The After Firing
Roshi Jishu Holmes was my teacher. It is hard to grasp that she has been gone for 25 years. And yet I hear her words as clearly as ever....
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IN THE BARDO
The Bargain
It is hard to believe that 20 years have passed. My father died as I turned 30. Mom lived thirty years longer, although she was only a...
Relative Privilege
In some ways, it seemed that I had always felt poor, always knew that there was stuff that others had that I didn’t. It took me longer to...
Oh, Dirk.
In Zen funerals, we talk directly to the departed. I am at a loss for words. I am hoping that words will come. I am picturing you....
Bringing to the Societal Table Those Who Have Been Excluded
This has been the expression of my vow since I found the words in Bernie’s Instructions to the Cook. “Bringing to the societal table...
Visionary Leadership
This has to be the Zen practice. I love the story of the Golden City which the Buddha tells in the Lotus Sutra. It has inspired me. It is...
Magic
Catching the magic is sometimes not so easy. Stumbling into the magic of success is not something to be taken for granted. It has always...
What is Social Action?
The selflessness of social action is not self-neglect just as self-care is not self-neglect. There are four phrases that come to mind,...
No.
What is my “No!” When do I shout it? Do I really shout? “No!” Jesse and Theresa Peterford first met at ICS. Theresa, star teacher, chief...
Infinite Onion
Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to transform them. When I was doing koan practice with Jishu, very briefly in the last year of her...
Infinite Circle
We were serving special needs students at double the district rate. As we have built our schools, I have been guided by, anchored in an...
Mother's Day 2020
Zen’s relationship to mothers has always seemed a bit strange. Mother’s Day, 2020 is also the twenty-fifth anniversary of Maezumi Roshi’s...
Zen Budgeting Through the COVID-19 Pandemic
No one likes budget cuts. They are always painful. This was shaping up to be our most painful budget. Business people say when they are...
The Zen of Budgeting
Coming Soon, a case study in Zen Budgeting: Budgeting through the Covid-19 Pandemic. I am too grandmotherly. The Gateless Gate is the...
Oh, Richard
At a Zen funeral, we talk directly to the person who has left us. Oh, Richard, thinking of you, I smile. We had so much more to do. So...
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Ken Byalin
- Oct 6, 2021
- 3 min
Oh, Dirk.
In Zen funerals, we talk directly to the departed. I am at a loss for words. I am hoping that words will come. I am picturing you....
18 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Sep 22, 2021
- 5 min
Bringing to the Societal Table Those Who Have Been Excluded
This has been the expression of my vow since I found the words in Bernie’s Instructions to the Cook. “Bringing to the societal table...
27 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Sep 8, 2021
- 4 min
Visionary Leadership
This has to be the Zen practice. I love the story of the Golden City which the Buddha tells in the Lotus Sutra. It has inspired me. It is...
16 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Jun 1, 2021
- 4 min
Magic
Catching the magic is sometimes not so easy. Stumbling into the magic of success is not something to be taken for granted. It has always...
17 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- May 18, 2021
- 5 min
What is Social Action?
The selflessness of social action is not self-neglect just as self-care is not self-neglect. There are four phrases that come to mind,...
4 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Apr 20, 2021
- 3 min
No.
What is my “No!” When do I shout it? Do I really shout? “No!” Jesse and Theresa Peterford first met at ICS. Theresa, star teacher, chief...
10 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Apr 5, 2021
- 4 min
Infinite Onion
Delusions are inexhaustible, I vow to transform them. When I was doing koan practice with Jishu, very briefly in the last year of her...
5 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Mar 23, 2021
- 7 min
Infinite Circle
We were serving special needs students at double the district rate. As we have built our schools, I have been guided by, anchored in an...
4 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- May 26, 2020
- 5 min
Mother's Day 2020
Zen’s relationship to mothers has always seemed a bit strange. Mother’s Day, 2020 is also the twenty-fifth anniversary of Maezumi Roshi’s...
8 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- May 6, 2020
- 5 min
Zen Budgeting Through the COVID-19 Pandemic
No one likes budget cuts. They are always painful. This was shaping up to be our most painful budget. Business people say when they are...
0 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- May 3, 2020
- 4 min
The Zen of Budgeting
Coming Soon, a case study in Zen Budgeting: Budgeting through the Covid-19 Pandemic. I am too grandmotherly. The Gateless Gate is the...
5 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Apr 27, 2020
- 3 min
Oh, Richard
At a Zen funeral, we talk directly to the person who has left us. Oh, Richard, thinking of you, I smile. We had so much more to do. So...
6 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Apr 20, 2020
- 8 min
Twenty Years
Today, in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis, our schools are flourishing. Master Sekito said, “How will you step forward from the top of a...
2 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Apr 6, 2020
- 5 min
Riding the Wave: Virus Denial
I smile, and then go back to riding my waves of anxiety. Ed and Orly Wiseman recently made a film about our counseling program and how we...
1 view0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Feb 3, 2020
- 4 min
Diversity
Diversity increases the richness of a learning environment for students. Value diversity. This is not an act of tolerance- valuing...
1 view0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Jan 17, 2020
- 4 min
Words Fail: Tactics
The pressure is intensifying on charters in New York State to justify our existence. Nothing is permanent, everything changes. No...
0 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Dec 10, 2019
- 4 min
Words Fail: Strategy
In the event of failure, we will need to consider if the fault lies in the school location rather than the basic design. Maybe an...
1 view0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Dec 3, 2019
- 4 min
Words Fail: Mission
Ultimately, words always fail. Nothing stays the same. Nothing is forever. Everything changes. One Zen Truth. Another truth? Words are...
1 view0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Oct 28, 2019
- 4 min
Motivation
Several years ago, becoming wary that a national teacher shortage was looming, we recognized that our own staff could be our greatest...
0 views0 comments
Ken Byalin
- Oct 2, 2019
- 4 min
Delegation
Delegation is perhaps the hardest and most important task for rising leaders to learn. "There are STILL too many meetings. “I’m still not...
1 view0 comments
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