Welcome to our series of conversations with participating speakers at this year’s Tung Lin Kok Yuen International Conference – Buddhist Canons: In Search of a Theoretical Foundation for a Wisdom-oriented Education (27–28 November 2021). In each blog post, I talk to keynote speakers and paper presenters about their subject at this conference. This conference has […]
society
Dealing with Anti-Asian Racism

By Rima Fujita Racism against Asians has always existed in the US for centuries, but it has been drastically escalated ever since the former President Trump’s numerous racial remarks. He kicked-off his campaign by calling Mexicans “rapists” and at the end of his term referred to COVID-19 as the “China Virus.” It has been said […]
Cardboard boxes in the rain

cardboard boxes in the rainin the small streetbehind the hospital near the boxesa cat lies dead in the hospitala woman is giving birth Support Our Dharma Work
Snow haiku

snow falling on night of plaguebuilding snowman onhousing scheme football pitch Support Our Dharma Work
Changing the Rules

When I am not trying rules change.I am no longer afraid of who I am. Valueless like the tree falling with no one there to hear it crash.I love you. 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 […]
Book Review: “Mindful of Race: Transforming Racism from the Inside Out”

Feature image art from: https://www.taracousineau.com Ruth King teaches mindfulness meditation at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and at the Insight Meditation Society. She is also the founder of Mindful Race Institute, LLC, and a celebrated author. Although I have never met her, to me King is one of those Dharma teachers who seems to truly embody the […]
After the Tear Gas

and joyful taunts of revolution, the fallof every infant sparrowis evolving as a eulogyin my heart, producing a vision of peace throughjustice, still conversant withthe knowledge of Babylon. Oh, how I know these sonsand daughters of Babylon, their language and history,on both sides, they came from sailors and farmers and weavers. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. […]
A Social Duty

Header image from https://www.rferl.org/a/mural-masks-coronavirus-inspires-global-graffiti/30527353.html It has often been said that these days, young people have no respect for the elderly. To be honest, up until very recently, I wasn’t so sure what people meant by this. I tried to imagine how elderly people were treated in previous generations, while around me I observed my peers helping […]
Patriotism and Other Myths

At some point, there has to be apoint. A reason why. But what if the reasonwhy is why there isno reason? What if there is nothingbut suffering heroes hopingthat their suffering will makea difference, yet knowingthat it doesn’t mean adamn. They do it anyway. George Cassidy Payne is a poet from Rochester, NY. His work has been […]
On Not Taking Sides

It has been heartbreaking to watch my adopted city tearing itself apart and becoming awash with anger and hatred. The events that have led to this are well known both in Hong Kong and around the world and I am not going to rehearse them here. I did in fact sketch my own narrative of […]