Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Buddhist

2020-03-14T10:37:42-07:00

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.

BODHIDHARMA SIGHED: Zen Comments on the Gateless Gate, Case 41

Last updated on: March 14, 2020 at 10:37 am By James Ford

BODHIDHARMA SIGHED Zen Comments on the Gateless Gate, Case 41 James Ishmael Ford Let me tell you a story. Once upon a time long ago and far away there was a virtuous woman and her husband. Life was good in nearly all ways. They had a lovely home, a farm that produced plenty of food, and even enough extra to sell, giving them opportunities to purchase small luxuries. All was fine. Except they had no children. They... Read more

2020-03-09T14:07:33-07:00

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 Bodhisattva Way and a Robe of Many Colors: Commenting on a Zen Koan

Last updated on: March 9, 2020 at 2:07 pm By James Ford

The Bodhisattva Way and a Robe of Many Colors Commenting on a Zen Koan James Ishmael Ford The Case Yunmen said, “See how vast and wide the world is! Why do you put on your seven-piece robe at the sound of the bell?” Gateless Gate, Case 16 I love this koan. In some ways it reminds me of that anecdote that floats around our Zen communities. It regards an encounter between the respected Korean Zen missionary master Seung... Read more

2020-03-09T13:26:05-07:00

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.

Householder Zen, Priests, and An Experiment Begins in Australia

Last updated on: March 9, 2020 at 1:26 pm By James Ford

On Wednesday last, Jan & I climbed aboard a Virgin Australia plane at LAX and spent the next fourteen hours winging our way to Brisbane, Australia. Perhaps because of health concerns, maybe just the luck of the draw, the flight was light and we were able to find two rows of seats where we could (very uncomfortably) lay ourselves down for a fitful night’s sleep. When we arrived we were picked up by Marie and Barry... Read more

Uncategorized

2020-03-01T12:46:18-08:00

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 BIRTH OF GOD And What It Can Mean for Us

Last updated on: March 1, 2020 at 12:46 pm By James Ford

THE BIRTH OF GOD And What It Can Mean for Us James Ishmael Ford As you may know I am now teaching a class in the Buddhist chaplaincy program at the University of the West. It has been an amazing experience. It has also pushed me in a lot of areas. Not least, the fact that of the thirteen people in the class, five are Buddhist monastics. Three are nuns from China. Another is a nun from Korea.... Read more

2020-02-29T13:28:27-08:00

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.

Xizhong and his Magical Cart: Comments on a Zen Koan

Last updated on: February 29, 2020 at 1:28 pm By James Ford

Xizhong and his Magical Cart James Ishmael Ford The master of the intimate way Yuean Shanguo said to a student of the way, “Xizhong, who invented the wheel, made a hundred carts.” Then the master asked, “If you take off the wheels, the axel, and the rest of it, what would be vividly apparent?” Gateless Gate, Case 8 Yuean was a teacher in the Linji linage, a dharma ancestor of Wumen who compiled the Gateless Gate. As with... Read more

2020-02-25T09:10:37-08:00

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.

Zen & the Establishment of cultures of awakening

Last updated on: February 25, 2020 at 9:10 am By James Ford

Zen and the establishment of cultures of awakening A few preliminary thoughts James Ishmael Ford A Zen priest, a dear friend, and in my opinion one of the signal teachers of our time and place, recently cited Keizan Jokin’s Denkoruku (in William Bodiford’s translation): “This is not a matter of acting as a good friend, vainly gathering a congregation, and nurturing people. Simply make people penetrate the root source directly, and try to make them quickly accede to their... Read more

2020-02-23T14:01:41-08:00

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.

ZEN & THE WEST: Nearly Random Thoughts on Clerical Marriage in Buddhism, Women teaching, and the Rise of Householder Zen

Last updated on: February 23, 2020 at 2:01 pm By James Ford

ZEN & THE WEST Nearly Random Thoughts on Clerical Marriage in Buddhism, Women teaching, and the Rise of Householder Zen James Ishmael Ford Recently I had the opportunity to attend a panel discussion on Buddhist clerical marriage in Japan, Korea, and the West. The panelists included the Reverend Dr Hwansoo Kim, Taego order priest and professor at Yale University, Dr Richard Jaffe, long-time dharma practitioner in the lineage of Shunryu Suzuki and professor at Duke University, and Dr Ann Gleig,... Read more

2020-02-19T09:37:09-08:00

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.

VOTING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE IN MIND: A Citizen’s Guide

Last updated on: February 19, 2020 at 9:37 am By James Ford

VOTING WITH CLIMATE CHANGE IN MIND A Citizen’s Guide Tom Bowman (My old friend Tom Bowman, a Zen person as well as a climate activist posted his research into the views about engaging climate change among the current candidates for the presidency of the United States. He did it as a series of posts to Facebook. I asked if I could reprint it all together here at my blog. He kindly agreed.) Those of us in the climate chance communications... Read more

2020-02-17T12:57:02-08:00

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.

Giordano Bruno is Burned at the Stake

Last updated on: February 17, 2020 at 12:57 pm By James Ford

On this day, the 17th of February, in 1600 Giordano Bruno, former friar, amazing thinker, difficult personality, and arguably the “first” martyr to science was burned alive at the stake. Apparently on his way to the stake they drove a spike through his tongue to stop him from talking. I am fascinated by the range of people who admire him, from as Puala Findlen notes in her essay A Hungry Mind, main stream scientists ranging from “Ernst Haeckel... Read more

Uncategorized

Giordano Bruno

2020-02-16T07:59:56-08:00

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.

MANY LOVES A Small Reflection on the Spiritual Life

Last updated on: February 16, 2020 at 7:59 am By James Ford

MANY LOVES A Small Reflection on the Spiritual Life James Ishmael Ford Today I want to talk of love as the many splendored thing that it is. Frankly, love is a subject one should return to regularly in a church, don’t you think? And we’re still quite close to Valentine’s Day. I’d bet some of us still have Valentine’s chocolates uneaten at home. Well, maybe. So, while still in the general area of that peculiar holiday, let’s... Read more

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "Genesis" mean?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Law Poetry Origin or Beginning Wisdom

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category A Christmas Carol Abolitionist African-American Ahmadiyya Alan Watts Aldous Huxley Allen Ginsberg Amedkar Jayanti American politics American Zen Anaheim Zen Sangha Anglican Annie Besant April Fool Armageddon Art and Religion artificial intellegence Atheist Awakening B R Ambedkar Barlaam & Josaphat Beatnik Between Bhagavad Gita Bible biography birthday bodhisattva Bodhisattva Precepts Book burning Book of Common Prayer Book of Mormon Brahmo Samaj Buddha Buddhism Buddhist Buddhist Lord's Prayer Butterflies Calendars cartoons cat ChatGPT Chicken Tortilla Soup choices Christian atheism Christian mysticism Christian origins Christian Science Christian Zen Christianity Christianity and Buddhism christmas Christmas Truce Christopher Isherwood Church of Later Day Saints Cinco de Mayo circus covenant critical thinking culture D. T. Suzuki Dalit Buddhism Daniel Defoe Desert Fathers and Mothers dharma talk Dogen Donald Trump Dongshan's Five Ranks Dorothy Day dream Duty Easter ecology Edwin Arnold emptiness Empty Moon Zen Network Episcopal Church Eternal Now Ethics evolution existentialism Faith fantasy Fathers Day film film review fire Five Ranks Folk music food Form and emptiness Four Seals Francis of Assisi Francis Xavier Free thinker friendship George MacDonald Gerald Heard Glenn Taylor Webb God Good Friday Gospel of Gospel of Mark Gospel of Thomas grace Graduate Theological Unioin Graduate Theological Union Guanyin H R Blyth Hakuin Ekaku Hanamatsuri Hanukkah Harada Yasutani Zen Heart Sutra Henry David Thoreau Hermann Hesse Hinduism History and Religion history of religion Holy Spirit home Hospitality Icon Ides of March Isaac Newton Islam Islamic mysticism Jack Kerouac James Luther Adams Jiddu Krishnamurti Joan of Arc Johannes Gutenberg John Donne joke Judaism justice karma kensho King James Bible koan Koun Yamada Kyoto School Lewis Carrol Liberal Christianity Liberal Religion Life Plan Community Liminal literature Literature and Religion Liturgy Lord's Prayer Love Mahatma Gandhi Mahayana Martin Luther King Jr Mary Baker Eddy Mary Magdelene Mary Oliver Mayflower Compact Meditation memories memory metaphor money money and religioin Mormons Mother's Day movie review mysticism mythic Neighborhood Unitarian Universalist Church New Thought Nichiren Buddhism Nonduality not knowing Omar Khayyam Pacific School of Religion pagan Palm Sunday Passover peace Pentecost perennialism Phantastes Philip Kapleau philosophy Pilgrimage poetry Poetry and Religion politics Prayer Precepts Printing Press prophecy prophetic spirituality psychology Pure Land Queer religion queering religion Quietism Ram Mohan Roy rebirth recipe Relationships and religion religion religion and history Religious syncretism Resistance Retirement Retreat review Rissho Kosei Kai Ritual Robert Aitken Roshi Robert Ingersoll Rohatsu Romani religion Rosie the Riveter saints samadhi SanboZen Sangha Satyagraha science science and reigion science and religion science fiction seminary sermon Sesshin Sex and Religion Shinran Sikh Sikh tradition silence Social Justice Socially Engaged Buddhism Society and religion Soto Zen soul spiritual community spiritual practice Spirituality Sufism Suicide superstition Taoism Television Teresa of Avila Thanksgiving theological schools Theosophy Thomas Merton Time Transcendentalism Transcendentalist Trinitarian Trinity Uncategorized unitarian Unitarian Christianity Unitarian Universalist Universalism Vajrayana Vedanta Walking war Willa Cather William Ellery Channing wisdom women and religion women in religion World Teacher Writing zazen Zen Zen Center Zen inspired retriement zen meditation Zen Precepts Zen women

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 August 2025 July 2025 June 2025 May 2025 April 2025 March 2025 February 2025 January 2025 December 2024 November 2024 October 2024 September 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 November 2023 October 2023 September 2023 August 2023 July 2023 June 2023 May 2023 April 2023 March 2023 February 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 January 2022 December 2021 November 2021 October 2021 September 2021 August 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 March 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006

TRENDING AT PATHEOS Buddhist