The story of the Nativity is told briefly in two books of the Bible, Matthew and Luke, where it is sparse next to the rich details and imagery of the countless retellings it undergoes each year.
Dilruba Ahmed’s poem invokes forgiveness of ourselves and others like a cleansing rain ‘relieved of cruelty and petty meanness.’
Chinese philosopher Mencius’ core conviction was that human nature is fundamentally good and pure and only sullied by societal living.
BY NATALIE MUCKER
J-o-s. He wrote on the white board in purple marker, then spun to face us—a handful of seated strangers—in the small, neat room.
BY KENT JACOBSON
My father clomped through life with boots—“Your mother will turn you into a softy”— and died early.
Author and priest Liz Tichenor talks about her book The Night Lake, about dealing with loss and what the topography of grief looks like after seven years.
BY KATHERINE LEE
A woman unpacks the meaning of motherhood in a series of letters to her unborn and unnamed daughter.
BY CHAPIN CIMINO
What stays with us over the decades: Navigating the grey mists of love and affection by the quirky light of a college friendship.
Jack Kornfield teaches that too much emphasis on ‘special’ experiences might take us away from the practice of opening up to what is in front of us.
Chinese philosopher Mencius’ core conviction was that human nature is fundamentally good and pure and only sullied by societal living.
After releasing her debut novel, Olivia Sudjic found herself coming under intense scrutiny as a writer, an episode that contributed to her falling into a spiral of anxiety and self-doubt.
Chinese philosopher Mencius’ core conviction was that human nature is fundamentally good and pure and only sullied by societal living.
Bodhidharma’s fundamental teaching was that the Buddha can only be found in the mind since its essence is mind itself.
The Zazen Yojinki, written by 14th century Japanese master Keizan Jokin, covers the fundamental aspects of zazen, the form of Zen meditation.
A death poem was composed on one’s deathbed, with the aim of encapsulating the understanding of impermanence at that moment.
The Discourse on Knowing The Better Way to Catch a Snake (the Alagaddūpama Sutta) is a Buddhist teaching about not clinging to views.
Alan Watts delves into one of his favorite and recurring subjects – the way in which we over-identify with the parts we play.
Alan Watts often said that in order to come to your senses, you have to get out of your mind. Watts was emphatic about self-realization and breaking through cultural and psychic barriers in order to live as a fully-fledged, fearless human being.
Among Alan Watts’ most compelling qualities was his fascination with different systems of faith and his
Our favorite rogue Zen philosopher, Alan Watts had a gift for contextualizing the principles of
Religion and faith are two of the most difficult subjects to write about according to Nicholas Trandahl, author of the poem, The Chapel.
Writing can be anything, from self-discovery to incorporating pain to establishing direction, according to poet Caroline Goodwin, who featured in The Dewdrop a couple of weeks ago with her poem, Not I’ll Not, from her book, Custody of the Eyes.
Author Cuong Lu is a student of Thich Nhat Hanh and has worked for many years as a prison chaplain.
Les Kaye is the Abbot of Kannon Do meditation center in Mountain View and the author of the books Joyously
Can writing with your wrong hand beat writer’s block? Are maternity leave and creativity at all compatible? Danielle Pieratti, The
Ben Connelly is a Zen teacher at the Minnesota Zen Center as well as the author of several books including
Arthur Braverman gathers all of Kodo Sawaki’s teachings together in his impressive new book on the Zen Master.
Zenkei Blanche Hartman discusses respect for the physical world, which starts with respect for ourselves, grounded in interconnectedness.
There Never Was a Door was composed at Hokyoji, a Zen Practice Community in Minnesota. The passage to the abandoned shed without a door echoes
In 1993, Zen teacher Joan Halifax published a book called The Fruitful Darkness based on her anthropological engagements with Tibetan Buddhists, Mexican shamans, Native American elders and other tribal communities.
Hongzhi Zhengjue was a 12th century philosopher and Zen master in China who authored a large number of philosophical texts as well as the seminal
Ryokan loved children, and played with them so much that other adults began to question his sanity. He says, ‘Even if I were able to say something/how could I explain?’ His wholehearted immersion in playful activity is the essence of Ryokan’s very particular Zen expression.
Shunryu Suzuki always admitted his own difficulty with the English language, but also addressed the deeper problem of human communication, namely that ‘when we say something, our subjective intention or situation is always involved.’
17th century Zen master Bankei on the Unborn, the unconditioned mind that comes up spontaneously and is fundamental to every person, without exception.
“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?
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.
Achaan Chaa was a Buddhist monk in the Thai Forest Tradition who taught a simple practice in nature that did not depend on reading or studying.
Adachi Chiyono (also known as Mugai Nyodai) was the daughter of a samurai warrior in the 13th century who became the first woman – and mother – to found and head a Zen monastery in Japan.
Jundo Cohen paints a picture of the universe as an integrated and indivisible dance, in which certain elements temporarily swirl out then return to the whole.
Lewis Hyde’s book The Gift is a treatise on the power of the creative spirit and the dynamics of giving to transform the world.
Sharon Salzberg on why the richest way of loving means starting with our very selves.
According to Rabbi Jonathan Sacks, it’s our uniqueness that defines our humanity and opens the path to knowing God and Universal Love.
Jordan Kisner’s essay titled, ‘Soon This Space Will Be Too Small’, is a short musing about circular themes and thoughts that can revolve around a whole lifetime.
Melanie Challenger asks how we can re-associate ourselves with nature and whether a pre-industrial intimacy with the natural world is even possible.
Ruth Ozeki on aging, facing up to oneself and one’s appearance, and the Buddhist practice of contemplating death and decomposition.
Brother David Steindl-Rast hones in on a transcendental moment of the day which in the monastic tradition is a time of reflection and healing.
The twilight excursions of swifts echo the solemnity of certain spiritual rituals, when the earth is quiet enough that we can relocate our own bearings in relation to the world.
Alexandra Horowitz asks, what does it really mean to pay attention? Is it beneficial? And how can we be better at it?
Zenkei Blanche Hartman discusses respect for the physical world, which starts with respect for ourselves, grounded in interconnectedness.
Jiddu Krishnamurti’s diaries reveal his ‘process’ and daily engagement with the the experience of his own consciousness and encounters with the unknown.
In tribute, and with gratitude to Ruth Bader Ginsburg, here is a selection of some of her finest pieces of wisdom.
In his poem Around Here, Jones Irwin captures a sense of the current political atmosphere, a specific kind of decline in marginal communities but also how they can be energized by political ideas.
How to continue in the world after losing a child? Young mother and priest Liz Tichenor charts the journey of her own bereavement.
Author and priest Liz Tichenor talks about her book The Night Lake, about dealing with loss and what the topography of grief looks like after seven years.
Muriel Rukeyser’s poem about how we stay connected to one another, making love and awakening, through the noise of and distraction of politics and war.
Sufi teacher and author Idries Shah on the importance and mind-opening potential of the teacher-student relationship.
Pursuing our vocations and allowing our children the space to develop their own, are, according to Natalia Ginzburg, paramount in raising healthy children and developing healthy relationships with them as they grow.
Han Shan’s poems are rooted in the quiet nature of the Cold Mountain and the poet’s effusive humor that reminds us of the worthlessness of worldly pursuits.
Jack Kornfield teaches that too much emphasis on ‘special’ experiences might take us away from the practice of opening up to what is in front of us.
George Stein’s Micro Gallery show Specter is a journey through 2020 from the perspective of a New Yorker watching the transitions of his city from the street.
The story of the Nativity is told briefly in two books of the Bible, Matthew and Luke, where it is sparse next to the rich details and imagery of the countless retellings it undergoes each year.
Dilruba Ahmed’s poem invokes forgiveness of ourselves and others like a cleansing rain ‘relieved of cruelty and petty meanness.’
Chinese philosopher Mencius’ core conviction was that human nature is fundamentally good and pure and only sullied by societal living.
Wounds, injury, cuts and abrasions slice through Taylor Mallay’s poem New Life as the mystery of healing takes place, stretching skin thin and craving water like succulent plants yellowing on the windowsill.
After releasing her debut novel, Olivia Sudjic found herself coming under intense scrutiny as a writer, an episode that contributed to her falling into a spiral of anxiety and self-doubt.
BY NATALIE MUCKER
J-o-s. He wrote on the white board in purple marker, then spun to face us—a handful of seated strangers—in the small, neat room.
Rebecca Elson was an astronomer whose poetry expressed the wonder she felt for her own existence and for the universe she had spent her life studying.
Martha Nance’s Waterwords is a series of abstract images of water and light taken outside her office in Minneapolis.
Theologian Paul Tillich on the interplay of anxiety and fear and how they feed in to one another at the very foundation of the human mind.
‘upon waking’ describes a hand-washing ritual performed after waking up in the morning, accompanied by a traditional Jewish blessing, al netilat yadayim.
When we are looking, says Anne Lamott, really actively observing, then we are overriding our tendency towards interpreting and distorting the objects of our perception.
