Train Wholeheartedly

 Attention [prosoche] is the fundamental Stoic spiritual  attitude. It is a continuous vigilance and presence of mind, self consciousness which never sleeps, and a constant tension of the spirit. Thanks to this attitude, the philosopher…

Quit Complaining!

Cold Mountain: 100 Poems by the T’ang Poet Han-shanTranslated and with an Introduction by Burton Watson I first learned of Han-shan 30 years ago when reading Jack Kerouac’s novel, The Dharma Bums, which starred Japhy…

Power Versus Love

Robert Topmiller, The Lotus Unleashed: The Buddhist Peace Movement in South Vietnam, 1964-1966 We are not savages; we are people with an ancient culture, and we are sick in our bones of war. I do…

Dark, Mysterious, Radiant

Bithika Mukerji, Life and Teachings of Sri Ma Anandamayi: A Bird on the WingSri Satguru Publications, 1997 This is a work similar in aim to The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna, but about 1/5th the length. …

Remembrance of Teachers Past

Elie Wiesel, Somewhere a Master: Further Hasidic Portraits and Legends This is Elie Wiesel’s third of four installments thus far on his favorite Hasidic teachers, the ones whose tales enchanted him in his childhood, the…

Being Present (Somehow)

1. Do not avoid contact with suffering or close your eyes before suffering.  Do not lose awareness of the existence of suffering in the life of the world.  Find ways to be with those who…

Pursue Knowledge Even to China

The Content of Character: Ethical Sayings of the Prophet MuhammadCollected by Shaykh Al-Amin Mazrui Sarah Ali gave me this book as an expression of gratitude for writing her  a letter of recommendation.  We will discuss…

Merton’s Journal

Calcutta is shocking because it is all of a sudden a totally different kind of madness,    the reverse of that other madness, the mad rationality of affluence and overpopulation. America seems to make sense,…