Everything Is a Gift by Jennifer Vanbooven
Jennifer Vanbooven is in my Comparative Religion and Culture class, and wrote this response to the documentary, Walk with Me, about life at Plum Village. I am happy to share it here. Kaley and I…
Category: Wisdom Traditions
Occasional Moments of Peace, Gratitude, and Delight
I first learned of Gary Snyder through Kerouac’s novel, The Dharma Bums, where he was fictionalized as “Japhy Ryder,” who, according to Alvah Goldbook [aka Allen Ginsberg], was “a great new hero of American…
Tolstoy’s List
After coming across this acknowledgement of influence, a goal for this spring–re-engaging with Tolstoy.
Poem of the Day: Burning Monk
A friend shared this poem by Shin Yu Pai about the famous Vietnamese Buddhist Thích Quảng Đức who immolated himself in 1963.
Poem of the Day: Burning Monk
A friend shared this poem by Shin Yu Pai about the famous Vietnamese Buddhist Thích Quảng Đức who immolated himself in 1963.
To Contend, To Enliven, To Distance, To Advocate, To Investigate, To Rally, To Prioritize, To Surprise
I’ve read Anne Waldman since 2001 (Fast Speaking Woman: Chants and Essays got me started). Her epics, poems, interviews, and edited anthologies (from the Kerouac School at Naropa) stimulate and open up possibilities. One of…
Chân Không’s Secret
Sometimes I feel overwhelmed. But I try to work one day at a time. If we just worry about the big picture, we are powerless. So my secret is to start right away doing whatever…
Using the Cell Phone
Breathing in, I know that I am texting. Breathing out, it’s a miracle to be alive.
Improv Wisdom: Spring Online Class 2018
There are people who prefer to say “Yes,” and there are people who prefer to say “No.” Those who say “Yes” are rewarded by the adventures they have, and those who say “No” are rewarded…
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…