The landscape of America is dotted with Christian influences, from the lamentations of oppression and hope of liberation that fused with African influences to form the melancholy blues, to the Christian rock that arose in the 1960s to become a formidable force of conversion in mega-churches. It is extraordinary that the culture of a republic […]
Realizing anatta (non-self) through Travel
Visiting home. Such a strange thing, to visit one’s home. In this case a period I spent in Montana from 2015-2018. I am no stranger to travels. Despite a youth spent almost exclusively in the rural state of Montana, at age 24 I moved to Bristol, England for a Masters degree in Buddhist Studies. Afterward I […]
On this Day: 30 April
On 30 April 1900 the Hawaiian Organic Act was passed and from that day onwards the Islands have been part of the territory of the United States—although I say this with reservation because at the time a majority of the Hawaiian population was opposed to the process of annexation that started in the 1880’s. Hawaii […]
The Vigil of Silence
Photo by Poorna Jayasinghe The media deals in words as a trade. Words are what media professionals sell, in a sense. Words are penned in a paper or on a website, broadcast through radio and podcasts, or spoken by a personality through the telly, smartphone and tablet, or YouTube. Yet there are those occasions in […]
Seen from the Surface of Mars
Beneath the scars hiddenin the crevasses, two solareclipses can be seen from the surface of Mars. A place where all creaturesknow how to suffer together. A place where forever wild meanssomething more than a bumper sticker. A place where the seas of our galaxycast doubt on the prospects of living. Where everything is an ancient memory,and […]
The Problem with Kindness
There is a gulf between the secular and the religious parts of our lives. In sacred settings we talk about kindness as something valuable and orthodox. At the office, at home, in our neighborhood, in our relationships, and in our friendships, we challenge its value in daily life. I’ve found myself with this bifurcated attitude, […]
The Human Condition in Eight Stanzas
We are part of a family treethat is more than a metaphor. The birds feed off our limbs. And besides, this illness called the Future cannotremain hidden for long. Perhaps more than an enemy, we are something less than that as well. Everything presented to us, we can not seem to find. Everythinggiven to us, we can not seem to hold. Yet […]
Thinking About the Past
I have recently been thinking quite a lot about the past. I guess that’s what a lot of people do as they grow older. I find myself not only turning over events in my own life (as far as I can remember them) but also increasingly drawn to reading all kinds of history books. We […]
Unconscious of the Changes
Alone and ignored,rolled up like a napkinin a French bistro, zonedout to the blithe, unconditionedair, measuring the breathsof a caving fly, dripping rain, in a word. For in the tent the world losessome of its power. Rising through a web. Is it a Black Widow’s?Beauty above. Beauty below. With everythingout of my breath, holding onto what […]
Like Bees Lost From the Hive
We grew this way, we are this kind of species. The water we bathe in is part of the infinite sky. We grew this way, we are thiskind of species. Always threateningthe precious. We grew this way, we are thiskind of species. Voyaging from eggto babe. Stalked. Drifting. Like bees lost from the hive. George Cassidy Payne […]