Curiosity is a powerful thing. Humans find the state of curiosity and its satisfaction to be quite pleasurable. This is a good thing, and probably an important evolutionary adaptation, as it is the motivating force behind invention, experimentation, exploration, and learning. It is the source of such thoughts as, “What if?” “How?” “Tell me more,” [...]
Are You Taking What is Not Given?
September 16, 2011 By 1 Comment
In a recent blog, I explored the Buddhist precept of “Not Killing”. The precepts are guidelines for behavior, and they are not considered “rules”. I’m particularly fond of the description of them as”the way an enlightened being naturally lives”. The process of “taking” these precepts culminates in a ceremony called Jukai, an acknowledgment that these [...]
Vow Not to Kill
August 20, 2011 By 4 Comments
The Precepts, which are a list of guidelines for living a life in accordance with being a force for good in the world tend to vary somewhat from source to source: There are often five precepts listed as being for everyone, some lists contain eight, and there lists that contain 10 that are sometimes designated [...]
Touching Ancient Hands
August 8, 2011 By Leave a Comment
This was the day. I had been anticipating seeing the King Tutankhamun exhibit for months. I still have clear, detailed memories of seeing the treasures of the tomb in the ’70s when I was about my daughter’s age. I remember it took my breath away when I saw these astonishing objects in person, the ethereal [...]
In Gratitude to Bill and Martin
July 24, 2011 By 2 Comments
This morning two things happened. First, as I was just about to leave the house for the Zen Center, my mother called me to give me some news. When I was about sixteen or seventeen, I met an artist named Donna Ioveiro who lived in my town, and who made sculpture and jewelry using enameled [...]
My Rakusu is Not My Rakusu
July 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I thought that this post was going to be about one thing, and an hour later it became about something else entirely. I am making my rakusu. This is part of the process of going through something called “jukai”. Wikipedia describes it thusly: “The Lay Buddhist ordination refers to the public ordination ceremony wherein a lay student [...]
Perfectly Flawed Morning
June 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Last week, when I was morning doan at the Zen center, I had a perfect morning. It was perfect, not because the ritual unfolded smoothly and effortlessly, without a single hitch, but because of the state of presence and ease I felt while doing it. It’s not that I don’t always see room for improvement. [...]
Jumping Into the Game
May 27, 2011 By Leave a Comment
I have seen people balk at the idea of cultivating a mindful state because they have come to the conclusion that it will kill all sense of spontaneity. They seem to think that mindfulness drains the wonder from the world and equanimity creates dullness. The result is that these people have a complete resistance to exploring [...]
The Man Behind the Curtain
May 16, 2011 By Leave a Comment
On Mother’s Day, my friend Wanda and I went to see the Dalai Lama at the University of Minnesota. I had told Wanda about my experience seeing him ten years ago, so when she heard that he was returning, we ordered our tickets the day they went on sale back in November. We were excited [...]
