The Sabbath

…experiencing the world as it is can be emotionally draining work. As poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti said many years ago, “even in heaven they don’t sing all the time.”

The Fifth Precept

…more than half of all adults have a family history of alcoholism. Do we really want to nurture our children with a family tradition of wine with every dinner?

American Capitalism Ain’t All Bad

Buddhism teaches that there is no this without that. There’s a bright side to American capitalism that might not exist without the dark side.

On Wearing Malas

I’m as eclectic and contrarian about Buddhism as I am about Western religions. I’d like to say that I come from a long line of eclectic contrarians, but thanks to the Holocaust I’ll never know much about my ancestors’ personalities. My meditation practice is primarily what you might call Zen light, or mindfulness, or insight/vipassana,…

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Ode and Owed to Singer-Songwriters

I’ve developed a deep respect for, and appreciation of, people who devote their lives to creating music that helps heal this ailing world and its suffering citizens.

I Am The Daughter Of Foreigners

Brava, Taara Donley! As the son of a foreigner, I admire what you did. This would make a great oral story, too. Consider pitching it to The Moth.

Anti-Racism Part 2

We’re stuck in Christian original sin, according to Thandeka, and groping for Salvation. But confessing our supposed sins will not get us anywhere helpful.

Why I Flunked Anti-Racism 101

…racism damages the entire culture. As Martin Luther King Jr. said: “We may have all come on different ships, but we’re in the same boat now.”

Belief in God… the three-letter-word

Originally posted on Amie Zor:
I’ve recently been trying to define my belief in God, or map it in some way, but it’s hard to describe. I’ll cut to the chase: I think the subconscious is a direct line to God. I think the subconscious IS God. I don’t think this is a sensational thought.…

Music

…music is far more than a delivery mechanism for words of comfort. I believe that good music can cut through what Buddhists call the “monkey mind” — the chattering that distracts us from what is in the here and now.

Non-opposition

Originally posted on the neoabolitionist:
I have been thinking about the concept of “non-opposition”.  Almost all forms of Buddhism have some instruction about not living in opposition to the world.  How does this really work when there are so many things that are just not okay.  Oppression is real. The murder of black and brown…