taken him up on his offer. I love tamales, but there’s a reason they’re often called lard sticks. And. Well. I’m so happy to live here… And. It set me to thinking. One of the delights of living in Long Beach (and specifically here... Read more

      Today, the 3rd of May, is marked in the Christian calendar as the Feast of the Holy Cross. It’s the day people honor Helena’s discovery of the true cross. Helena is the mother of Constantine “the Great.” Don’t want to confuse him with those lesser Constantines. Apparently the Brits like to say she was English, and want her to have been the daughter of a king. Others suggest a lower rank, including stable maid. Which, frankly, I... Read more

        THE FLOWING BRIDGE A dharma talk James Ishmael Ford Empty Moon Zen May 1st, 2021   “As I cross the bridge, the bridge flows” From the Miscellaneous koan collection of the Harada Yasutani Zen tradition I’ve been thinking a lot about what it means to be a person of the intimate Way, a person of the Zen way here and now. There is a vermillion thread tying who we are here to spiritual ancestors in Japan.... Read more

      Are you aging? Are you a Buddhist or a Unitarian Universalist? An old lefty? Do you wonder what the endgame should be looking like? If so, perhaps this is worth a read. It doesn’t mean I have a plan. But, I have some information. Whether it sparks plans, or is just helpful to you, or, hey, interesting is good enough, as well. I mean for this post to capture some of my reflections and research regarding aging,... Read more

    Poetry & the Beginner’s Mind Poetry, the beginner’s mind, the kingdom of heaven, & the power of community. Matthew Sherling A sermon delivered at the First Unitarian Church of Los Angeles April 18, 2021 There was a time in my life when I had to start unlearning all the ideas & beliefs I had inherited from the past – from my parents, from my church, from TV & movies. About what matters, about history, about myself, about God,... Read more

    AMONG THE SNAKES & DRAGONS Mind Bubbles on North American Zen Lives in the Twenty-First Century (A bit of a mess. A draft. To be worked on…) James Ishmael Ford “Ordinary people and saints live together. Dragons and snakes all mixed up.” From the Blue Cliff Record, Case 35 Among the various maybes and possibilities of history is the suggestion that possibly a Chinese expedition including five Buddhist monks led by the Bhikshu Hui Shen touched at points... Read more

      I’ve been thinking about religion and spirituality. And what those words might mean for us. In my view Merriam-Webster is the great American dictionary. It’s first definition for religion, 1(a) interestingly, describes the state of a person under vows, like a nun.  1(b), probably is what most of us think of as religion, “the service and worship of God or the supernatural.” 1(b) is however, divided into its own two parts. That first about the cult of... Read more

        Somehow I’m on the email list for Academia dot edu. They’re somewhat controversial in academic circles because they’re a commercial site that uses the highly valued .edu domain designation. Apparently they acquired it before it was strictly limited to actual educational institutions. Me, I like it because they send me random links to articles on Buddhism. I just ignore, well, I mostly ignore their blandishments for me to purchase an upgrade that will allow me to... Read more

The other day Jan & I made a soup. Mostly collard greens and chopped up andouille sausage. And magic cornmeal dumplings. The creator, or more properly co-creator of the recipe, Aaron Hutcherson freely acknowledges a serious debt to Toni Tipton-Martin, and specifically to a recipe in Jubilee: Recipes from Two Centuries of African American Cooking: A Cookbook for this collard green soup with cornmeal dumplings. Tipton-Martin herself calls this recipe “a totemic soul food dish,” while the headline writer for... Read more

    In the Japanese calendar today, the 8th of April is Hanamatsuri. It’s becomes a flower festival honoring the birth of Gautama Siddhartha. The Buddha’s birthday is celebrated at other times in other Buddhist countries. Most of Asia likes May. With that, a wealth of possibilities to choose from. Of course that’s because we don’t have a clue about when Gautama Siddhartha was born. We can only reasonably assume he was a real human being, and beyond that a... Read more