2011
A huge smile (spread across oceans of time) breaks free from solitary ho-hum meander of the day. Sing like birds soar silent, still. A wandering song echoes through the caves of your mind [...]
The symbols, structures and beliefs we use to organize and sedate this endless river of impressions and habits are provisional and temporary illusions of stability. Emotions, thoughts and perceptions are moving through our awareness in constant flux. The symbols, structures and beliefs we use to organize and sedate this endless river of impressions and habits [...]
“’Serious’ art, which is not primarily about getting money out of you, is more apt to make you uncomfortable, or to force you to work hard to access its pleasures, the same way that in real life true pleasure is usually a by-product of hard work and discomfort…. The problem isn’t that today’s readership is [...]
This summer, Dharma Realm Buddhist University and Pacific School of Religion present a direct encounter with a living Buddhist tradition dating back to ancient China. Students will have the rare opportunity to experience the daily pace and patterns of a Buddhist contemplative and explore a way of life designed to instill peace, equanimity, and awakening. [...]
About thirty students from Humboldt State University came to visit the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas last weekend, to participate in the monastic lifestyle as an educational experience. I was asked to guide the group around campus, and I also sat in on the Q&A sessions that the Ciity held for them, so I had [...]
While reading some of Master Hua’s reflections, I came across this story: There is a story about when the students from mainland China first came to Taiwan. Because they were fleeing for their lives, none of the students, except maybe one or two, remembered to bring their diplomas. When they applied for college in Taiwan, [...]
Nietzsche wrote that human history has been shaped by the power dynamic between the few who are part of the controlling “master” class, and the many “slaves” who are being controlled. He was convinced that this dynamic would never change by any action on the part of the master—why would those in power willingly give [...]
Until Mount Etna speaks, no one will know Which village on the mountain’s slopes Will be the next to be destroyed by lava. It’s said that every village on the mountain Must take its turn, once in a century. Material for building, though, is right at hand: And once the lava cools and turns grey-black, [...]