Every once in a while I feel it important to pause and to assess where my heart is, what I believe, what guides me, what sustains me, and what pushes me forward. Hoping, possibly, this current edition of my confession might be of some small help to others on the intimate way. My Confession. James Ishmael Ford When I was a youth I wanted to know God. Desperately. With all my heart. I even prayed that if God... Read more

  I’ve captured these mostly for our small community, but it occurred to me that others might find these videos helpful, as well. I include links to the communities producing the videos. Also, if this subject is of interest, an invaluable resource for Soto Zen liturgy in English is the Soto Zen Scriptures for Daily Service & Practice. Thanks to Sensei Sanshin Oberholtzer, here’s a brief script for the Eiheiji style basic morning service. clappers once clappers once clappers once Doan... Read more

        I have been practicing well past fifty years. My skin is wrinkling. My hair is a different color than it was in my youth and maturity. I’m shorter than I was. And I need to go to the bathroom when I need to go to the bathroom. Admittedly, I still am not worried about buying green bananas. But I know that day is right around the corner. I’m in a new season. And there are new... Read more

    I’ve been thinking of late about Zen and the intimate way in the West. It goes in bunches of directions depending on one’s perspective and the perspective of one’s teachers. In Japanese Zen one spends time in the monastery, usually between one and three years, and usually then trundle off to the family temple and a life as a parish minister. Some stay and dig in. In Soto schools they pay less attention to the moments of clarity,... Read more

    Wuzu said Shakyamuni and Maitreya are servants of another. Tell me, who is that other? Gateless Gate, Case 45 This koan is a simple as pie. And as complicated. Wuzu, who has a fondness for this sort of brief, and yet endlessly haunting question, tells the assembly that the Buddha and the Buddha to come both are servants to another. And then he asks the question. Who is that other? One of the foundations of Buddhist thought is... Read more

    The renowned Unitarian theologian, Professor James Luther Adams, once observed how nothing sells, I think he said is quite as marketable, as egoism wrapped in idealism. I’ve always found that a challenging comment, applicable as it is to so many forms of spirituality. Of course, it turns out one can even jettison the idealism. In our rising secularism, it turns out we don’t even need to clothe our egoism. Now the shape of this focus on the self... Read more

      (I wrote this in 2018, and stumbled on it while searching for references to Ash Wednesday. With the most minor of tweaks, I thought it worth sharing here again…)   We shall not cease from exploration And the end of all our exploring Will be to arrive where we started And know the place for the first time. Through the unknown, unremembered gate When the last of earth left to discover Is that which was the beginning;... Read more

      Within most Mahayana countries today, the 15th of February, is observed as Parinirvana, the anniversary of Gautama Siddhartha’s death. For those who like to think about such things, the principal text addressing this moment is the Mahaparinibbana Sutta. It is, at least by my reading, fairly obviously a digest of his teachings composed with an eye to the continuation of the community he led. Whether directly from his mouth or put together, as is more likely, by his... Read more

  MYSTERIES OF THE INTIMATE WAY The Zen Priest’s Buddhist Meditation for Valentine’s Day James Ishmael Ford Empty Moon Zen Tomorrow, you may have noticed, is Valentine’s Day. It is well known that this festival is largely the creation of a conspiracy amongst the greeting card association, the national confectioners association, and the national alliance of floral associations. I’m pretty sure we have a solid paper trail on this one, including hotel bills and photographs of smoke-filled rooms. Yes, this... Read more

  Today, the 12th of February is Charles Darwin’s birthday. Were he alive he would be two hundred and twelve years old today. Me, I always consider this day one to celebrate. I mark it out most years here on this blog. And it turns out I’m not alone in this wish to celebrate all things Charles Darwin. Wikipedia notes how his birthday has been observed as something special since his death in 1882. But in 1909 on the centenary... Read more