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This is Bill's blog about Zen, which is to say, everything. He lives in New Jersey with his wife and children, and two very Zen cats.
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Category Archives: Emerson
Interview with an agnostic Zen Buddhist
A student friend of a friend was doing research for a comparative religion class, and I was asked if I would represent Zen Buddhism and answer some questions about my practice. I said I didn’t think I was a good … Continue reading
Posted in Compassion, Emerson, Quotes, Religion, Tao, Thoreau, Watts, Zen
Tagged agnosticism, Books, Buddhism, Compassion, Death, Emerson, family, Meditation, Mindfulness, Quotes, rebirth, Religion, Stephen Batchelor, Tao, Thoreau, Zen
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God is a loaded term
I’m a regular reader of CNN’s Belief Blog. More often than not, the blog’s contributors have refreshing takes on the role of faith in American life. They also don’t shy away from addressing the subject from the point of view … Continue reading
Emerson’s house, and more synchronicity
This year has become my “Year of Emerson.” I finished reading the excellent biography Emerson: The Mind on Fire by Robert Richardson. I’m currently reading the edited collection Nature and Other Writings. I regularly visit Kirk McElhearn’s blog Reading Ralph … Continue reading
A good day in “church”
My father considered a walk among the mountains as the equivalent of church-going. ~ Aldous Huxley This morning I left the house with my rakusu, but also with my backpack, my iPad, hiking boots and socks, a copy of Emerson’s Nature and … Continue reading
Grasshopper moments
I had to admit sometime ago that the TV series Kung Fu may have been my earliest exposure to Zen. It made sense once I’d read the stories about Bodhidharma bringing Buddhism to the Shaolin temple, and also giving them … Continue reading
Paying respects in Concord
While visiting relatives in Massachusetts over the weekend, I paid a visit to Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord. Not far inside the main gate is Author’s Ridge, where the local literary luminaries are buried, including Nathaniel Hawthorne, Louisa May Alcott, … Continue reading
Accepting the Universe
Though better known for his nature writings and as a major figure in America’s early conservation movement, John Burroughs (1837-1921) wrote many philosophical essays that showed him to be a kindred spirit of Emerson’s. I’ve been reading the collection Accepting … Continue reading
Posted in Books, Burroughs, Emerson, Quotes
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American Zen?
I suppose I should clarify what it is I’m trying to do here. I’m all too aware of how “Zen” gets applied to almost anything as marketing shorthand for “simple” or “uncluttered” or “exotic.” By “American Zen” I don’t mean … Continue reading
