If religion’s purpose is to help people find peace and strength and to live good lives, which I believe it is, it makes sense that people would turn to religion to explain why terrible things happen in the world – particularly terrible things that happen to individuals that apparently didn’t do anything to deserve it. I think the most profound and true religions – or the most profound and true forms of the various religions – refrain from any definitive... Read more
A friend of mine has a saying, “It takes all kinds of people to make the world go ‘round. Unfortunately.” Other people are the most challenging aspect of our lives, particularly when we strongly disagree with their views, choices and behaviors. The ideal of unconditional love and acceptance of all people can sometimes seem like reckless folly, but on the other hand we can exhaust ourselves with endless worries about, and judgments of, the actions of others. Try this idea... Read more
Would you be willing to adopt the following Seven Principles and become a Global Citizen? I dream of a mass movement: People everywhere – regardless of nationality, race, faith, class, political party – committing to these core principles, or something like them. Our future depends on living according to these kinds of values – as individuals, communities, nations, and as a species. I’ve personally longed for something simple to devote myself to. There are so many causes, so many issues…... Read more
Sometimes I notice stress sneaking into my life. It starts accumulating under the surface of everything, making me irritable and somewhat sad. Usually this has to do with anxiety about the future. It’s important to note this anxiety is pretty unspecific and open-ended. It’s not that I’m biting my nails because X might happen. It’s more a general sense of dread about the myriad ways everything in my life could fall apart and how things could become miserable and unworkable. Feeling... Read more
Just thought I’d write a little report about my first protest rally. I’m guessing my readers will fall into two basic categories with respect to protests: Either you have attended them before and they’re no big deal to you, or you haven’t attended one before and they present awkward, uncharted territory. Until yesterday I was in the second category. The rally was pretty cool and only took a little over an hour. It was held at noon next to the... Read more
I thought it would be a good idea to post an update on my efforts, chronicled earlier on this blog, to work up close and personally with people experiencing homelessness. My downtown Portland meditation group is on a hiatus as I go back to the drawing board to create something more in line with my passion and with unmet need. Part of me hates to quit anything and worries that I’m flaky, but actually I think the last couple months... Read more
Last week one of the largest Zen Centers in the U.S. published an open letter urging California governor Jerry Brown to ban hydraulic fracking in the state. I was thrilled, but not all Zen folks will be, even if they agree on this particular issue. Speaking out as people of faith can be powerful, but it can also be divisive and confusing. When and where do we – as individuals and as faith communities – take a public stand? I’ll offer... Read more
If, like me, you want to be an effective activist, it’s good to keep in mind how you’re liable to alienate people instead of getting them on your side. Activist are people who are actively trying to bring about change in the world. Ideally they also try to be responsible and considerate people, but they go beyond this by working for positive change in the cultures, systems, and organizations around them. I’ve felt for a long time I should be an activist... Read more
I’ve heard folks speak in placid tones about suffering and destruction due to climate change, widespread poverty and inequality, and the mass extinctions of species. It’s as if they have passed judgment on humankind and decided the degeneration of our societies and the degradation of our environment are fair punishments for our misdeeds. They seem to think we might as well resign ourselves to our universal comeuppance because we deserve it. I understand it can be easier to resign yourself than fight. I... Read more
For millennia, spiritual traditions have recognized that greed, hatred, and ignorance cause suffering in the human heart. Now it’s time to recognize that greed, hatred, and ignorance inevitably cause suffering at whatever scale they manifest: individual, family, community, national, or global. For too long we have separated our values from our economic and political systems. Few of us would ever consider tormenting or stealing from our neighbor, or watching him suffer without lending a hand. And yet we think it’s okay to allow... Read more
My Journey of Conscience
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