Category: Dharma Journal

Mark Twain noted that humans are the only animals that blush. Or need to. As I work with shovel and pickax to remove more water sucking sod from our front yard, I think about...

Many years ago I took a class from a Japanese man who built houses in the old style—no screws, no nails, only precise wood to wood joinery made with hand tools. I was offered...

I received two hand-written notes in the ‘snail’ mail this week. I was overwhelmed by emotion. It has been a long time since I received an analog letter. The felt hand of cursive flowing...

The clear cornflower-blue sky on this crisp spring morning stands in stark contrast to last night’s blizzard. A few inches of sun-illuminated white stuff blankets the landscape. Mini-crystals reflect light like so many diamonds...

I read an article concerning the long term effects of the Covid pandemic on society. One side effect of social isolation seems to be a significant uptick in cases of unruly behavior on airplanes,...

I am sitting at a rustic table, its surface made from rough-hewn boards with saw marks clearly visible. I have a vision of the time when the tree was felled. The sky on that...

When I look into the eyes Of one who suffers One who feels lost and helpless One who simply seeks peace When I look into those eyes Beholding pain without hope And see my...

Samsara is very predictable. Through repetitive cycles of war, no wars have ever brought enduring peace. This is because the mind that thinks war is an answer to unhappiness is the source of all...

But I would not give you false hope On this strange and mournful day When the mother and child reunion Is only a motion away Oh, oh, the mother and child reunion Is only...

A human is a curious form of life. It seems like a mutated species maladapted to its environment. It uses finite resources as if they are infinite. It wages destructive wars as if to...