Matt Hass, Anne Fine, me, Alan Richardson, Rich Stretifeld and Ty Burr photo by Corwyn Miyagishima I'm still enjoying the glow of our recent precepts ceremony (jukai) last Saturday. We were able to celebrate at the Temple in person, and also on Zoom. Dharma Holder Michael Herzog was away in Florida celebrating Mother's Day with his mom, and David Roshi was recovering from a cold, so they both joined us in the zoom zendo. Along with the 40 folks in person, we had another 40 online, including a number of surprise guests, invited by some of the initiates: my own teacher James Ford Rosh ..read more

 I've recently become enchanted with a song that wasn't familiar to me, but that now is a favorite.  It's by Warren Zevon, and it was written a few years before he died in 2003, too young  I only knew his work through the delightful song "Werewolves of London" and it turns out that delight was a habit for Zevon, who was eccentric and plain speaking.  "Don't Let Us Get Sick" is from an album called "Life'll Kill Ya." David and I heard the song on an episode of "Resident Alien" -- yet another source of delight -- a tv comedy about an alien who takes on the form of a human ..read more

 In February we had a wonderful sesshin, in person at Boundless Way Zen Temple, and on Zoom.  Although I am writing now in the spring, I recall this deep experience with wonder.  I feel so lucky to be a part of this sangha ..read more

Younger me  For the past few years, I haven't been posting to this blog, except for photos and brief comments from our Zen sesshins (retreats) at Boundless Way Zen Temple.  I realized the other day that it would be a good idea to start writing again.   I recently turned 70, and my accumulated years have given me a new perspective, not only about myself, but about the world. So much pain in the world, and in my own life, seems to come from making divisions and holding tightly to opposing views.   A few weeks ago I accidentally encountered a former colleag ..read more

Teachers and Initiates    Madhu and me Last weekend, six Boundless Way Zen Temple students received the 16 Bodhisattva precepts from the four transmitted teachers.  David Rōshi and I spent some quality time finding appropriate names that both describe the current quality of the student's practice and hopes for the future -- aspiration names, which we wrote on the backs of the rakusus that were sewed by the students themselves.  Dharma Holders Alan and Michael also helped with coming up with ideas for names and signing and stamping.    Above are s ..read more

 November 2023 sesshin  January 2024 sesshin Since I last wrote in this blog, Boundless Way Zen Temple has hosted three sesshins, in November and December, 2023 and in January 2024.  All three were wonderful in their own ways, as usual.  November and January were entirely on Zoom, which continues to be a platform for deep practice in two dimensions.  Our December sesshin was in person at the Temple, and for the first time since the pandemic began, we suspended our requirement for negative covid tests before arrival.  Sadly, we couldn't have ..read more

I had the great good fortune to be interviewed by Dr. Kasim Al-Mashat, a Canadian mindfulness teacher.  We enjoyed each other's company, and hopefully some of that comes through in this conversation, available on Youtube. The Mindset That Steals Your Joy    May you find joy in the nidst of the darkness and sorrow of this burning world ..read more

Hospital for Hearts Broken Open August Sesshin Kindness and Compassion October Sesshin   ..read more

My dear friend Dosho Port, Rōshi found the following text in his garage -- an unpublished manuscript probably given to him by his first teacher Maezumi Rōshi -- a collection of translations of Hakuin Zenji's Song of Zazen, the first Zen text I fell in love with myself. It's from Nyogen Senzaki (1876-1958) a great Japanese Zen teacher who was one of the pioneers in bringing Zen to the United States in the last century.  Dosho Rōshi writes on his blog that it's not really a translation, but more of a paraphrase.  I find it inspiring and beautiful.   Here it is: Fr ..read more

  This past weekend we completed our June sesshin, all online on Zoom, and lasting from Friday night to Sunday mid-day, our shortest sesshin of the eleven we offer each year.  This gave a few people who were completely new to sesshin an opportunity to taste the flavor of Zen in the form of intensive practice.  In addition, many of our long-time practitioners got refreshed through practicing together.  Time seemed to be no obstacle, and also no matter. Despite the brevity of our time together, the sesshin sangha, under the leadership of our tanto Rev. Corwyn Miyagishima, an ..read more