calm so deep
Composed Upon Westminster Bridge, September 3, 1802 Earth has not anything to show more fair: Dull would he be of soul who could pass by A sight so touching in its majesty: This City now doth, like a garment, wear The beauty of the morning; silent, bare, Sh...

live the questions
Among the best advice I ever got was to live the questions, from someone who got it from Rilke. Reading Eight Step Recovery: Using the Buddha's Teachings to Overcome Addiction , I've gotten stuck of the following questions: 1. What does my suffering look li...

Vegan
I passed a test yesterday. I went to an Italian place and didn't get any cheese. Got a veggie wrap. I've decided to be vegan in the new year, a little before that. Of course I have had some slips, but Anandi refocuses me by asking me what my motivation is. ...

Addiction and Buddhism links
I celebrate 90 days clean and sober. Looking for websites for a blog post helps me out to find out what resources there are out there on the web. Of course there is not an app for resisting urges, gaining insight into triggers, and communing with sober frie...

Book awards 2015
Going For Refuge Blog Book awards 2015: 1. Mind in Harmony 2. After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age 3. Nothing Holy about It: The Zen of Being Just Who You Are

Reader response
Finished reading Eight Step Recovery . I enjoyed the integration of Buddhism and recovery. Many interesting thoughts on shame spirals and self pity that I needed to hear/read. Now I'm reading Against the Stream . I laughed at the idea that the ascetics abus...

Obeisance to Manjushri
Obeisance to Manjushri Obeisance to my Guru and Protector Manjushri, Who holds to his heart a scriptural text, symbolic of his seeing all things as they are; Whose intelligence shines forth as the sun, unclouded by delusions or traces of ignorance; Who teac...

Porgy and Bell "I got plenty o' nuttin'"
Oh, I got plenty o' nuttin' And nuttin's plenty for me I got no car, got no mule I got no misery De folks wid plenty o' plenty Got a lock on de door 'Fraid somebody's a-goin' to rob 'em While dey's out a-makin' more What for I got no lock on de door Dat's n...

Overnight Hash Brown Crockpot Casserole
I asked Cori if she was going to blog about this, and she said airily, "I haven't blogged in a while." So I have to sing it to the world. She made another yummy dish. Such a genius.

Festavus Kludge
This photo is what I saw in the Buddhist florist shop near my house. They tossed in a manger scene, because it's a business, and heck, I'll believe anything for a buck. And so the great materialistic holiday begins, where parents give presents to young chil...