Short, Savory, and Sound: Aitken’s Miniatures
In fall 2000 I first encountered Robert Aitken Roshi with his book, The Dragon Who Never Sleeps, a collection of scores of four-line poems, or gathas. Nine years later, I read his Miniatures of a…
Category: Wisdom Traditions
Share the Wealth with Ron Laney: Developing a Better Understanding
Many years ago, I partook in a handful of undergraduate psychology courses at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, and when a certain professor heard I would not be returning the following term, she phoned to inquire…
The Seeds at Work within Us
Years ago, I read with pleasure Goethe’s Maxims and Reflections (translated by Elisabeth Stopp). A good number of them are worth revisiting, much like many of those I’ve encountered over the years from La Rochefoucauld,…
The Future Belongs to South America
Jessie Sandova, From the Monastery to the World: The Letters of Thomas Merton and Ernesto Cardenal (Counterpoint Press, 2017) I had initial high hopes for reading the correspondence of Thomas Merton and Ernesto Cardenal. I started…
Share the Wealth with Ayesha Akhtar: صبر (Patience)
Fasting is one of the five pillars of Islam. Every year, Muslims around the world take part in a month of fasting called Ramadan. Ramadan is considered to be a very holy month for us, and it…
Share the Wealth with Savannah Sisk: Sunday 28 January 2018
“Lying on soft earth, carried into sky by longing, humans respond to stars with questions. Why is the Universe so vast? Why are we so small? Call and response through the night. My whole life…
Dharma Brother Wang Wei
Devoted Buddhist Semi-recluse Noticer of the minute particulars Painter of vast emptiness Appreciator of interbeing moment by moment Befriender of sages, visitors and travelers moving in and out of the Ch’an world His wife dead…
Be Here Now
Andrew Wimmer recently watched the documentary Ram Dass, Fierce Grace. He sent me this reminder…
Aiming for the Supreme Goal in Life
Dear Perry I am sending out the following to a few of my friends, Bengali-Americans, who haven’t heard of Sri Anandamayi Ma. I think they’ll be open to her. I’m grateful we read her before…
Waiting in Line To Order an Espresso
I overheard Sylvie Smith ask Emma Wong “What’s up, haven’t seen you on Snapchat?” “Yeah, I haven’t looked at Snapchat In three weeks” Sylvie looked horrified “THREE WEEKS?!!! What’s going on with you?” “Just into…