Patheos Blog » Monkey Mind
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Patheos is the world's leading multi-faith site dedicated to hosting the conversation on faith. This blog is written by James Ford, who is a Zen Buddhist priest and author, which mostly addresses aspects of the Zen life.
Patheos Blog » Monkey Mind
5d ago
I find myself thinking of Origen The German Lutheran church celebrates his life on the 27th of April. Sometimes called the greatest mind of early Christian antiquity, Origen lived between the late second and the middle of the third centuries of our common era. He lived principally in Alexandria. Ordained a priest, he was always ..read more
Patheos Blog » Monkey Mind
1w ago
“Thou art the unanswered question; Couldst see thy proper eye, Alway it asketh, asketh; And each answer is a lie. So take thy quest through nature, It through thousand natures ply; Ask on, thou clothed eternity; Time is the false reply.” – from “The Sphynx,” by Ralph Waldo Emerson It’s not been a full forty-eight ..read more
Patheos Blog » Monkey Mind
1w ago
The 25th of April is celebrated as the feast of the Evangelist Mark, also called St Mark, and John Mark. He is the tradition founder of the see of Alexandria, one of the five central churches of the early Christian communion. Which, of course, makes me think of the Gospel of Mark. When Pier Paolo ..read more
Patheos Blog » Monkey Mind
1w ago
Ram Mohan Roy (also spelled Rammohan Roy) was born in Radhanagar, Bengal, on the 22nd of April, in 1772. A towering intellect, seeker of justice, and religious reformer, Roy deserves to be more widely known outside of India. He is generally credited as coining the term “Hinduism” as an overall term for the family of ..read more
Patheos Blog » Monkey Mind
1w ago
The 21st of April is an interesting day in the Christian calendar. During the Reformation the small town of Pińczów in southern Poland was a hotbed of radical thought. Lots of Calvinsits. But also some rather more daring Christian thinkers as well. The good folk held some twenty-two synods there over the years. On the ..read more
Patheos Blog » Monkey Mind
2w ago
What follows is a Dharma talk delivered by Sensei Edward Sanshin Oberholtzer at the regular Saturday morning gathering of the Empty Moon Zen sangha on the 20th of April, 2024. I’m sure that one of those gateway drugs that nudged me in the direction of Zen practice was a PBS series of Japanese films, introduced ..read more
Patheos Blog » Monkey Mind
2w ago
Swami Vivekananda was a close disciple of the Nineteenth century Hindu saint Ramakrishna. He became one of the founders of the Ramakrishna Order, which today is represented in the West by the Vedanta Society. The swami is justly considered a major spiritual figure on the world stage at the turn of the Nineteenth and Twentieth ..read more
Patheos Blog » Monkey Mind
2w ago
Two things have been burrowing into my heart of late. The first happened with a manuscript I’ve written for an introduction to Zen scheduled to be published next year. A number of my early readers commented on the Christian references in it. One noted straight out that it was “Christian Zen.” The confusion for me ..read more
Patheos Blog » Monkey Mind
2w ago
Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar was born in Mhow, a town on the road between Mumbai and Agra, on the 14th of April, in 1891. The 14th of April is celebrated in India, called Abedkar Jayanti (sometimes Bhim Jayanti) and Equality Day. Known to those who admired him as Babasheb, “Respected Father,” B. R. Ambedkar was ..read more
Patheos Blog » Monkey Mind
3w ago
My friend Richard Kollmar observed that I have an interest in the Inklings and asked if I’d ever read George MacDonald. I had to admit I had not. He encouraged me to give the old Scot a try. He influenced a lot of that band of ..read more