Zen’s Precepts in Five Minutes James Ishmael Ford When most people think of Zen, if they do, they probably think of some kind of expansive consciousness. Based on what I see on social media, expansive into vagueness. That “moment of Zen” is usually a non sequitur of one sort or another. Others envision a libertarian spirituality where the moment is all about feeling good. With ten minutes of study one realizes Zen is actually an... Read more

              ZEN AT THE END OF THE WORLD James Ishmael Ford First it was toilet paper. Toilet paper. Who would have thought? For something less than three months Americans were asked to self-quarantine. When we had to go out, we were asked to wear masks, stand at least six feet away from others if at all possible, and to wash our hands with all the energy of Lady Macbeth. As it turned out for... Read more

      Zen & Solving the Climate Crisis? Tom Bowman June 13, 2020 Empty Moon Zen Now, you might wonder why climate comes to mind at a time when so many other crises consume our attention: the pandemic, the economic meltdown, and all that surrounds the horrific murder of George Floyd. About fifteen years ago, I was working with climate scientists on a project. It was my second time. And, in the course of a meeting, one day, one... Read more

          ZEN & SOCIAL JUSTICE Ten Rules of Thumb for Times of Crisis, Danger, & Possibility James Ishmael Ford For a while here in the West there was a saying that the Chinese character for crisis was a combination of the strokes for danger and possibility. Turns out that’s not true. Now, it may not be true for the Chinese word, Crisis. But it is true that in times of crisis there is danger, can be... Read more

        WHERE TWO OR THREE ARE GATHERED A Zen Priest Reflects on the Nature of Sacred Spaces James Ishmael Ford Come, come, whoever you are. Wanderer, worshiper, lover of leaving. It doesn’t matter. Ours is not a caravan of despair. Come, even if you have broken your vows a thousand times. Come, yet again, come. Come. Attributed to Jelaluddin Rumi   In this moment. At this time. We’re caught in a confluence of evils. This moment we... Read more

I was recently contacted by a podcaster who wanted to gather a few faith leaders’ thoughts on current events and how faith fits into the matter, or doesn’t. I thought it does. And said sure. The text that follows is mostly what I said for the podcast. However, I then recorded a somewhat more expanded version a tad more specifically grounded in Zen. I offer both… A HOPEFUL DOUBT James Ishmael Ford I’m among those who’ve found it necessary to... Read more

  RACISM, MURDER, & ZEN Or, When is Silence Enough? James Ishmael Ford. Zen is a spiritual perspective and a practice. Its primary focus is a constellation of disciplines that invite silence. And, so, what about right now? Now, in a moment like this? Now, in the wake of what on the face of it, on that video most of America has seen of a police officer murdering George Floyd for allegedly writing a bad check for twenty dollars. And... Read more

      A Zen Priest Offers a Couple of Pointers on the Spiritual Way After Religion James Ishmael Ford   We look around us and we see the world’s religions in turmoil. Too much certainty, too much violence, too much of the things that make little sense in a world where tribalisms of various sorts seem at the heart of much of this planet’s ills. And yet many still feel some calling. It’s the deep urge at the heart... Read more

Religious Studies emerged within European & American academic circles in the Nineteenth century. The attempt has been to unravel some of those threads of human cultures that have distinctive features that can be described as religious or spiritual. The kick off was a bit of a mess, a ton of unexamined assumptions were packed into the project. But, over the years, as people have learned and reflected something kind of wonderful has emerged. If one belongs to a particular spiritual... Read more

    I’ve just finished Irvin Yalom’s novel, the Spinoza Problem. It’s one of those “novels of ideas,” and a lovely example. Irvin Yalom is no doubt best known as as an academic and principal theorist in the development of Existential therapy. Here he shows how he can bring that passion into literature. The story interweaves an imagined, but plausible life of Baruch, or Benedict, or, mostly in the novel Bento de Spinoza with the life of Alfred Rosenberg, a... Read more