Numinous Nonsense

Father Thomas Keating on Oneness & Change

There’s no way to grasp what is always happening, because as soon as you do you’re unable to open your hand fast enough to receive the next gift of god. So, how to grasp something with your hands always open, this is the paradox of prayer. - Father Thomas Keating An amazing video where Father [...]

Continue reading...

Two Takes on Enlightenment

[I've been having a fun back-and-forth with a dharma friend on what seem to be two different takes on enlightenment. One is the more traditional Theravada model where the defilements (kilesas) are destroyed upon full enlightenment, which is call arhantship in that tradition. The other model is that the sense of a separate [...]

Continue reading...

The Power of Real Sangha

While I was on retreat recently, one of the teachers reflected back to me how important the three Buddhist refuges are: refuge in the Buddha, Dharma, and Sangha. She mentioned that the sangha wasn’t just everyone that I practiced with, but was really those people who knew something about the path or who [...]

Continue reading...

Rationalizing Awakening Away

A phenomenal quote from Jack Engler’s article, Practicing for Awakening: Instead of practicing for awakening as a real possibility, we hold enlightenment up as a remarkable and rare attainment, the highest ideal of the spiritual life. But enlightenment doesn’t work as an ideal. As an ideal for a few, it distances us and discourages [...]

Continue reading...

The Hyperbolic Time Chamber of Enlightenment

When I was growing up one of my favorite programs was a Japanese anime called Dragon Ball Z. Each day after school a friend and I would go and watch the saga of warriors who were fighting to save earth, to transcend to higher and higher states of perfection. For those of you [...]

Continue reading...

Zen and the Arts - A Conversation with John Daido Loori

I saw that John Daido Loori, Roshi was going to be teaching a weekend retreat at Naropa, a few months back. I’m always on the lookout for interesting Buddhist teachers who are coming through town, so that we can invite them to be on Buddhist Geeks. Fortunately Daido Roshi & his organization were [...]

Continue reading...