The U.S. air force is unconstitutional because the Constitution gives Congress the power to raise an army and a navy. Thus, Congress has no power to raise an air force. That’s a joke, of course, but it demonstrates that the Constitution is a living document, not something etched in stone in 1776. But when airplanes were… Continue reading Zen And the 2nd Amendment
Author: ron
Founder of The Zen Practice Foundation. University of Tennessee, B.S., Industrial Engineering (1969). University of Florida, J.D. Law, (1973). Registered patent attorney.
Zen Drops Off Body And Mind
What could be easier than just letting go? If we had nothing to hold on to, nothing to reach for, nothing to drop, what would that be like? What about dropping opinions about politics? Sports? Religion? A Zen master once famously shouted as he saw a monk dozing in a zendo: ZAZEN MEANS DROPPING OFF BOTH BODY AND… Continue reading Zen Drops Off Body And Mind
Zen and the Flag of Japan
I laughed when I heard the Dalai Lama apologize for not being a good meditator. He said that with his speaking schedule and teaching duties, he only had time to meditate four hours per day. I have no speaking schedule and no teaching duties and I am happy to get in one hour per day… Continue reading Zen and the Flag of Japan
No Zen Practice, No Life?
Consider two people, one screaming his or her head off out of excitement over a football game on TV and another sitting in a meditation hall with a sore back. Some will say that the smart one is the one enjoying the game and some will say that the smart one is the one engaged… Continue reading No Zen Practice, No Life?
Zen, Clear Water And Muddy Water
My law partner walked into my office a few years ago and announced that he had just had an amazing conversation. You won’t believe this, he began, but I just spoke to a guy who said he has no cell phone, no computer, and no idea what the Internet is, and this guy was bragging. Well, my clientele… Continue reading Zen, Clear Water And Muddy Water
Zen, Terrorism and Religions
This blog and its website will come down immediately (to the chagrin of a very few, if anyone) if I ever encounter a passage in a Buddhist sutra that says: Have faith in the Buddha so that you can go to heaven when you die. Or one that says: If you don’t have faith in the Buddha, he… Continue reading Zen, Terrorism and Religions
Are Zen Buddhists Vegetarians?
I know self-proclaimed Buddhists who brag that they eat meat because they have transcended all notions of right and wrong and are no longer concerned about trivial issues such as eating veggies or the dead bodies of slaughtered animals. They proclaim that only the unenlightened care about such a non-issue. “Grow up,” they tell me. “It’s… Continue reading Are Zen Buddhists Vegetarians?
Theravada and Rinzai Zen
The Anapanasati Sutta teaches the sixteen steps the Buddha followed to develop the mindfulness that led to his enlightenment. It is well-known to Theravada monks and nuns (to use a Western term that doesn’t really fit; these “monks and nuns” worship no one), but not to the ordinary people who live in the Theravada countries including Sri Lanka,… Continue reading Theravada and Rinzai Zen
Zen And Dreams Within Dreams
We can all agree that nothing happens in a dream. Most dreams are classified as anxiety dreams – we dream about what we worry about. More than once we have all awakened and realized with a sense of relief that we have been dreaming and all those worrisome thoughts were about something that wasn’t real. Any hack can… Continue reading Zen And Dreams Within Dreams
Follow NASCAR or practice Zen?
A client who had invented a very clever way to keep track of NASCAR driver standings (we applied for and obtained a patent for it) explained to me that getting kids involved with NASCAR would solve the problems of the world. The drivers, he advised me, were the ultimate role models. Keeping track of… Continue reading Follow NASCAR or practice Zen?