Three Lives, in New York. From Intelligencer I need my used bookstore. The sensuous aromas of waxy skin jackets andmahogany shelves, paperskeletons in an excavatedashram of introspection.I need what it stashes awaybehind a Tom Clancy noveland an old National Geographic.Eureka! That one book, at sometime misplaced in my mind,appearing as a lost symbol ofwilderness, casting a garland-clothed silhouette, as flannel-shirted, torn-jeaned, leather- sandalled […]
reflection
Two Monks Arguing About Movement
It’s not the leaves that move. Nor is it the Banyan tree. The mind moves both of them,as if they were constructed of thoughts from the river’s basement,Rising from the cracks,where my grandfather usedto lay his line, like the idea of wind and Banyan trees- not unlike the ideaof crawfish and trout, everything struckwith the face of awe, a holy agreement.that we can all be residents of a sunlit world.
Where Deer Sleep
My three-year-old sonasked me where deer sleep.So I took him there. Steppinginto a space that is not meantfor fathers and sons, we founda ritual that has nothing to dowith us. An original grace. A serenitythat evokes the burden of redemption.That place where deer sleep, under aplumbeous sky, the pods of grass benttoward the center of […]
While Passing By a Church Near My Home
I think about how the hive mindknows how to act in one direction,with one will and one purpose.Chanting with all those lungs,a thin transparent tissue of light rays through the diaphragm, Just as Ayutthaya tests it with dreams, those unconscious proofs of heaven framed insidethe aperture only. Your saint, the one who youfollow with a deep personal love, like […]
Splash
Aigua Blava Beach, Begur, Spain. Photo by Peter Müller. Suppose there were a pool of water—clear, limpid, and unsullied. A man with good eyesight standing there on the bank would see shells, gravel, and pebbles, and also shoals of fish swimming about and resting. Why is that? Because of the unsullied nature of the water. […]
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, […]
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 […]
Close to Timberline
Ascorbic acid tabletswon’t quench my thirst. I want the secret sourcesof the Hudson, log bridges,and vanished paths. Hydrating oil-in-lipstickwon’t cover my hunger. I want countless warm pondswrapped in cold weather. A thin mist. The deep woods. I want freedom. No paper flowers.No fairy tale weddings.No cloned puppies. Just early snow ontumbled rocks, and the fountainheadof majestic streams. […]
A Sound Reminding Me
Photograph by Jens Kolk When I was 9, I knewthat I was ugly. I did notknow how, but I knew. I looked at my reflectionlike a bonobo studies his teeth – both boorish and fervid. Today I know that I am beautiful.Falling asleep to a cold rising dew, I awake just to listen to the soundof […]
End of Year Reflections
How was your 2017? Mine began amongst friends in Missoula, MT, the city of my college years, and ended in Seattle, WA, my adoptive city as of late May of this year. Along the way, I have developed my courses in Mindfulness, travelled again to teach Buddhism in mainland China, and taught an online philosophy […]