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 […]
Oyungerel Tsedevdamba’s “The Green-Eyed Lama”: A Literary Window into Mongolia’s Pain and Healing
One does not usually expect a politician and policymaker to be a breakout novelist, but that is exactly what Oyungerel Tsedevdamba has managed to achieve. Her novel, The Green-Eyed Lama, is for many Mongolians the first novel about Mongolia itself, specifically the Mongolian experience of a particularly painful period: the 1930s purges under Stalin. Ms. […]
The Buddhist Practice of Right Intention
Right Intention is the second tenet of the Noble 8-Fold Path. It represents the strong resolve that practitioners develop to end suffering for themselves and others when they walk the Buddhist path. On the surface, this seems like a no-brainer. No one wants to suffer, and everyone hopes for a peaceful life. So, why is […]
Marichi, Goddess of the Dawn
Marichi. From theyoginiproject.org Marichi (from Sanskrit “ray of light”) is the Goddess of the Dawn, who is revered in the Buddhist tradition as a heavenly warrior and powerful protector. Her name in Tibetan is Oser Chenma, which means “Goddess of the Great Light.” Marichi protects human beings from physical dangers and harm, sudden death, thieves, […]
Mendon Ponds
Life is just beginning todawn on most of us. But that happens here quickerthan most other places. Even though here, the glacierswere lured into a dead end,as the huge claws of timehauled across the ground likea long pause in someone’sconversation, leaving shoulder humpslike a bison’s, in looselyformed spherical organisms. Here, I feel the improbabilityof our connected minds.Codes in the […]