I got on Twitter with the primary goal of communicating with Zen and other Buddhist teachers. Unfortunately, some teachers collect followers but don’t follow back so they live on a one way street where there is no communication flowing to them. For example, Venerable Ajahn Brahm, arguably the most famous monk on the planet, has… Continue reading In Search of Zen Teachers
Category: Buddhism
Zen Practice And Indoor Pets
I attended a meditation retreat in the late 1980s in southern Missouri with about 500 people. It was by far the largest group I had ever sat with and the effect was palpable. There were times when everyone would go into a deep meditation at the same time; it could be felt. I recall an occasion when… Continue reading Zen Practice And Indoor Pets
Is Zen Practice Subversive?
The Zen practice of zazen (sitting meditation) is subversive. In our gun-promoting, militaristic culture, sitting on a cushion and practicing metta is a practice that undermines the foundation of that culture. I live in a so-called progressive town that has many fine attributes. We use re-claimed water on our lawns. We have the highest quality re-cycling… Continue reading Is Zen Practice Subversive?
Zen Mindfulness or Forgetfulness
What, really, is mindfulness? It is perhaps best understood by contrasting it with its opposite, which is forgetfulness. Most of us are robots, performing most of our daily activities while thinking about something else. We don’t need to pay attention to brushing our teeth, taking a shower, grocery shopping, because these chores are handled automatically. We can instead ponder what… Continue reading Zen Mindfulness or Forgetfulness
Zen And the 2nd Amendment
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
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?
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