Walk into any Buddhist dharma center across the country. Sidle up to a pleasant looking stranger. Compliment their eco-friendly aluminum water bottle to get a conversation started then ask them what started them practicing. I bet that at least half of the time a person will say, "I was having a hard time and the teachings of the Buddha helped me." Glance sympathetically, breathe mindfully and then press them about the nature of the hard time. Nine times out of ten I bet they'll respond: "I was really suffering because of a bad break up/divorce/inability to let go of a former love."
Hi all, unfortunately our incomparable Ethan Nichtern has the flu (send him your get wells in the comments section) and had to postpone tonight's beginner Hardcore Dharma class, so my weekly roundup will have to wait.
Instead, I thought I'd re-post my first entry about Hardcore Dharma for everyone who's just joining us on Beliefnet so ya'll can get a sense of exactly how hardcore we really are...
This is a week of new beginnings for me. I spent Sunday and Monday keeping an eye on my best friend's four year old, my godson Sidney, as his wife April was preparing to deliver their second son by home birth. Monday at 11AM I took Sidney to the park; when I brought him home at 2 PM his new brother Ezra Jai was there waiting to say hello. Ezra is Hebrew for "helper': Jai is Sanskrit for "victorious" - such a beautiful name. Then we ordered Thai food with Uncle Paul and sat around talking and eating while April and Sidney napped on the couch, the doula Emory and midwife Cara packed up and filled out some forms, and Ezra Jai rested in Barry and April's bedroom. It felt natural and wonderful; nothing like the hospital births that I'd previously experienced. As their inspirational midwife Cara said, "Pregnancy is not a medical condition; birth existed before doctors."
Things have been hard for a lot of people I know lately. My work hours have been cut. Some of my friends have been laid off and others are working really hard just to have a slim chance of a...
On Monday, April 27, 2009 I closed the NASDAQ - yes, that's right. Y'all can thank little ol' me for stopping the American economy's losses in stocks that day. Why did I get to go to the NASDAQ? Because I'm...
What dynamic exists between our logical mind and our intuitive mind? What practices can we develop to more mindfully navigate our concepts and experience?In this week's Podcast "Logic vs. Feeling", Ethan leads a discussion to explore some of these...
Dear All One City Readers, Our blog has officially moved over to Beliefnet! To get there follow: http://onecityblog.com Let's continue all the great discussions over there! Direct URL is: http://blog.beliefnet.com/onecity/...
From the point of view of some more dogmatic teachers, The Buddha gave his students some crazy instructions. Perhaps the craziest one of all was when he taught them how to regard his teachings. He told them to treat his...
There's an interesting article in the New York Times Magazine today entitled Enlightenment Therapy chronicling a Zen Master's journey through psychoanalysis. It gets at an interesting dilemma- the way the experience of non-self can be used in the service of repression and avoidance. The author,...
The Activism wing of the ID Project went Fast and Furious Full Throttle this weekend during our Day of Practice in Action on Sunday. There was some Furiously Fun Sewing, Petitioning and Street Theater going on. This is the...
What Hardcore Dharma discussed last week:* The 5 Skandhas. What they are: 1. Form 2. Feeling 3. Perceptions 4. Mental Formations and 5. Consciousness. What they mean: Forget sugar, spice, slugs or snails. These aggregates, boys and girls, are what we are made of. They’re...
Jerry Kolber posting off schedule but this one made me think of the IDP immediately. Courtesy of ALRDesign.com blog ; can you imagine a US bank making this commercial? And no that is not Bea Arthur. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEaGbTr8B2o&hl=en&fs=1]...
A line from the Thich Nhat Hanh reading for tonight about Right Action caught my eye: "Loneliness cannot be alleviated just by the coming together of two bodies, unless there is good communication, understanding, and loving kindness," (The Heart of...
Sunday's day of Activism turned out to be an incredible experience, making new friends, seeing new faces at the IDP (shout out: Team Timberland!), making tons of amazing bags, doing hilarious street theater, and gathering signatures and handing out pledge...
For my responsible consumption month pledge, I am not using any take-out beverages - soda, water, coffee, etc... I have found my reusable aluminum bottle to be one of the best purchases I have made so that I can have...
This week on the IDP Podcast, Jessica Rasp leads a talk about "Studying Untruth" as it relates to Daniel Goleman's idea of "Destructive Emotions". You can download a podcast of the talk here. Get a full list of our...
I like this map. It's even betten when you look at it big (click me). I find it's a perfect illustration of how easy it is to impute unconsciously the obviously ridiculous idea that a planet floating in endless space...
Maureen Dowd’s last article in Sunday’s Times got me thinking... We all know it’s great to eat locally grown food and to cook your own meals, and I wonder: Are restaurants bad for the environment? I did some research and...
Sat down on the mat last week at the beginning of a class, cross-legged, spine straight, ready for the usual salmagundi of philosophy and self-help that starts many nyc yoga classes. "A reading from Jack Kornfield today," the teacher said....
Check out the Bagmonster, Patrick Groneman, and more IDP folks as they engage in some Integral Activism, Sunday April 19, in downtown NYC. It's Responsible Consumption Month at the IDP. Ck it out! Photos courtesy Melanie Einzig. Thanks, Melanie! [caption...
Hey One City Readers and I.D. Project Community, This is your heads up that within the next week or two, we will be launching the One City Blog on Beliefnet.com, a much larger spiritual website. The content of the blog...
A guest post by Lauren Bulfin. Friends of mine who have followed Obama’s misadventures with the economic stimulus package, have taken to asking me: “How is Obama different from any other president we’ve had? I thought he was about change.”...
From the fine print: " The new Lexus RX has unparalleled powers of observation. Available Dynamic Radar Cruise Control detects when the car traveling in front gets too close and automatically slows you to maintain your following distance..... When...
The dharma is elusive. It speaks to us so plainly, then turns, shifts in its seat, and to me, seems complex again. In principle, the essential ideas are straightforward: keep it real, let things be what they are, be kind....
[UPDATED] If you're just tuning in, check out posts on week 1 and week 2. Apologies to the Hardcore crew. I wasn't able to be at Hardcore Dharma last night. My excuse is legit but excuses aren't very hardcore. Recalling...
Today is my birthday. I am 28. Hurray! Two years ago today, when I turned 26, my sweet, loving friends, who cater to my youngest child it’s my BIRTHDAY ridiculousness far more than they should, spent the day with me....
Woke up cold, coffee on my mind. Still dark out but the kind of neverdark that passes for dark in Manhattan. Fucks with your mind not ever seeing stars, but that’s another story about the homeland for some other time....
Starting this Friday - April 17, 2009, the Interdependence Project is going to be practicing 30 days of responsible consumption. (If you are in the NYC area, please come to our Kick Off Party - see here for more info.)...
This week's podcast is a discussion led by Ethan on the theme of Pema Chodron's Book "When Things Fall Apart". The talk was Recorded in New York City on March 23, 2009. You can download a podcast of the...
Over the last few days the internet has allowed me to be in contact with people I probably would not otherwise have reached. I appreciate it! Here's a rundown. Just yesterday I was reading a book about the Buddhism by...
Most Scientists say yes. Check Here. What's the use in thinking this way? Are we really screwed, or do human beings just love having an apocalypse complex? Maybe I should just take the day off and go swimming......
An Imagined Dialogue about Passover Characters: MOSES and EMILY (AKA Emily Herzlin) Please note: I am not schizophrenic, just a little bit eccentric. This is what happens when I let my inner dialogue play out. Or maybe I’ve just been...
Recently I spent four days on a Zen* retreat at the wonderful Southern Dharma Center (SDC). Pretty serious. Four-plus hours a day of zazen; silence for three-and-a-half of those days; and hour of silent work practice every day. Gong at...
On the heels of Michelle Obama being equated to a great Bodhisattva on Huffpo, The President's weekly address uses the language of Interdependence more than any speech I've ever heard by any US President. Check it Out in the video...
A goal I've been working with lately is cultivating a feeling of spaciousness. It's a theme that seems to be emerging in many aspects of my life- whether in the readings for Hardcore Dharma or one of my psychology classes to conversations...
A guest post by Lauren Bulfin. After years of neglecting Jewish traditions, at best using the religious holidays as an excuse to socialize with friends, my mother decided, for reasons beyond my comprehension, that 2009 was the year to hold...
From a Huffpost article by Ed and Deb Shapiro: Michelle Obama's combination of honesty and kindness is the essence of maitri--a Sanskrit word that means unconditional friendship with oneself, and from there the feeling of unconditional friendship with all...
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KpOQKUAYZ0w&NR=1] Perhaps my excitement over finding Mike Nesmith videos shows my youth, but what's not exciting about Astrounauts dancing on the hood of a pink eldorado that is flying over the moon? And how about how amazing that song is? ...
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kc6K9fao7Fs] My favorite Buddhism-studying, Judaism-propagating, skateboarding, NYC-former-hip-hop kid Evan Rock leads about 60 of his hipster friends through the Passover Seder on 2nd night of Passover. I love ritual, even though the story of Passover is quite a wrathful one....
TF, good little yupster/slave to her body that she is, needs her yoga. TF was sick and busy and wasn’t able to get to yoga for about a week and a half, (which, since TF prefers to go 3 to...
Last night was the second meeting of the new Hardcore Dharma class, which critics have already hailed as a commercial and critical success. Since our first class books have been purchased and (incomprehensible) sutras puzzled over. We began by reviewing...
Maybe I am just a crab, but I found the whole concept of “Earth Hour” to be ridiculous. For those of you who may have missed it, Earth Hour was an event that happened March 28, 2009 where businesses, governments,...
On March 25 Brad Warner stopped by the Interdependence Project to discuss topics from his new book Zen Warpped in Karma Dipped in Chocolate. After telling us a bit of his personal history he lead us in a very...
Last month there was an unbearably sad story in the Washington Post magazine, about parents who forgot their kids in cars with fatal consequences. Read it here. article excerpt- The human brain, he says, is a magnificent but jury-rigged device...
Go Iowa, Go Vermont. From Iowa Senate Majority Leader Mike Gronstal: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y2s2R5qKhbo] Oh, by the way, I do weddings....
Last year at my dad’s Passover seder, I made more than my fair share of comments about how out of touch I felt the Haggadah we were using was. For the non-Jewish Buddhists out there, a Haggadah is the special...
In 1994, Mary Pipher penned the classic psychology-porn book Reviving Ophelia: Saving the Selves of Adolescent Girls. Thus identified, many an angsty adolescent girl (myself included/higlighted) in the mid-90’s pored over this tome, gleefully fantasizing about developing the dramatic psychosis...
"The Buddha didn't care about malas or incense - he was interested in how the mind works." -Ethan For the next nine weeks, Wednesday night at the Interdependence Project will be a teeming morass of Buddhist teaching and inquiry called...
Not sure what to say this week, the only thing really on my mind besides writing a cookbook is that my good friend died on Thursday. She was 35 and had been battling cancer for a bit and was supposed...
What happens when you open your hand let things flow? Ethan explores the Tantric approach to Generosity in this week's podcast available for download here. You can get our full list of podcasts here, or subscribe via iTunes. If you...
Welcome to One City. You've lived here your whole life, whether you know it or not. One City blog is an outgrowth of The Interdependence Project, a Buddhist-inspired nonprofit organization led by Ethan Nichtern, dedicated to teaching the insights of Buddhism, meditation, mindfulness, and interconnectedness in the 21st century world.
If you're interested in how your mind works, are interested in meditation (but don't want to pretend you live in ancient Asia), care about the world, are into media, love contemporary culture, and above all, really dig the truth of interdependence-that nothing happens in a vacuum--then this blog is for you.
Ethan Nichtern
Author, founding director of the Interdependence Project, and the host of the I.D. Project’s popular weekly podcast » Posts by Ethan Nichtern
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