Nun of Your Business

Here is a poem by my grandmother, Amma, written in my voice in 1962 when I was 2-1/2 years old. It's uncannily insightful. Also, my mother wrote a note in my baby book that says, "Chattered from the time we can remember, gradually became intelligible." I wonder what I was trying to say. By the way, my parents are very intelligent--not dense or slow as Amma suggests. Amma's Poem I'm a little girl named Karen, Two years old and half to three. From another world I came here, -- This one's strange and interests me. There are many people 'round me Who I have become to know, But in way of understanding They seem very very slow. There's a person I call Daddy, He's as good as good can be, -- When I try to tell him something He just stares and stares at me. He says "what, --what are you saying?" Ah, I wasn't making sense, I give up and turn to playing, -- Sometimes he acts very dense. Then there's someone I call Mother, Loving care she giv...

Here is an interview that my friend forwarded to me. It relates to something I've been writing recently on Buddhist Perspectives on God. This part is interesting--from the interview with Robert Wright: It’s not the theology of Buddhism that attracts me to it. And there is no single theology of Buddhism. Some Buddhists are essentially atheistic. Most [in Asia] are not. Most of the things Americans think about Buddhism in Asia – that Buddhists meditate and don’t believe in god – are for most Buddhists in Asia, wrong. Most of them...are theistic and don’t meditate. The monks meditate. Evolution of God , by Robert Wright

I made a few word changes to my chantable version of Yonten Zhigyurma -- The Basis of All Good Qualities. Just the first two verses. Have a look. The Basis of All Good Qualities Let me know if you want me to email you the text or a sample of the tune.

This is a term I've just coined: emergency Buddhist . An emergency Buddhist is someone who doesn't have a regular Buddhist practice, but then when some catastrophe strikes, they contact the Dharma center or teacher wanting some religious intervention. They dabble in Buddhism by coming to classes at times, when it fits into their schedule of family events, sporting events, and other entertainment. They complain that they can't really relate to pujas, mantras, sadhanas, or other types of recitations. These practices seem like hocus-pocus to them. That is, until they really need some drastic change in whatever karma is ripening. Then it sometimes seems too late. Their own illness is too far along, or their family member is already on their deathbed. And suddenly they want Buddhism to fix it, to make the problem go away. That's a heavy expectation to put on Buddhism. It carries an unspoken demand: "If you can't fix this emergency I'm having, then the Dharma doe...

When people leave home, first they should live in a hermitage. A hermitage is a house for one person. When the body has a place to live, the mind gradually attains peace. When energy and spirit are harmonious and light, one enters the real Tao. Whatever you do, do not work too hard. If you work too hard, it will reduce energy. But do not be inactive either. If you are inactive, energy and blood will stagnate. When activity and stillness are balanced, then you can maintain constancy and rest secure in your lot. This is the way to live in a hermitage. By Taoist master, Wang Che. From Vitality Energy Spirit: A Taoist Sourcebook , translated & edited by Thomas Cleary. I was about to get rid of some donated books, when I flipped open the pages of this collection of Taoist writings and found these paragraphs. I think I'll hold onto this book, at least for a while. There are some more interesting things in there. In what seems like a lifetime ago--back when I was in college--I served ...

I'm listening to a program on public radio that reminds me of the project that I wanted to start. The program is an interview with author Jennifer Michael Hecht about the history of doubt and my project was to start an ongoing conversation with some of my Dharma friends about what we know for sure . Here is a link to the program's page: Speaking of Faith with Krista Tippett http://speakingoffaith.publicradio.org/programs/2009/doubt/ Poet and historian Jennifer Michael Hecht says that as a scholar she always noticed the "shadow history" of doubt out of the corner of her eye. She shows how non-belief, skepticism, and doubt have paralleled and at times shaped the world's great religious and secular belief systems. She suggests that only in modern time has doubt been narrowly equated with a complete rejection of faith, or a broader sense of mystery. January 8, 2009 SOF OnDemand: » Download (mp3, 53:09) ------------------------------------------------...