Call Me by My True Names
35 years ago today, I participated in the mass demonstration in New York City against nuclear arms. While there, I heard Vietnamese Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh read aloud this English translation of one of…
Category: Wisdom Traditions
Seeing the World/1 [from The Book of Mev]
The second week of that Summer Program at Maryknoll, Mev made an announcement after one of the morning sessions that she was going to present some of her photographs in a slideshow/meditation on a night…
Learning by Heart, the Joy of Music, and the Power of the Prophetic
Dear Lauren, I received your letter today about the online Good News class and your hand-written adaptation of Kipling’s famous poem. The fact that you have had “If” as a companion in your work and…
Spiritual Passage to India
Love everyone, feed everyone, and remember God. Neem Karoli Baba I recently gave Ram Dass’s Be Here Now to Laura, an exceptional Maryville University graduate and psychology major. Previously, I had mentioned to her that…
At Home in the World: A Summer Writing Class 2017
Thich Nhat Hanh is regarded by many as one of the most skillful and pragmatic of spiritual teachers. In 2016 he published At Home in the World, a succinct autobiography of his ninety years of…
I Beseech You, Orianne Aymard
Peace and harmony appear so closely woven in every cell of her being that the spirits of darkness would search in vain for a loophole. –Melita Maschmann, Encountering Bliss: My Journey through India with Ānandamayī Mā …
On Daniel Berrigan
1. Some of Daniel Berrigan’s Whitmanian multitudes: Brother, uncle, jailbird, correspondent, chef, Jesuit, retreat master, playwright poet, peacemaker, mentor, reader, teacher, prophet, son, friend, logophile. 2. In our age they they talk about the importance…
Ninety Years Alive on Earth
On Thich Nhat Hanh, At Home in the World: Stories and Essential Teachings from a Monk’s Life. Berkeley, CA: Parallax Press, 2016. Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh is a survivor. Narrowly missing death in…