I will date myself now by telling you that once I used to write letters, and receive them. These were always special occasions, and something to be cherished. Since the advent of the computer though, hardly anyone writes letters by hand anymore, and so of course, almost no one receives them. Now that this is so, I’m thinking, people really don’t know what they’re missing.
Category Archives: Essays
Where Two Worlds Meet
Terma, The Word Made Flesh, and Divine Manifestation
I had an unusual occurrence last night, that followed my thinking about the magical side of Dharma, and writing about terma, or the tradition they speak of in Tibetan Buddhism of teachings coming into this world as a precise result of the needs of the time.
The Heart and Mind of a Person on a Spiritual Path
From Mundane View to Pure Perception
As soon as we begin to practice a spiritual path, we become aware that we are seeing things differently than the average person. To the ordinary mind, there is not much to celebrate here, and certainly not anything worthy of reverence; the common view is jaded, corrupt, and impoverished, and it offers very little to depend on in difficult times.
The Power of the Word – a justification
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The value of reading out loud, and recording, and listening to useful teachings comes from their being expressions of the truth. It does not depend on their being read with a mellifluous voice, or on the translation. Something deeper is at work, which I call the esoteric power of the word.
A Through-line for Zen Study and Practice
One way of thinking of the Buddha is that he was a reformer of Indian spirituality. He saw the limitations of how people of his time were practicing, and he introduced new language and insights to guide them to freedom. His gifts continue to be received, and new ways of talking about practicing his teachings have evolved, and they will continue to do so…
Why so many words?
A story goes that once there was a Zen master and his apprentice. It was their custom every morning, after meditation and before breakfast, to go for a long walk through the woods, along mountain trails, and back through fields on the way back to their simple monastery…
Third Ear Music
We usually listen to music in an active way, reaching out, linear. Certain types of music, however, require a different kind of listening for their appreciation. On Saturday night I went to see Ustad Habib Khan, playing the sitar, and Swapan Chaudhuri on the tablas, at the Vedic Cultural Center in Berkeley, in a performance of ragas, traditional music of India…
A few defining characteristics of classical music
Before talking about any one composer, or piece of classical music, I thought I’d write out a few brief notes about this kind of music in general. Hopefully, this will provide context for the recommended performances…
Hearing Beethoven
When we talk about the major figures in Western Classical music, Mozart is seen as representing the unique genius of Classicism. His music is the easiest to approach. J.S. Bach is on another level, such that it is almost difficult to think of him only as a composer. His art is filled with mystery, passion, profundity, and exaltation. He is thought of as the apex of the Baroque.
The influence of Beethoven, in comparison to other composers, in my thinking, eclipses the boundaries of music. When his music is known in context, we can begin to understand just how much it changed, not only music, but all of Western consciousness and Western Culture…
Crossing the desert with Bach
My Spanish teacher in Colombia asked me this week how we can keep going, with right view, with all that is going on in the world…
The Dark Mysteries and Arvo Pärt
… the existence of suffering is great in us and in our world, and it doesn’t resolve without embracing what we call the dark mysteries…
Six things that Westerners need, that Buddhism can offer
Recently, a friend of mine asked what I thought a Dharma center could offer to engage people who are new to Buddhism. The first few items came to mind right away, and within the week the list had grown to six things that I think are especially needed at this time, in this culture.
The King of Aspiration Prayers
To all the Lions Among Humans who appear
in the ten directions and three times,
I pay homage with reverent body, speech, and mind…
Dedication Prayers
By this merit,
gathered together with all the virtue,
of all the ten-directions and the three times
Buddhas and Bodhisattvas…
Be a Light in the Gathering Light – Selected Poems
Preface
In my ideal world, we introduce ourselves with poetry, either our own, or that of other people, that we keep with us at all times…