Category Archives: Buddhism

Volume 28. June 6, 2022 Guitar god Keith Richards probably put it best when he sang: “Here’s another goodbye to another good friend.” The school year ended on a sad note in Uvalde, Texas.  Blood splattered across blackboards. Traumatized survivors running for their lives. Frantic parents crying on the sidewalk. Screams of agony. Nineteen innocentContinue reading “Another Goodbye to Another Good Friend”

Volume 27. May 8, 2022 Mae West (1893-1980) was a stage and screen actress known for her breezy sexual independence and bawdy double entendres. America’s first sex symbol once said in her mumbling, husky voice, “You only live once, but if you do it right, once is all you need.” Surprisingly, the Buddha would agree. Sex, lifeContinue reading “The Buddhist Perspective on Life”

Volume 26. April 11, 2022 One day after the slap heard round the world, on March 28, 2022, Will Smith apologized to Chris Rock. “My behavior at last night’s Academy Awards was unacceptable and inexcusable … I would like to apologize to you, Chris. I was out of line and I was wrong.” Then whyContinue reading “Man’s Inhumanity to Man”

Vol. 25. March 7, 2022 Buddhist monk and peace activist Thich Nhat Hanh once wrote, “Meditation is to be aware of what’s going on — in our bodies, in our feelings, in our minds, and in our world.”  Right now, most people are painfully aware of what is going on in our world. Russian despotContinue reading “Peace for Ukraine”

Vol. 24. February 6, 2022 When the history of American Buddhism is written three hundred years from now, Thich Nhat Hahn will go down as one of the great Asian missionaries of Buddhism to the West.  His literary output and impact on American society is matched only by perhaps D.T. Suzuki and the 14th DalaiContinue reading “Reflection on Death”

Vol. 23. January 5, 2022 Open your heart/mind and listen to the teaching of emptiness.  Swinging from the rafters, hanging like a piñata, we finally found her after a week of searching and called the coroner. What was it that made her lose hope? Why did she kick away the chair? All gone now, whiteContinue reading “Contemplation on the New Year”

Vol. 22. December 12, 2021 The comedian Chris Farley put life into perspective. He mocked the ambitions of people who want to go out and change the world. As motivational speaker Matt Foley, Chris joked,  “You kids are probably saying to yourself, ‘Hey, I’m going to go out and get the world by the tail,Continue reading “Change the World”

Vol 21. November 10, 2021 This year, when we sit down to a sumptuous Thanksgiving dinner, our mouths salivating over stuffing and cranberries, let’s remember a quote from Jack Kerouac, “Unleash your knife and fork, and you’re no better than a bug on Buddha Mountain.” The reason humanity has instituted the practice of prayer beforeContinue reading “Thanksgiving on Buddha Mountain”

Vol. 20. October 5, 2021 “Suddenly, Last Summer” is a 1959 Southern Gothic mystery film based on a play by Tennessee Williams. The plot centers on a young woman (Elizabeth Taylor) who has witnessed the traumatic death of her cousin. The dead man’s wealthy mother strenuously tries to suppress the truth about her son’s violent demise atContinue reading “Suddenly (or Gradually?) Last Summer”

Vol. 19. September 1, 2021 The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan came faster than anyone expected. Elapsed time from the fall of the first provincial capital to the cave-in of Kabul was 9 days flat. Why did Afghanistan collapse so quickly, like a house of cards? Endemic corruption, a long history of dependence on foreign assistanceContinue reading “Freedom for Afghanistan?”