Culture – Page 13 – Melting-Pot Dharma

A Look Back at a Bloody Arrest

I realized just a few days ago that I am writing this blog, melsmouth.com, not just for me, but for my son Thomas as well. He died June 1 in a skateboarding accident at the age of 29. He was a thinker and a writer who had not yet found a niche and an audience,…

What’s Wrong with Liberals

…it no longer feels like games we’re playing – more like a war. We no longer recognize the humanity of the other side. We fail to see how “their” belief system can be anything other than selfish or stupid.

I Love Autumn

I wonder what it is that predisposed me, or opened me up, to fall, autumn colors, impermanence and Buddhism.

A School in Roseburg, a Hospital in Kunduz

…we limit our outrage to incidents like school shootings, where we pretend we can’t be blamed.

Becoming a Laureate

Many of us — at least those born into the developed nations of the world, knowing that our basic needs will be met — start life thinking that anything is possible. Fame and fortune may await us.

Everyday Healers

I wanted to honor the doctors, nurses, and other volunteers who put themselves in harm’s way because, well, they say to themselves: “If I don’t do it, who will?”

Re-Blog: Zen Postcard #20

My own belief system evolves as I write my blog posts. I find myself using the idea of resonance repeatedly. We resonate with other beings and find communion and holiness there, as we do when we resonate with nature and with art. We resonate with music, of course, and another art form on my wavelength…

Belief in God

After all, as the Buddha seemed to understand, everything in our universe is made of the same cosmic dust particles that are ever-moving, ever-changing, ever-dancing, and always connecting and reconnecting.

Marpa’s Grief

Buddhism…recognizes that we spend most of our lives here in the “relative” world, where pain is very real and nothing to be ashamed of.

Why Do Black Lives Matter?

The dispute seems stupid though if you ask yourself why black lives matter. Black lives matter because all lives matter, and yes there is no doubt that our history way beyond slavery has failed to recognize that.

They’re here, get used to them: why gender-neutral pronouns are not “radical” — Hopes&Fears

A majority of languages around the world have no gender distinctions in pronouns. So why is using “they” as a singular pronoun considered so politically and grammatically unconventional?

Little Big Man and Me

I’ve noticed how many Facebook posts are about what’s wrong with the other side. My liberal friends spend much more time finding fault with conservatives than promoting their own ideas, and vice versa.