We hope you will enjoy the spring 2022 issue of the Journal. There are nine articles, plus the usual news reports and photos of temples’ events from the last 2 – 3 months.
Click here for the E-book (MOBI file)
Click here for the flipbook (It works best viewed full screen – click the icon bottom right.)
When I first moved to Santa Barbara my neighbor gave me my first persimmon. I had not eaten one before. The first one I tried was bitterly astringent. I learned to wait for the fruit to ripen fully. I became … Continue reading →
A prayer of silent illumination: we start with the pure intent of the heart. It is a wondrous mystery that this pure heart and intent exists within us and all beings. It exists at this very moment—not in some far-off … Continue reading →
Perhaps we could be forgiven for assuming that a defining characteristic of the human race is its ability to generate conflict around notions of group identity. The other day, I read about experiments using everything from ethnic, political, religious and … Continue reading →
This is an edited transcript of a talk given during an online weekend retreat in July, 2021. It has been adapted for the Journal. Today I want to highlight the presence of trust in a practice of Buddhism. It develops; … Continue reading →
This is the story of a seemingly ordinary day in my life in February 2022. My sister had driven us to our weekly Sōtō Zen meditation class. We had not been able to find parking so we had to drive … Continue reading →
This article was published on the Dragon Bell Temple website, February 2022. In trying to become an accepting person, we get in our own way and smother the possibility of real acceptance. At best we make a clumsy imitation of … Continue reading →
December 2021 For the third time in its history, Pine Mountain Temple is moving. Originally the Santa Barbara Buddhist Priory, which was started by Rev. Jishō Perry in 1979, the temple moved once in Santa Barbara, and then over the … Continue reading →
This article originally appeared in the Portobello Buddhist Priory Newsletter, September—December 2019. Fear is something that most people experience to a greater or lesser extent, and it can sometimes feel like an obstacle in training. The various words used to … Continue reading →
This was taken from a talk in the December issue of the Dharma Reflections series. Over the Christmas period, a few people sent me cards with pictures of their children on them. As I was sitting here, reflecting one afternoon, … Continue reading →
