Imagining ZCLA
The Zen Center of Los Angeles occupies a special place in the history of American Zen and a very special place in my Zen iconography. It...
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IN THE BARDO
Creations are Numberless
Even before I began to sit regularly, I was attracted by the image of the Bodhisattva, the heroic – to me -- Zen figure who defers his...
Oh, Alice
On the end table in Vinnie’s waiting room, opened, waiting for me was a magazine story about Alice Munro. The evening before, eating a...
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
Oct 6, 20213 min read
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....
49 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Sep 22, 20215 min read
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...
38 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Sep 8, 20214 min read
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...
24 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
May 31, 20214 min read
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...
21 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
May 17, 20215 min read
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,...
7 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Apr 19, 20213 min read
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...
21 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Apr 4, 20214 min read
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...
15 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Mar 22, 20217 min read
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...
10 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
May 25, 20205 min read
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...
11 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
May 5, 20205 min read
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...
3 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
May 2, 20204 min read
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...
9 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Apr 26, 20203 min read
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...
9 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Apr 19, 20208 min read
Twenty Years
Today, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, our schools are flourishing. Master Sekito said, “How will you step forward from the top of a...
4 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Apr 5, 20205 min read
Riding the Wave: Virus Denial
I smile, and then go back to riding my waves of anxiety. Ed and Orly Wiseman recently made a film about our counseling program and how we...
1 view0 comments
Ken Byalin
Feb 3, 20204 min read
Diversity
Diversity increases the richness of a learning environment for students. Value diversity. This is not an act of tolerance- valuing...
3 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Jan 17, 20204 min read
Words Fail: Tactics
The pressure is intensifying on charters in New York State to justify our existence. Nothing is permanent, everything changes. No...
2 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Dec 10, 20194 min read
Words Fail: Strategy
In the event of failure, we will need to consider if the fault lies in the school location rather than the basic design. Maybe an...
2 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Dec 3, 20194 min read
Words Fail: Mission
Ultimately, words always fail. Nothing stays the same. Nothing is forever. Everything changes. One Zen Truth. Another truth? Words are...
2 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
Oct 27, 20194 min read
Motivation
Several years ago, becoming wary that a national teacher shortage was looming, we recognized that our own staff could be our greatest...
1 view0 comments
Ken Byalin
Oct 1, 20194 min read
Delegation
Delegation is perhaps the hardest and most important task for rising leaders to learn. "There are STILL too many meetings. “I’m still not...
3 views0 comments
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