Mindfulness and “Religion”
Last night at the weekly zazen thing in Silverlake (LA hipster ghetto) someone asked me about aspects of mindfulness that are present in non-Buddhist traditions. At first I didn’t understand the question, but we talked some more later and I think I got it, so I’ll paraphrase. We we could use the word “mindfulness,” derived from the […]
Racism Isn’t the Problem
Racism isn’t the problem. Some people probably won’t read past the headline of this article before they start telling me that we don’t live in a post-racial world, that just because Barrack Obama is black doesn’t mean we’ve solved all our racial problems in America, that white privilege is real and all the rest of […]
Why I Avoid Using the Word “Mindfulness”
Yesterday a guy contacted me because he’s writing an article about whether or not Buddhists should smoke cigarettes. When he asked my opinion I said, “Nobody should smoke cigarettes!” He wanted to interview me as a Buddhist teacher anyway and he sent me some questions. Rather than getting me thinking about cigarette smoking, though, […]
How to Do a Zen Memorial Service
When I offered to perform memorial services for my friends Jeremy Feratto and Logan Lestat, I didn’t tell anyone that I’d never officiated a memorial service before. I didn’t think it was useful to needlessly undermine anyone’s confidence in my ability to make it work. All Zen services are pretty much the same. The variations between […]
Zen Memorial Services
Here’s what I’m planning to say at the beginning of the memorial service I’ll be leading in honor of my friend Logan Lestat today: What we are about to do here is not a religious service. There will be some bowing and some bell ringing, we’ll be chanting some things, I’m wearing these funny clothes. […]