I recently received unfortunate news. A Buddhist-Christian interfaith event organized by the International Centre for Teresian-Sanjuanist Studies (CITeS), The University of Mysticism in Ávila, has been cancelled. The event was supposed to take place in July 2020, before the pandemic forced the conference to be held on July 2021. After the recent surge in cases […]
interfaith
Book Review: “American JewBu”
I first came across American JewBu at the beginning of 2020 and it was incredibly eye opening. Having practiced Buddhism in Europe for over a decade, somehow I went all that time without recognizing the incredible contribution that Jewish Americans have made to Buddhism as it is commonly practiced in the Western world. The book was published […]
Awe Is…
JehovahZeusJahRaOsirisAllahJesusGodYahwehThe GoddessIsisMardukAdonisPenelopeIndraJupiterMarsQuetzalcoatlThorOrpheusGaiaApolloAhura MazdaBrahmaBuddhaBachusIo 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 Journal, Ampersand Literary Review, The Angle at St. John Fisher College, and 3:16 Journal. George’s blogs, essays and letters have appeared in USA Today, The Wall Street Journal, The Atlantic, Havana Times, South China Morning Post, The Buffalo News, and […]
Rise
where there is no religion but God and moon and landand sea and the gathering of otherswho are ready for you to believe. 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 Journal, Ampersand Literary Review, The Angle at St. John Fisher College, and 3:16 Journal. George’s blogs, essays […]
The Holy Spirit
is copper infused tulipsfloating in mineral water,tilting under a Himalayan salt lamp. Pray and be kind to it. Play Otis and Mozart for it.Treat it like a friend who you always want to go out with. 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 Journal, Ampersand Literary Review, The Angle at St. […]
As Benedictines
We see a single incandescent light beneath the pond,a flash at the bottom of four stemmed glasses, as if we were still in the Orleanais,where sins are garnished with clams and stewed in the finest vichyssoise. 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 Journal, Ampersand Literary Review, The […]
Mobius Strip
To forgive is to release. To let go. To be held.To arrive at where we want to end,we grasp for it. Without knowing how to hold our own hand,we cling to it. Where we came from,Jesus and Buddha are there. Let he who seeks remain always seekinguntil he finds, and when he finds he will be troubledby the face of who he longs for. […]
Celebration and Mourning: Two Sides of Togetherness
Last Sunday I attended World Religion Day 2020, which was co-organized by the Baha’i Community of Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Network on Religious Peace. While our cosmopolitan city has (in my opinion) a ways to go in catching up with New York or London in terms of culture, there is one field in […]
A Taizé Service
Two weeks ago I had an opportunity to attend a Christian Taizé service at night in a church close to where I’m living. As a Buddhist, I enjoy jumping into new environments to learn about the religious practices of others. In the course of my inter-religious exploration I encounter devotion that strikes a chord, or […]
Dear Zhuangzi
Dear Zhuangzi, last night I dreamtwe were stargazing on a cloud of Dao.You were the butterfly. I was the human.Having woken up I was chased by a red-eyed boarthrough woods at night to a moonlit lake.I made my escape swimming vigorously and found reston the opposite shore. Taking time to remember,a dark cloud of defilement […]