The above (~1984 at Hokyoji) was from a practice period 4 or 9 day – we were free of commitments. Nonin was off to do so bird watching. Roshi wanted to go for a walk and needed a hat to shade his bald head so I found these – mine so he didn’t seem odd. “Really, Roshi, everyone is wearing them.” An odd factor today was the strong storm that ripped up the north metro. It doesn’t seem that there... Read more

Stephen Hawking recently took some heat for the non-statement of the year – heaven and hell are fairy stories for people who are afraid of the dark. I’ve always liked the guy. Now Hawking’s view appears to be based on science but it is also a philosophy, of course, that suggests our lives are completely a matter of random, meaningless chance. Is that the case? Is this a just universe? Does the invisible hand of God or karma that make... Read more

Today I’m offering a question for reflection and discussion, so if you’d like to post a comment, go for it. Here’s the question(s): For practicing and verifying the buddhadharma, what is the role of zazen and daily life? Which is more important? In your practice now, which is stronger – zazen or daily life? The framing of this issue comes from Lectures on the Ten Oxherding Pictures, by Yamada Mumon, one of the most important Rinzai teachers of the 1900s.... Read more

Cold, soft rain falling this morning during the dog walk.  At home alone now and lingering over a cup of coffee and the piercing beauty of the phrases in Zen Sand: The Book of Capping Phrases for Koan Practice, translated by Victor Sogen Hori. Even though this isn’t a part of the Harada-Yasutani curriculum, I suggested recently that a student find a verse from Zen Sand that expressed his understanding of the koan he’d just presented.  We both enjoy this... Read more

To the astonishment of a few co-workers and at least one family member, I didn’t go and see the Dalai Lama when he was in town over the weekend. Don’t get me wrong, I like the guy. I’ve read some of this books and especially the ones that he wrote, I like. And I did attend a conference with about 100 other American Buddhist teachers about 10 years ago in beautiful northern California and happened to be shaking the man’s... Read more

When I was 20 I set off hitch-hiking to discover America.  One shining afternoon I was in eastern Montana, stuck on a freeway ramp with no town in sight and no ride to get me out of there. I sat down in the grass in the cloverleaf to have a little lunch. With almost no traffic and nothing but fields of wheat in all directions, I was overtaken by a very disquieting mood. I was utterly lacking meaning, unmoored from... Read more

How did a nice Chief of Police like Minneapolis’ Tim Dolan wind up shaking my hand? A few months back, I was working with a young man who happens to be a really big guy and was having a really bad moment. When a police officer arrived for back up, the young man attacked him. Quite a bit larger than the officer, the young man overpowered him after noble but brief effort on the officer’s part. The young man pinned... Read more

I’m slowly digesting and enjoying The Six Perfections: Buddhism and the Cultivation of Character by one of my favorite Buddhist scholars, Dale Wright. Chunks are available on Google Books. Click here. Wright is one of the generation of scholars that is also a practitioner, and he confesses in his introduction that despite the notion in academia that the field of study and the person who studies are best kept separate, “… I still sought to be fundamentally reoriented in my... Read more

James with his “…and it is good” smile. Melissa receiving “dragon” caligraphy from John Tarrant, below. Officiant levitates. A normal thing in Soto Zen.   Dae An and Bowmun. Josh, James and Melissa lookin’ pretty content. Part of the percussion section, Paul with the “okay, time to go” signal. Dae An opening the big Buddha’s eyes. Read more

This past weekend I had the honor of officiating at the Temple Opening for the Boundless Way Temple in Worcester, MA, which also included the Eye Opening for their earth-witness Shakyamuni, and a Mountain Seat (abbot installation) for the temple’s first abbot, Dae An Rynick. About 120 people attended, including teachers George Bowman, John Tarrant, Dokuro, and Taitaku Priest. A bunch of Christian clergy were present as well, but are not in the above photo. I had a wonderful time... Read more