Roshi Bernie substituted “creations” for the traditional “sentient beings” in the first Great Bodhisattva Vow. I appreciated the idea of not discriminating against insentient beings – save the rainforest as well as the whales – but it was overwhelming. The more limited “sentient beings” was itself an impossible-to-achieve goal. Bernie was pushing farther even than the trees, at least as I understand his teaching now. Creations encompass not just all the stuff created by God

Every individual is unique, has value, and no one will ever be replaced. Tough guy bosses often threaten the person asking for a raise, “No one is irreplaceable.” What they mean is, “Don’t threaten me. We can manage fine without you.” Nice guy managers say the same words to members of their team when a key staff member departs, but they mean something more along the lines of, “Don’t worry. We will be fine without her.” Both miss the point. Everyone is irreplaceable. This is t

I was never a boy scout and proud of it. In our family, the Boy Scouts were jingoistic, paramilitary, not for me, an American version of Hitler’s Youth. I grew up listening to Tom Lehrer’s spoof of the Boy Scout slogan, “Be Prepared.” Spoof or no spoof, the slogan is pervasive. As we built our network of charter schools, we were training our teachers to be prepared. “To fail to plan is to plan to fail,” was one our favorite slogans. We learned to emphasize the counter theme

I grew up listening to Pete, on records and at hootenannies. I knew which side I was on. “They say in Harlan County/ There are no neutrals there/ You'll either be a union man/ Or a thug for J. H. Blair.” I was no thug. We were for the workers and peace. We were against nuclear testing and segregation. We marched and we protested. It was important to stand up. We had to take a side. I was proud to stand up. This was who I was. I never questioned it until Roshi Bernie Glassma