by Tamu Hoyo Sensei, My eldest son and I volunteered at the community Organic Garden that one of my local friends championed. We were there to pluck up the thick over growth and prepare a neglected plot for future use. Afterwards we stopped by the grocery store to fill up on reverse osmosis water and…
Tag: life lessons
The Buddha Has no Voice
by Levi Shinyo Sensei, I’m an avid reader, both fiction or nonfiction. And ever since I was young I’ve had an enormous imagination, one which I’ve been lucky enough to retain in part as I’ve aged. Ever since I was able to read by myself I’ve been able to create vivid movies and scenes in…
invisible cemetery
by Michelle Jouyo Sensei My husband and I love to hike. It is one of our favorite activities, and we enjoy finding new places to explore. Several years ago, we decided to go hiking at a trail called Rock Springs Run inside Park. As we were hiking, we came out of a pine hammock…
Peaceful Heart
by Richard Doyo The Peaceful heart…what is so hard about this? Daily, moment to moment we go about killing one another with words, apathy, bullets of course, hurtful thoughts, and the list could on and on. If something, is so good, why is it so difficult to reach? As Buddhist, we must set the example…
Ignorance and Greed
by Morris Seiyo Sensei In the essay, “A Stone,” in Rev. Koyo Kubose’s Everyday Suchness, there is this passage: A wise and alert person is not deceived. Those who are gullible or greedy are easily deceived. When I read this passage, it reminded me of a teaching I once accidentally received as a result of…
Everything connects us to other things
Noah Ma-yo Sensei I’ve been developing a daily routine with my kids as I strive to teach them mindfulness and Buddhist principles. In the past several weeks we’ve been focusing on meditation and learning to sit quietly before going to bed. My 3-year-old can now sit for 60 seconds at a time and she’s so…
Sacred Space
by Shirleen Soyo What makes a space sacred? Religious use? Blessings? Dedication? Perhaps it’s just a flip of a mind switch. The words about sacred space in Chögyam Trungpa’s Shambala this week spoke to me. I thought, “What if every space was sacred? Home? Everywhere would be filled with peace, unconditional love, and fun. Causes and conditions this past week allowed…
The Chickadee Path
by Renee Seiyo “I see one on the branch. He sees me. He’ll come.” I said in a whisper with arms outstretched, palms up, and holding several sunflower seeds for the chickadees. That is the scene on the chickadee path. Everyone who walks this path knows this is the posture we take to have a chickadee land…
Compassion & Goodwill
by Dawn Chiyo Sensei. “If you see the Buddha on the road, don’t kill him…give him dry socks.” I went out this week to get some used bowls at Goodwill. Standing in front of me was a man who was buying a coat and some socks. He stood out because his hair and clothes were…
Common Purple Lilacs
That one spring day when I smelled the sweet fragrance of the common purple lilac,* I became aware of myself in the world and the environment. Before that moment, I have only fuzzy fragments of memories—nursery class at the internment camp at Rohwer, Arkansas; Obon dance music; shaved ice; early morning breakfast in the mess…
A Bright Dawn 