often, we associate buddhism with kindness, gentleness, compassion. but buddhism is about the whole human experience. manjushri is the bodhisattva who engenders the human experience of fierceness and determination. here is an excerpt about him from a blog on e-sangha. (a bodhisattva is an enlightened being who has vowed not to enter nirvana until all… Continue reading manjushri – fierce buddhism
Month: February 2006
booze and writing
i’m in the middle of reading parched, by heather king, about her 20-year stint as an alcoholic. what i find interesting is the disconnect between her tight and truly “witty and entertaining” (publishers weekly) language on the one hand and on the other hand a storyline that now, that i’m at page 149, is still… Continue reading booze and writing
philosophy, passion and thresholds
Be still when you have nothing to say; when genuine passion moves you, say what you’ve got to say, and say it hot. … says good old d.h. lawrence. i have a passion for philosophy. the word “passion” is quite useful here, and it’s the type of passion that makes me think of the covers… Continue reading philosophy, passion and thresholds
happy happy happy
hello! i’ve had a few days that were definitely on the blah and dudsy side. then along comes my friend ken walker, the happiness guy, with his new web site! thanks, ken. i love the way you sit on top of the world, so to say. check it out here, guys! so i figured, are… Continue reading happy happy happy
peace – with and without caricatures
i just received an email from a friend of mine in germany about the arab caricatures that were posted in the danish newspaper jyllands-posten back in the fall. apparently, the german-speaking web site www.hagalil.com, which is mostly about antisemitism, was completely destroyed by someone – supposedly from qatar – who didn’t like that hagalil had… Continue reading peace – with and without caricatures
take what you like and leave the rest
“take what you want and leave the rest.” originally, this saying comes from 12-step programs, although i’m sure that many people have said this or something similar waaaay before AA got started. btw, this saying does not appear in the “bible” of 12 step programs, the “big book“. i have always been intrigued by the… Continue reading take what you like and leave the rest
brokeback mountain
yesterday mindemoya and i finally went to see brokeback mountain. of course, it’s been absolutely impossible not to hear about the movie, and of course everyone thinks it’s great. so my expectations were positive but a bit on the lukewarm side. it seemed that i was supposed to like it, which doesn’t really incline me… Continue reading brokeback mountain
poetry therapy pt 2 and the removal of blinders
yesterday i said i was going to talk more about playing with the poetry therapy process. the poem about my grandfather happened following a prompt in the national association for poetry therapy newsletter which went like this Choose one of your grandparents and write a poem honoring how you were influenced by this relative, living… Continue reading poetry therapy pt 2 and the removal of blinders