Good morning. So the title of this dharma talk is actually a quote from Rainer Maria Rilke: “Is not impermanence the very fragrance of our days?” I love this quote because it reminds me that our impermanence is what gives life meaning. The fleeting, unknowable, ephemeral, impermanent nature of being alive can bring heartbreak and…
Tag: Way of oneness buddhism
Smokey the Bear Sutra
Here is the sutra written by Gary Snyder from Dec 1st Dharma Talk. A link to the Dharma talk is at the bottom. The Sutra Once in the Jurassic about 150 million years ago, the Great Sun Buddha in this corner of the Infinite Void gave a discourse to all the assembled elements and energies:…
Haiku as Awareness Practice.
I would like to talk about Kobayashi Issa and Haiku, well technically senryu as practice. Haiku’s focus us usually nature and senryu is like haiku but the focus is primarily on human nature and emotion. For today, when I say haiku I mean both haiku and senryu. So who is this Issa fellow. He…
Kwan Yin Goddess of Compassion
Here is something I wrote for the “blessing of the hands” event that is held each year at the University of Utah Hospital. Traditions from all over the valley come together to give spiritual support for all of the hospital caretakers, from janitorial staff, to surgeons. The blessing of the hands is returning after a…
A Bejeweled Life
Dharma Talk – Aesha Drozdowski Last week, my employer initiated a webinar series inviting all colleagues to participate. The topics will vary but will center around how we can support one another as we recover from several waves of the pandemic. The first topic was “Caring for Each Other: Managing Moral Distress”. It provided an…
The Grace of Oneness
Z “ This realization of oneness involves the highest type of communication and respect. IF your life is realized in this sense…you would see that the whole world supports you. You exist because others; everything supports your life. This totality, this oneness evokes a gratitude and a great joy beyond explanation.” Gyomay Kubose We live…
in the company of good people
I would like to start with this line from the Shorter Sukavati Sutra on why it is a good idea to cultivate a heartfelt desire to be born in Amitabha’s pure Buddha field. This Buddha field is an auspicious place where humans and Bodhisattva intermingle. The Buddha says it is good to aspire to be…
Meaningless Meaning
“ A reporter from a local newspaper came to our house to interview my wife about the Japanese tea ceremony. This report continually asked, “What is the meaning? What for? Why do you do that? What is the purposes for that?” This kind of question was directed at everything in the making tea – at…
The Bowing Bodhisattva
One of my favorite parts of the Lotus Sutra is the story of Bodhisattva Never Disparaging. This Bodhisattva was said to have lived in the mythic past and he did not devote his time to reading or reciting the scriptures, but simply went about bowing to people, bowing in reverence to everyone he met…
We are all Refugees.
Lately the world seems on fire, with mass shootings, mass migrations and terrorist attacks. People are more polarized of late, cultural shifts, deep old wounds are festering and all of these are changing the landscape, the earth seems to be moving under their feet and many are taking refuge in nationalism, bigotry and fear. The…
Everyday Nembutsu 