by Zenju | Aug 24, 2016 | dharma-notes, The World We Live In
“We must acknowledge that there is diversity in the oneness promised to us in the pledge of allegiance.” Countries create symbols to express beliefs and values. These beliefs and values change over time. It is crucial to re-examine symbols and take...
by Zenju | Jun 14, 2016 | dharma-notes, The World We Live In
Hatred is treason against all life. It is to turn toward a living target and shoot. Internalized hatred is treason against oneself. It is to hold the gun to your own head or to the heads of those who look or appear like you. When you consciously or unconsciously hate...
by Zenju | Mar 1, 2016 | Poetry & Prayers, The World We Live In
Contemplating a journey and a calling………. Who is not Haitian? Everywhere is Haiti. Our past, present and future of catastrophe, silenced screams of the poor dying beneath the rubble of hurricanes and earthquakes that are both weather conditions and...
by Zenju | Jul 30, 2014 | dharma-notes, The World We Live In
I have been afraid to speak on the Israel and Gaza horror. But I can’t be silent on what hits me so hard that I am afraid to speak . What I have to say has nothing to do with which side is doing what to each other. All the horrors of the world turn my stomach. I...
by Zenju | Aug 14, 2009 | Indigenous Traditions in Healing, The World We Live In
Burying the Bones Rituals for Loss of Life, Land, and Culture (photo of Batik people) We need to create symbolic burial rituals for those whose lives were taken to confiscate the land in which they lived and preserved culture or lives lost in deaths from pandemics...
by Zenju | Jun 30, 2007 | The World We Live In
One day alongside the racket of the BART train going by I walked toward a street shrine with dried up flowers, airless balloons, and unfinished candles. As I approached the silver lamp pole at 59th Street and MLK Way, the eyes of a young chocolate brown girl stared...