Putting on my mask I think of protecting and caring for my community. Seeing someone wearing their mask I think of how they are caring for me. Smiling at each other with our eyes, Waving hello with our hands. We are even more connected in care Despite the distance. ———- I saw this online, […]
‘Student L [Katherine Thanas]: Docho Roshi: When does my life express the Dharma and when does it not? SR: When it does not? There is no time when it doesn’t. It always expresses the Dharma. Student L [Katherine Thanas]: But sometimes better than others? SR: Don’t think in that way. Always expressing. You are always […]
We have tipped into the second half of the year now, and locally, we had a shift in the weather to go with it: from fog and wind last week, to warm clear skies – and wind – this. Sometimes the wind feels exhausting, especially on a bike, but the sense of movement it signifies […]
‘We’re only human. But we’re also more. We’re by nature aspirational beings. Our imaginations are unlimited. We can’t be satisfied simply with the world as it appears. Presented with that, we will do what we have always done – distract and destroy. We will be deeply, narcissistically, self-protective and dissatisfied, and out of that uncomfortable […]
‘In the practice of charity, Buddhists distinguish three kinds of gifts: material, emotional, and spiritual. Material gifts include such things as food and clothes and medicine. Emotional gifts include comfort and protection. And spiritual gifts include guidance and instruction. In terms of their benefits, material gifts put an end to greed; emotional gifts but an […]
‘Certain people would like to use technology to live longer, or forever… To such people I humbly propose a far more parsimonious way to live forever: to exit the trajectory of productive time, so that a single moment might open almost to infinity. As John Muir once said, “Longest is the life that contains the […]
‘Although a great bell is impressive, it makes no sound unless it is rung. Nor does a sage respond in isolation.’ (Commentary on the Diamond Sutra) Which reminds me of how Buddha frequently refered to himself as a physician, curing ailments according to the condition.
‘Dharma helps us develop a relationship to the nature of the thing itself. So when people and communities are saying “We’re all ultimately the same; there’s not such thing as race,” ultimately of course, that’s truth, and you want to thank them for their dharma teaching. We all need to be reminded of that, but […]
‘What happens to the individual down the street or across the world affects each and every one of us. And how each of us responds affects everyone else. So, more than ever, it’s imperative that as individuals we do what we can to cultivate our deepest human inclinations.’ (Deep Hope) Something that was written before the […]
‘By wholeheartedly opening to and embracing provisional truth, the ultimate is revealed. Within this revelation, we see provisional and ultimate as one and the same. Then we can let go of the ultimate and reenter the provisional. We join hands with all beings and walk together through birth and death on the endless path to […]
