Beginner's Heart

Beginner's Heart

Beginner's Heart Archives

wake-up call (and a peaceful Rohatsu to you, too!) ~

Tomorrow is Bodhi Day, or Rohatsu ~ the celebration of Siddhartha Gautama’s enlightenment, the transformation of the man into the  spiritual teacher we know as the Buddha.  I’ve written elsewhere about Bodhi Day, here and here. But it bears repeating. [...]

Bodhi Day, Rohatsu, or Waking Up ~

Bodhi Day — or Rohatsu, as it’s known in Japan — is the day the Buddha awakens. It’s the day he finds enlightenment, sitting under the pipul tree. December 8th, traditionally. A dear friend asked me the question I’m usually [...]

“as common as grass” ~

“…in spite of the contemporary public perception of meditation and poetry as special, exotic, and difficult, they are both as old and as common as grass.” ~  Gary Snyder Yesterday my students asked me to read what I had written [...]

bicycles, Bodhi day, and possibility 101

Bodhi Day — or the celebration of the day the Buddha achieved enlightenment — is coming up. December 8th, FYI. And that’s important to me. Because Bodhi Day celebrates possibility. That’s what Bodhi Day is all about, really — what [...]

Previous Posts

Vesākha Puja Day (and making merit) ~
Although May/ late spring celebrations in Buddhism go back centuries, it was only in 1950 that the Buddhist world agreed to celebrate Vesākha Puja together, on the full moon day in the month of May. In other words, May 25th this year. In other Buddhist communities, the holiday celebrating the bi

posted 5:29:05pm May. 24, 2013 | read full post »

the love of a teacher ~
Just yesterday this post-apocalyptic scene was a school, where children sat at tables, learning. Where teachers sat with them, facilitating that learning. Hours later, a tornado turned that normally noisy scene into hell. Moore, Oklahoma is familiar with tornadoes. Two other horrific ones have hi

posted 12:28:15pm May. 21, 2013 | read full post »

bees, and going with the flow ~
I've always wanted to keep bees. Perhaps it's my Uncle Russell's fault, although I'm pretty sure that my fascination w/ bees predates Uncle Russell's beekeeping days... More likely it's from reading the French entomologist Jean-Henri Fabre as a child. And following bees around. Like I did ants, a

posted 3:44:50pm May. 20, 2013 | read full post »

art festivals & beginner's heart ~
Art festivals rock. Really! Tents of cool trinkets to explore, music, junk food (although really: who considers locally  made chocolate gelato junk?), kids with painted faces... What's not to love? This week is Tulsa's MayFest weekend. An old festival (as these things go), the original MayFest h

posted 6:17:18pm May. 19, 2013 | read full post »

grand-nephews & grace ~
My grand-nephew is a hoot. Named for my younger son, little Noah is funny, drop-dead cute, and tons of fun. A great companion for a Friday adventure. So today, when he arrived w/ his grandmother -- my younger sister -- in tow, I knew fun was walking in the door, too. He made straight for the brea

posted 3:52:24pm May. 17, 2013 | read full post »


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