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News & Stories
December 2021 Newsletter
Dear Sangha, On December 8 each year we celebrate Bodhi Day (Shaka Jodo-e in Japan) to mark the awakening of Shakyamuni Buddha. The stories associated with the Buddha’s awakening inspire us with his extraordinary energy in practice. He sat through an entire night (or...
November 2021 Newsletter
I’ve been following the news from the COP26 climate summit over the past few days, starting with U.N. General Secretary António Guterres’ warning that “we are digging our own graves,” and that in the best case scenario, temperatures will rise well above 2 degrees celsius by the end of the century.
October 2021 Newsletter
I’ve been stopped in my tracks several times over the past couple weeks by individual trees whose vibrant reds and yellows have made an early entrance to the fall landscape.
Springfield Hiroshima Remembrance Talk: Cultivating Peace
Good Afternoon. 76 years ago today our atomic bomb obliterated the city of Hiroshima, the blast stretching a mile radius from the hypocenter, killing at least 70,000 people instantly and at least 60,000 others over the next few days, weeks and months. That statistic...
July 2021 Newsletter
Dear Sangha,Last night Ryushin and I watched a brief movie about the Japanese sport ekiden(駅伝). Ekiden is a long distance relay race where a team of runners “pass the sash” from person to person at each leg. Participants interviewed in the film talk about the ekiden...
March 2021 Newsletter
Dear Sangha,This month marks the 10th anniversary of Winding Path Sangha. In those ten years we have collectively experienced joy, laughter, inspiration, frustration, and concern. Our community members have offered generosity, dedication, and compassion as we’ve...
February 2021 Newsletter
Dear Sangha,If I were to compile a list of “classic Buddhist movies,” I would put the 1993 movie Groundhog Day near the top of the list. Although the movie has absolutely nothing to do with monks or meditation, the film, perhaps unintentionally, conveys some truths we...
December 2020 Newsletter
Dear Sangha, As we enter the month of December, I’m thinking about the number of times this year I’ve heard people wish for 2020 to be over. If you haven’t yet heard this wish expressed, just google “2020 over” to see the dozens of memes, articles, and even an entire...
November 2020 Newsletter
Dear Sangha,Fall has arrived, and it’s cold, dark, and silent when I enter the hondo each morning. I pull aside the curtain and step into the space with a gassho. That first bow pulls my whole body into practice. In the past few days, that early morning bow has also...