Diehard Dhamma

The Major League Baseball season gets under way — finally! — in less than a week, which undoubtedly prompted a very interesting article in the Boston Globe: “A Brief Inquiry into the Nature of Sports Fandom.” The author takes a lighthearted jab at diehard sports fans — himself included, apparently — concluding that “If you [...]

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A Renewed Call for Engaged Buddhism

With the direction of our country, and indeed the world, seemingly hanging on this Presidential election, it can be difficult for many to avoid being fearful or cynical about the future.  A Christian friend who shares my concerns told me he is at the point where he is unable to sleep at night over the uncertainty of this [...]

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“America Needs a Buddhist President” (Serious Thoughts)

The recent Presidential forum at the Saddleback Church, the California megachurch led by mega-best selling author and forum host Pastor Rick Warren, left me more than a little cold.  Not because the forum came across as a political litmus test from time to time when the audience occasionally applauded strongly or groaned somewhat at certain times.  No, [...]

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Attention, Please…Please? Pretty Please?!

The subject of attention is a common one in Buddhist practice.  Indeed, meditation is all about paying attention to this present moment only, while letting ‘everything else’ – thoughts about the past, speculations for the future – float away like so many clouds.  Meanwhile, society in general seems to be increasingly aware there is an [...]

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Vesak at the Temple

   Vesak (pronounced Wee-sock I think) is a Buddhist holiday marking the Buddha’s birth, death and enlightenment — all in the same month of Vesak.  Just so you know — I don’t know much more about Vesak than that.  Nonetheless, I decided to go to the local South East Asian temple, Wat Buddabhavana  (http://www.greatwisdomcenter.org) on the [...]

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Chop Wood, Carry Water…Mow Lawn, Shovel Driveway…?

Before Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water. 
After Enlightenment: Chop Wood, Carry Water.
It’s an ancient Zen saying you’ve likely read many times before.  Author Stephen Altschuler recommends giving it a try literally, at least the “chop wood” part, in his recent article for the SF Chronicle, with some welcome how-to advice on chopping wood without hurting yourself.  [...]

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1964 Pop Psychology Guide: The Art of Living with Yourself…and Others

“A Hole in the Head” blogsite recently posted a full scan of a 1964 pop psychology booklet, The Art of Living with Yourself and Others.  (Credit and thanks to the very fun BoingBoing website for their original post I saw, first uncovering this site.)
The booklet is an intriguing period piece and unintentionally humorous as a scattershot, superficial pep-talk of [...]

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Impermanence…

I’ve been getting lessons in Impermanence this week.    On Monday I was laid off from the job I’ve held for seven years.   Yikes!   And as I was driving home, feeling slightly shell-shocked, I got a call from my daughter saying that she had totalled the car that has been in the family for 10 years…  [...]

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