Book Excerpts
‘The Love Between Angels’ – C.S. Lewis on Friendship
Friendship transcends mere companionship to reach a more elevated goal – that of a shared vision or a common question.
February 21, 2020
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THIS WEEK'S BLOG
American Poetry
Walt Whitman – When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer
When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer encapsulates Walt Whitman’s approach to the world: silent, solitary and mystical.
February 19, 2020
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Book Excerpts
Dear Oblivion – The Very Practical Matter of Faith
How do we pray if we can’t be sure what we’re praying to even exists? Christian Wiman explores faith and what it really means to not know.
February 17, 2020
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ORIGINAL ON THE DEWDROP
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BOOK EXCERPTS
We Are Meaning-Seeking Creatures: Karen Armstrong on Myth
February 14, 2020
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Mythology through the ages has not been a placeholder for science, rather a rich and profound way of engaging with the world and exploring the human condition.
Why is a Buddhist Monk So Interested in Science?
February 10, 2020
1 Comment
In this excerpt from his spiritual autobiography, the Dalai Lama sets out why science has always been so interesting to him, and how in his mind, the scientific method and goal are in fact very close to the Buddhist one.
When the Sun Disappears
February 7, 2020
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An extract from Annie Dillard’s essay Total Eclipse in which she describes her experiences of watching solar eclipses and the radical moments of transition they brought on.
Purifying Muddy Water – The Surangama Sutra
January 20, 2020
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The Surangama Sutra was influential in the development of Ch’an in China over the centuries and is particularly valued for its elaboration of samadhi and techniques of emptiness meditation that are available to everyone.
The Bhaddekaratta Sutta: The Sutra on Knowing the Better Way to Live Alone
December 27, 2019
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The Bhaddekaratta Sutta is one of the many teachings the Buddha gave over the course of his 19 three-month practice periods at the Jetavana Monastery. It conveys the essence of a self-sufficient practice and way of existing – not clinging to the past or living for the future but diligently dwelling in current stability and freedom.
What is the Middle Way that Leads to Self-Awakening?
December 4, 2019
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The Dhammacakkappavattana Sutta recounts the very first talk the Buddha gave to a small group of his friends after he became enlightened. The story goes
Know for Yourselves – The Kalama Sutta
July 24, 2019
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This well-known extract from the Kalama Sutta quotes a teaching from the Buddha in which he advises his audience – a group called the Kalamas
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THE ALAN WATTS CORNER
Brahman, God, Allah and the Tao – Alan Watts
August 23, 2019
Among Alan Watts’ most compelling qualities was his fascination with different systems of faith and his
Alan Watts on Beat Zen and Square Zen
March 13, 2019
Our favorite rogue Zen philosopher, Alan Watts had a gift for contextualizing the principles of
Alan Watts’ Pain and Time
October 31, 2018
Alan Watts was one of the foremost interpreters of Eastern philosophy in Europe and the
KEEP READING
FROM THE ARCHIVES
Phil Jackson and the Zen of Basketball
December 16, 2019
‘Selflessness is the soul of teamwork’ was former basketball coach Phil Jackson’s mantra when coaching his players in the Chicago Bulls and the Los Angeles Lakers.
Gary Snyder on Radical Social Change
December 13, 2019
There is nothing necessarily natural or inevitable, argues Gary Snyder, about repression, violence and frustrated personalities, and the more we are able to practice and
Ram Dass on the Anxiety of Extinction
December 9, 2019
In 1961, Ram Dass famously collaborated with Timothy Leary, Ralph Metzner, Aldous Huxley, and Allen Ginsberg, to carry out pioneering research on research psilocybin, LSD-25,
Deneen Fendig and Duncan Trussell Talk About Active Dying
December 6, 2019
In March 2013, comedian and Podcast host Duncan Trussell broadcast one of the most touching episodes of his show, a conversation with his mother, Deneen
‘We are born in mystery and we die in mystery’ – Huston Smith
November 29, 2019
“The larger the island of knowledge, the longer the shoreline of wonder,” wrote Huston Smith, one of the 20th centuries most prominent scholars of world
What Science Can’t Talk About: “the Tears in Things” – Marilynne Robinson
November 19, 2019
The standoff between science and religion, argues Idaho-born writer Marilynne Robinson, is often based on a ‘selective or tendentious’ reading of religious writing, which she
‘If you’ve really learned how to pay attention, then you will know you have other options.’
November 15, 2019
This now renowned commencement address given at Kenyon College back in 2005 has become one of David Foster Wallace‘s most impactful and widely shared essays.
Practicing Behind Bars
November 8, 2019
Cuong Lu’s book, The Buddha in Jail, is a collection of 52 stories and vignettes from his experiences working as a prison chaplain. The stories
‘The Love Between Angels’ – C.S. Lewis on Friendship
Friendship transcends mere companionship to reach a more elevated goal – that of a shared vision or a common question.
February 21, 2020
1 Comment
Walt Whitman – When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer
When I Heard the Learn’d Astronomer encapsulates Walt Whitman’s approach to the world: silent, solitary and mystical.
February 19, 2020
1 Comment
Dear Oblivion – The Very Practical Matter of Faith
How do we pray if we can’t be sure what we’re praying to even exists? Christian Wiman explores faith and what it really means to not know.
February 17, 2020
No Comments
We Are Meaning-Seeking Creatures: Karen Armstrong on Myth
Mythology through the ages has not been a placeholder for science, rather a rich and profound way of engaging with the world and exploring the human condition.
February 14, 2020
No Comments
Ha Jin – The Detached
Ha Jin is a poet and novelist who moved to the United States from China in 1985. Having originally learned English from listening to the radio, Ha Jing is known
February 12, 2020
No Comments
Why is a Buddhist Monk So Interested in Science?
In this excerpt from his spiritual autobiography, the Dalai Lama sets out why science has always been so interesting to him, and how in his mind, the scientific method and goal are in fact very close to the Buddhist one.
February 10, 2020
1 Comment
When the Sun Disappears
An extract from Annie Dillard’s essay Total Eclipse in which she describes her experiences of watching solar eclipses and the radical moments of transition they brought on.
February 7, 2020
No Comments
Arthur Sze – First Snow
Arthur Sze’s postmodern poetic style includes elements of Taoist and Zen philosophy written in a deeply observational style. Influenced by William Carlos Williams and Chinese poets like Bei Dao, Arthur Sze’s work can be a difficult but rewarding read.
February 5, 2020
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What is True Freedom?
Jiddu Krishnamurti on the imperative of true freedom and what that really means.
February 3, 2020
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Tria Chang – I Was Once in Love
Tria Chang’s poem, I Was Once in Love, talks about the possibilities and pitfalls of relationships and how things can so easily slip out of balance.
January 29, 2020
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Bankei and the Unborn
17th century Zen master Bankei on the Unborn, the unconditioned mind that comes up spontaneously and is fundamental to every person, without exception.
January 27, 2020
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Joshua David Stein – Consider the Marshmallow
Joshua David Stein on the humble and historical marshmallow, and what it teaches us about desire and impermanence.
January 24, 2020
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AR Ammons – Still
AR Ammons’ poem Still follows a resolution of a spiritual nature to ground oneself and to identify with the lowly rather than the grandiose. It’s a call to commune with
January 22, 2020
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Purifying Muddy Water – The Surangama Sutra
The Surangama Sutra was influential in the development of Ch’an in China over the centuries and is particularly valued for its elaboration of samadhi and techniques of emptiness meditation that are available to everyone.
January 20, 2020
No Comments
Rebecca Solnit’s Blue of Distance
Solnit pays tribute to the color that fills the space between herself and the object of her longing, and reflects on how this blue can in some ways be understood as love itself.
January 17, 2020
1 Comment
Susan Barba – How Should We Live Our Lives?
Declared ‘a poem worth framing’ by one reviewer, Susan Barba’s How Should We Live Our Lives? dips into a stream of questions and musings reminiscent in style of Mary Oliver’s
January 15, 2020
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Wandering in the Desert: This is our Life
Charlotte Joko Beck was an American Zen teacher who insisted that Zen training must directly address our conditioned reactions, and that meditative awareness was the key to understanding the emptiness
January 13, 2020
1 Comment
On Falling in Love – James Baldwin
For activist and writer James Baldwin, falling in love was, ‘Not merely the key to my life, but to life itself.’ In this excerpt he talks about falling in love, a powerful event that shaped him and how he interacted with the world.
January 10, 2020
3 Comments
Forough Farrokhzad – The Wind Up Doll
Forough Farrokhzad was an Iranian poet and film maker known for her soulful, honest and often controversial work. She wrote with intensity about her subjective experience: ‘One can always be
January 8, 2020
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Am I Conscious Now?
“What does it mean to ask a question? Is there some magic in the inquisitive brain?” Susan Blackmore’s lifelong investigation into consciousness encompasses Zen practice and the recurring question: Am I conscious now?
January 6, 2020
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