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2023-12-14T13:59:54-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Faith, Doubt, and Energy in Zen

Last updated on: December 14, 2023 at 1:59 pm By James Ford

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“The ancients spoke of three essential conditions for Zen practice: First: Great faith; second: great doubt; third: great determination. These are like the three legs of a tripod.” Koun Yamada[1] Preliminary notes for a larger meditation When I first started Zen practice in the late 1960s there weren’t a lot of books about Zen readily available. Alan Watts’s wildly popular Way of Zen was published in 1957. It made the somewhat more abstract work of... Read more

History and Religion

2023-12-07T21:28:30-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Literalism and Dreams in Religion: Thinking of Saint Nicholas and the Coming of Christmas

Last updated on: December 7, 2023 at 9:28 pm By James Ford

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December 6th is the feast of Saint Nicholas. Somehow there’s a line drawn from this figure, a 4th century bishop of Myra, which is in Asia Minor, specifically, Turkey, and our elf Santa Claus. Precious little is known of the actual Nicholas. Well, we know he was a bishop. And he was a controversialist in a historically fraught time for the Christian church. At what we know as the Council of Nicaea, which was held... Read more

History and Religion

literalism in religion

myth

spiritual but not religious

2023-12-04T19:28:28-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

The First Encounter Between a Jesuit and a Zen Master

Last updated on: December 4, 2023 at 7:28 pm By James Ford

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The 3rd of December has been declared a feast or saint’s day for Francis Xavier. He was one of the first Jesuits. And eventually a Catholic missionary to Japan. While fervently hostile to nonChristian religions, and with that, if indirectly, there’s some blood on his hands. I also believe he is also the first Westerner to write a moderately accurate report of Zen in a European language. Which I find endlessly fascinating. Born in... Read more

History and Religion

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2023-11-28T07:19:14-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

When the Buddha Became a Christian Saint

Last updated on: November 28, 2023 at 7:19 am By James Ford

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It’s November 27th! And with that, once again, the blessings of the saints Barlaam & Josaphat are upon us! This is flat out my favorite of all Christian holidays. And I like to remind people of the details of this original Christian Buddhist mashup. So, please forgive the repetition parts of this small sharing. It’s just that its all so cool… In the liturgical calendar of the Roman Catholic church as well as for those of... Read more

History and Religion

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Golden Legend

2023-11-27T19:10:55-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Brief History of Zen Buddhism Come West

Last updated on: November 27, 2023 at 7:10 pm By James Ford

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“Ordinary people and saints living together. Dragons and snakes all mixed up.” Blue Cliff Record From one angle Zen did proceed from the brow of Zeus. Like Athena, a goddess of intelligence and wisdom. It is here. This is it. Fully present. It has always been. What you see is what you get. And it is ready to be engaged. From another angle Zen has a history. And a recent part of that history... Read more

History and Religion

Buddhism

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history of Zen in America

Zen

2023-11-25T10:57:45-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Zen Meditation on our American Thanksgiving

Last updated on: November 25, 2023 at 10:57 am By James Ford

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Our American Thanksgiving has just passed. While it’s set for the third Thursday of November, I’ve noticed many people move the date around for their personal or family observances. I personally know some people who marked it out on Wednesday, and we here in Tujunga actually had our grand family gathering yesterday, Friday. I’m fascinated with Thanksgiving as a semi-secular semi-well-something else holiday. It combines a lot of things. I do like digging around for the... Read more

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History and Religion

2023-11-24T12:17:45-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Keiji Nishitani and Zen: A Brief Reflection

Last updated on: November 24, 2023 at 12:17 pm By James Ford

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Keiji Nishitani died on this day, the 24th of November, in 1990. I noted this a few years ago. And thought it good to repeat. What follows is lightly edited from that earlier posting. If you’re unfamiliar with Professor Nishitani, and you are interested at all in Zen, I suggest you may want to learn more. He was one of the principal figures in the establishment of the Kyoto School, which the Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy,... Read more

2023-11-22T14:04:42-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A New Soto Zen Association for North America

Last updated on: November 22, 2023 at 2:04 pm By James Ford

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An old friend just announced on his Facebook page the formation of the Soto Zen North America project. Now the posting on social media was quickly taken down. So, it might have been a bit premature. But the website remains. So… As it happens this past year following an extended period of discernment I resigned my membership in the Soto Zen Buddhist Association, which exists as an attempt to create an association for... Read more

History and Religion

Soto Zen Buddhist Association

Soto Zen North America

Zen

Zen in North America

2023-11-21T09:02:23-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

A Faithful Skeptic: Margaret Fuller’s Transcendentalist “Credo”

Last updated on: November 21, 2023 at 9:02 am By James Ford

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In 1842 Margaret Fuller sent her mentor the Reverend William Ellery Channing a letter. It was “A Credo,” her attempt to formulate her faith. It was published posthumously together with other writings as Memoirs in 1852, by her friends and admirers Ralph Waldo Emerson, W. H. Channing, and J. F. Clark. Memoirs came out ten years after she composed her credo and two years after her tragic death along with... Read more

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2023-11-19T08:44:08-08:00

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Guidelines for Seated Meditation: A Traditional Zen Text

Last updated on: November 19, 2023 at 8:44 am By James Ford

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One who embarks on the path of awakening aspiring to master Wisdom is a Bodhisattva motivated by Great Compassion, taking the Great Vows to save all beings with the cultivation of Samadhi, and not seeking Liberation for one’s own sake alone. Zhanglu Zongze There are three critical meditation manuals within the Zen tradition. The first was composed sometime at the beginning of the twelfth century. The other two were composed in the first half of the thirteenth. We... Read more

History and Religion

Guidelines for Seated Meditation

Zen meditation

Zhanglu Zongze

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