ZEN IN FIVE MINUTES Okay Zen in Six Minutes & Thirty-three seconds James Ishmael Ford The poet and traveler on the intimate way Jane Hirschfield summarizes Zen with three principles. Everything is connected. Everything changes. Pay attention. The word Zen actually means meditation. That’s where we get the pay attention part. Meditation is a word that can mean almost anything that you can do with you head. Zen’s meditation is sometimes called “shikantaza,” a Japanese word that translates... Read more

    WHAT WILL YOU DO? Commenting on a Traditional Zen Koan James Myoun Ford The Case There was an old woman who supported a hermit. For twenty years she always had a girl take the hermit his food and wait on him. One day she told the girl to give the monk a close hug and ask, “What do you feel just now?” The hermit responded in verse. An old tree on a cold cliff; Midwinter – no warmth.... Read more

    My grandmother, Bolene Bernard, was my first spiritual guide. She was an elder in her independent Baptist churches and a prayer warrior. Grandma was a wise and courageous woman. She was always poor. The only bad decision I know she made was in her choice of a husband. She worked mostly as a maid. As she aged people increasingly went to her for counsel. Not only did I learn to read from a large illustrated King James Bible... Read more