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IN THE BARDO
To Tell the Truth
How do you tell the truth? How do I tell the truth? I’ve been working on this question a long time. Francine Prose quotes Hemingway’s...
Birthdays
It bothers me that I still can’t remember my mom’s birthdate. I don’t have any childhood memories of her birthdays. What I remember from...
Going Gray
Two years ago, filling out my passport renewal application, likely for the last time, I stumbled on my height. I’ve been getting shorter...
Oh, Dirk.
In Zen funerals, we talk directly to the departed. I am at a loss for words. I am hoping that words will come. I am picturing you....
Bringing to the Societal Table Those Who Have Been Excluded
This has been the expression of my vow since I found the words in Bernie’s Instructions to the Cook. “Bringing to the societal table...
Visionary Leadership
This has to be the Zen practice. I love the story of the Golden City which the Buddha tells in the Lotus Sutra. It has inspired me. It is...
Magic
Catching the magic is sometimes not so easy. Stumbling into the magic of success is not something to be taken for granted. It has always...
What is Social Action?
The selflessness of social action is not self-neglect just as self-care is not self-neglect. There are four phrases that come to mind,...
No.
What is my “No!” When do I shout it? Do I really shout? “No!” Jesse and Theresa Peterford first met at ICS. Theresa, star teacher, chief...
Infinite Onion
Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to transform them. When I was doing koan practice with Jishu, very briefly in the last year of her...
Infinite Circle
We were serving special needs students at double the district rate. As we have built our schools, I have been guided by, anchored in an...
Mother's Day 2020
Zen’s relationship to mothers has always seemed a bit strange. Mother’s Day, 2020 is also the twenty-fifth anniversary of Maezumi Roshi’s...
Zen Budgeting Through the COVID-19 Pandemic
No one likes budget cuts. They are always painful. This was shaping up to be our most painful budget. Business people say when they are...
The Zen of Budgeting
Coming Soon, a case study in Zen Budgeting: Budgeting through the Covid-19 Pandemic. I am too grandmotherly. The Gateless Gate is the...
Oh, Richard
At a Zen funeral, we talk directly to the person who has left us. Oh, Richard, thinking of you, I smile. We had so much more to do. So...
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Ken Byalin
Apr 19, 20244 min read
Bodhidharma and the Emperor
I keep coming back to Bodhidharma and the emperor, to the experience of the endlessness of koan study. Deeper and deeper and deeper...
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Ken Byalin
Apr 18, 20244 min read
The Promised Land
I largely avoid the news. When I think about it, I feel guilty. I think I should be embodying Avalokitesvara Bodhisattva (Guanyin in...
43 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Apr 6, 20244 min read
A la King
In my 20’s, I was cooking for the first time, and one of my favorite dishes was Chicken a la King. I had memories of it from my childhood...
29 views1 comment
Ken Byalin
Apr 4, 20246 min read
Mr. Angiogram
Our practice goes on and on. It sounds so simple. We should be able to get to the end, but things are not so easy. We find our...
45 views1 comment
Ken Byalin
Mar 27, 20247 min read
Jack Goldberg
Lineage is important in Zen. It’s one of the things that makes Zen Zen: Direct transmission of authority to teach and transmit the...
19 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Mar 23, 20244 min read
Joan
I have my stories which I have been telling about Joan forever. Joan is my good ex-wife. We got married when we were way too young,...
40 views1 comment
Ken Byalin
Mar 20, 20245 min read
Go Deeper
On March 20, 1998, my heart teacher, Roshi Jishu Holmes died suddenly in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I have told this story often, of...
23 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Mar 6, 20243 min read
The Supreme Meal: Group Koan Study
I am offering another class series for Zen Peacemakers, seven sessions of koan study working withThe Bernie Koans. Teaching Zen for me is...
41 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Mar 6, 20245 min read
Bill Headley
Bill Headley and I were friends in graduate school in sociology at NYU in the early 70’s. Bill gave me two of my favorite stories. We...
29 views1 comment
Ken Byalin
Feb 28, 20245 min read
Huike’s Dream
One of the more horrifying Zen stories is the backstory to Huike’s enlightenment experience. Maybe it’s the most horrifying mutilation...
20 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Feb 22, 20246 min read
Are You a Writer?
“Are you a writer?” “How do you know?” Actually, no one asks me if I’m a writer, but it’s a question I ask myself every time I think of...
30 views1 comment
Ken Byalin
Feb 12, 20245 min read
Are You a Zen Teacher?
People ask me, “Are you a Zen teacher?” “How do you know?” It looks like a familiar question but it’s not. It’s easy to say how I know...
36 views1 comment
Ken Byalin
Feb 5, 20245 min read
The Shadow Side of Not Knowing
I am scheduled for an angiogram, and it has been turning out to be a great teacher. Kind of reminded me of Bernie, pulling the rug out...
42 views1 comment
Ken Byalin
Jan 27, 20244 min read
Remembering Dick Kuhn
As we were about to leave for Antigua earlier this month, word came: Dick Kuhn had died. Dick was an early mentor. I met him in the very...
15 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Jan 23, 20245 min read
Remembering Thay
Like many of my anti-Viet Nam war generation, I was introduced to the idea of mindfulness by Thich Nhat Hanh. I never met him, not sure...
23 views1 comment
Ken Byalin
Jan 2, 20245 min read
Sand Painting
Since last summer, I have led a Zoom discussion with members of the Zen Peacemakers about Bernie’s book, Instructions to the Cook, eight...
19 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Dec 27, 20236 min read
Teaching Mala Practice
Since Bernie introduced me to mala practice more than 25 years ago, I’ve been trying to get others to try it. It turned out that selling...
30 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Dec 24, 20238 min read
Patriarchy Denial
I began work on this blog when I saw a flurry of White Plum emails about lineage charts. But even without too much attention, I could...
27 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Dec 17, 20235 min read
My Inner Philosopher
Last week, I was facing my shelves of philosophers, thinking about downsizing, and not ready to let them go. This week, I wrote a draft...
18 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Dec 17, 20237 min read
Downsizing
Before I forget. As I’m sure you’re aware, we’re coming down to the end of the year. Some of you may already be thinking about taxes....
43 views0 comments
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