Fully accepted, fully ordained. New bhikkhunis with their teachers, preceptors and their ordaining Dual Sangha upon the completion of two full days of bhikkhuni ordinations. Photo courtesy of Kanjana Suthikul By Ven. Tathaloka Theri Sukha Sanghassa Samaggi—“Happy is the Harmony of the Sangha” [1] Buddhagaya, the site of the Buddha’s Great Awakening or Maha Bodhi, is […]
Author: Teahouse
What Cannot Be Named
Like everywhere else,right here belongs to the sacred. Just another placethat belongs to a sacred world. For on an extraordinary planet,there are no ordinary places, And everywhere is as old as anywhere. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications as the Hazmat Review, Moria Poetry Journal, Chronogram […]
A Long Pause
Life emerges.Lurid. Blistered. Wrapped inexiled scents it emerges. In the fracturesof eyes that feel buried alive it emerges Just as thehuge claws of time haul across the ground ofbeing, it emerges like a longpause in a conversation. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications as the Hazmat […]
Anything but the Way to Make a Living
Our geneticsignature is how we makeour soul grow. It’s the clueswe leave in the dark energyall around us. Singing in theshower toVan Morrison. Writinga poem to a friendfor no reason. Learning that life isanything butthe way to make a living. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been included in such publications […]
I know This Forest
There is a forest thatI can’t get away from. A forest of tombs stillas tree trunks. Thereis a forest. The smell of red pine needles-the pathways of my ancestors. There is a forest. When I am not alive like I usuallyam. There is a forest. When I step in minktracks, I know these tracks in my tendons.I know this forest. It pounds into […]
Exemplary Buddhists: Hong Kong’s Sri Lankan Community
I was unfortunately out of Hong Kong and missed my chance to attend the Sri Lankan community’s 71st celebration of Independence Day. 4 February, like the equivalent commemorations of so many postcolonial societies, is critical to modern Sri Lankan identity, and in many ways the opinion makers and influencers of Hong Kong—scholars, journalists, writers—have not […]
Seeking Truth in an Onslaught of Information
Photo by Sasha Freemind on Unsplash A friend of mine ends each of her emails with the reminder from American economist and political scientist Herbert Simon, that “a wealth of information creates a poverty of attention.” Simon died in 2001, but he seems to have described our current world exceptionally well. Today in my local Zen group, we […]
My wee bit Hill and Glen
Nina with family in Switzerland. “Where are you from?” This question is often asked by new acquaintances, and it is not always easy to answer. To me, it often feels like I am being thrown a Zen Buddhist koan! I was born and grew up in Switzerland. Because, over there, citizenship is not automatically granted […]
You Are My Brother
I don’t give a damn about Ancestry.com.You are my brother. And I don’t give a damn if it’s on a census orfamily tree. You belong to me and I belong to you. We are both spear points among the foundbones of our children’s great grand-children. We both work to figure out the clues of expansion-those […]
The Mud Softer Than Ivory
There is a forest that I return to when I can’t get away from the pulsationsof thinking. A forest of tombs as still as dead tree trunks and melodious as raindropson red pine needles. The paths of my ancestors. In this forest, I am not alive like I usually am. Stepping in mink tracks, I know this place […]