Three years ago today, I arrived in Portland, via my little red Toyota truck. It was loaded to the teeth with what was left of my possessions from my life in California. I was ready to make a new home. I knew I wanted to grow roots, and roots I have grown. I consider Portland …
2 Camps, an Ignite and Erlang
Last week was a busy one. On Tuesday, I attended PublicMediaCamp, hosted by Oregon Public Broadcasting. Audrey led a session on location-based reporting and tools for reporting on local tech (sort of a hybrid session), for which I took some notes. During the second hour, Reid, Audrey and I had a good chat with Morgan …
Fall Song (Mary Oliver)
Another by Mary Oliver to celebrate the first day of Fall and the autumnal equinox. Enjoy… Fall Song by Mary Oliver Another year gone, leaving everywhere its rich spiced residues: vines, leaves, the uneaten fruits crumbling damply in the shadows, unmattering back from the particular island of this summer, this Now, that now is nowhere …
Our Vows
These are the vows that Sherri and I made to each other during our ceremony yesterday. I thought it would be nice to share them here (you can also read the text of the entire ceremony). Shared Vows (based on the Five Grave Buddhist Precepts) In the practice of our marriage, I vow to affirm, …
A Few by Mary Oliver
In research material for our wedding ceremony, including vows, I picked up a couple of books of Mary Oliver’s poetry. A few pieces really amazed me and so I’m sharing them here. The Plum Trees Such richness flowing through the branches of summer and into the body, carried inward on the five rivers! Disorder and …
Veganism Isn’t a Buddhist Teaching (Yet)
I’ve written here before about my struggles being a vegan in a non-vegan sangha. It’s been so painful of a process that I’ve taken several months off of sanga activities, including weekly group meditation. Recently I’ve had a breakthough on the subject that I wanted to share. What I realized, and it seems so simple …
A Note on Prop 8
Note: This post comes from a comment I made on Facebook in response to the a comment on one of my status updates. In browsing online for reactions to the Prop 8 decision, I’ve noticed several complaints by folks who voted for Prop 8 about having their vote overturned. They seem to think that they had their rights …
A Lonely Vegan in the Sangha
I have to start getting this out of my system: I’m vegan. I’m Buddhist. And I’m awfully lonely in my Sangha. I became vegan just over two years ago as a direct result of my starting to study and practice Buddhism. I had been a vegetarian (who made exceptions for sushi and sashimi) a few years prior to that. …