Busted

In November I noticed that my blog template seems to have spontaneously collapsed. I have no idea what happened. It's worked for nearly 3 years. I don't know how to fix it, short of reloading the entire template-- a huge job. If anyone knows how to repair it please let me know. If you're new to my blog, I assure you that it doesn't look anything like this squished mess. It's supposed to look like this!

What We Want

9/11: Real Homeland Security

In the media today there was a lot of talk about how much we've learned since 9/11. All of it is about our "security." It seems we missed the point.

If we help feed, clothe and care for countries in need without expecting anything in return, I think that would be the end of terrorism.

If we persist in propping up dictators and maintaining troops against the will of the people, then terrorist acts against us are a given.

If we continue to use food as a weapon of coercion by creating embargoes, then we shouldn't be surprised that terrorism thrives.

We aren't at the mercy of the meanies out there. What did we do (or fail to do) to allow a bin Laden to develop? That's the question.

As a nation we had a great opportunity to talk about that question. We chose instead to funnel our pain into hatred and go to war. Twice.

I pray that those of us who believe in peace will speak up again and take back the reins.

No More War. Food Not Bombs.

9/11 Morning Prayers

May all those who were killed on 9/11 have an auspicious rebirth. May they benefit beings wherever they are.

May all those who survived 9/11 be cleansed of their fear & sorrow. May they dedicate their lives to benefiting others.

May those who celebrated the killings on 9/11 be cleansed of their anger & and feel remorse. May they think only of benefiting others.

May our nation "Never Forget" that all nations have experienced sorrow equal to ours at some time in their history.

May people of all faiths unite to bring an era of harmony, respect, acceptance & loving-kindness to our nation.

For Every Stupid There Is A Season

It's been a long time since I did something overtly stupid. I don't mean things that turn out to be stupid. I do those on a regular basis. I mean something that--given 10 seconds of thought ahead of time-- you'd never even think of doing. When I was about 5 I cut off most of the middle of one eyebrow. Like that.

Today I did something just as stupid.

I put artichoke leaves down the garbage disposal. Now that is just nuts. I know you can't do that. If you can't chew it you can't stick it down the disposal. I had a very quick inner conversation about it that went something like, "I wonder if I can put these down the disposal. Hmm, I don't remember doing it before, but I bet I can. The garbage disposal can take it. Here we go!"

And there they went. All at once, mind you. Because it was just that stupid. As it churned and gagged, I said out loud to the disposal, "Oh come on, you can take it!" I don't know why, but for some reason I turned into a high school football coach and started barking orders at the thing. When the water started backing up into the sink I knew that--despite my excellent coaching advice-- the disposal actually couldn't take it.

I spent the next 30 minutes jamming my hand in the drain and digging out artichoke fibers. I still don't know if I got it all out. Water isn't backing up any more but you know, it sounds a little funny. Incredibly, part of me wants to put something else down there to see if it's working.

Mostly, I'm wondering how many calories I expended with all that. Certainly I must have blown through the 50 or so calories I consumed by eating the crummy artichoke. That bathroom scale better have something good to say about it tomorrow or it might wind up in the disposal, too. The disposal can take it, I'm sure.

"Why the Buddha Touched the Earth"

This is a great article from The Huffington Post. A must-read. Here's the original link from Huff-Po if you wish to read it there.

Why the Buddha Touched the Earth

by John Stanley and David Loy

"The entire cosmos is a cooperative. The sun, the moon, and the stars live together as a cooperative. The same is true for humans and animals, trees, and the Earth. When we realize that the world is a mutual, interdependent, cooperative enterprise -- then we can build a noble environment. If our lives are not based on this truth, then we shall perish." --Buddhadasa Bhikkhu

"The term 'engaged Buddhism' was created to restore the true meaning of Buddhism. Engaged Buddhism is simply Buddhism applied in our daily lives. If it's not engaged, it can't be called Buddhism. Buddhist practice takes place not only in monasteries, meditation halls and Buddhist institutes, but in whatever situation we find ourselves. Engaged Buddhism means the activities of daily life combined with the practice of mindfulness. --Thich Nhat Hanh

In one of Buddhism's iconic images, Gautama Buddha sits in meditation with his left palm upright on his lap, while his right hand touches the earth. Demonic forces have tried to unseat him, because their king, Mara, claims that place under the bodhi tree. As they proclaim their leader's powers, Mara demands that Gautama produce a witness to confirm his spiritual awakening. The Buddha simply touches the earth with his right hand, and the Earth itself immediately responds: "I am your witness." Mara and his minions vanish. The morning star appears in the sky. This moment of supreme enlightenment is the central experience from which the whole of the Buddhist tradition unfolds.

The great 20th-century Vedantin, Ramana Maharshi said that the Earth is in a constant state ofdhyana. The Buddha's earth-witness mudra (hand position) is a beautiful example of "embodied cognition." His posture and gesture embody unshakeable self-realization. He does not ask heavenly beings for assistance. Instead, without using any words, the Buddha calls on the Earth to bear witness.

The Earth has observed much more than the Buddha's awakening. For the last 3 billion years the Earth has borne witness to the evolution of its innumerable life-forms, from unicellular creatures to the extraordinary diversity and complexity of plant and animal life that flourishes today. We not only observe this multiplicity, we are part of it -- even as our species continues to damage it. Many biologists predict that half the Earth's plant and animal species could disappear by the end of this century, on the current growth trajectories of human population, economy and pollution. This sobering fact reminds us that global warming is the primary, but not the only, extraordinary ecological crisis confronting us today.

Has Mara taken a new form today -- as our own species? Just as Mara claimed the Buddha's sitting-place as his own, Homo sapiens today claims, in effect, that the only really important species is itself. All other species have meaning and value only insofar as they serve our purposes. Indeed, powerful elements of our economic system (notably Big Oil and its enablers) seem to have relocated to the state of "zero empathy," a characteristic of psychopathic or narcissistic personalities.

The Earth community has a self-emergent, interdependent, cooperative nature. We humans have no substance or reality that is separate from this community. Thich Nhat Hanh refers to this as our "inter-being": we and other species "inter-are." If we base our life and conduct on this truth, we transcend the notion that Buddhist practice takes place within a religious framework that promotes only our own individual awakening. We realize the importance of integrating the practice of mindfulness into the activities of daily life. And if we really consider Mother Earth as an integral community and a witness of enlightenment, don't we have a responsibility to protect her through mindful "sacred activism"?

This year the U.S. president will determine whether or not to approve a proposed pipeline, which will extend from the "great American carbon bomb" of the Alberta Tar Sands to the Texas oil refineries. The implications are enormous. The devastation that would result from processing and burning even half the Tar Sands oil is literally incalculable: the resulting increase in atmospheric carbon would trigger "tipping points" for runaway global warming. Our best climate scientist, NASA's James Hansen, states that if this project alone goes ahead, it will be "game over" for the Earth's climate. This is a challenge we cannot evade. It is crucial for Buddhists to join forces with other concerned people in creative and resolute opposition to this potentially fatal new folly.

As the Buddha's enlightenment reminds us, our awakening too is linked to the Earth. The Earth bore witness to the Buddha, and now the Earth needs us to bear witness -- to its dhyana, its steadfastness, the matrix of support it continually provides for living beings. New types of bodhisattvas -- "ecosattvas" -- are needed, who combine the practice of self-transformation with devotion to social and ecological transformation. Yes, we need to write letters and emails to the President, hopefully to influence his decision. But we may also need to consider other strategies if such appeals are ignored, such as nonviolent civil disobedience. That's because this decision isn't just about a financial debt ceiling. This is about the Earth's carbon ceiling. This is about humanity's survival ceiling. As the Earth is our witness.

Save the Parrots of Troy

Yesterday our parrot rescue (Garuda Aviary) became aware of this horrific situation in Troy, Ohio.

Watch the coverage provided by WHIOTV.

Then please sign our petition and share it widely.