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IN THE BARDO
Me and My Body
I get together with old friends to share a meal – I try to see each one at least once a month – or if they live too far away, to talk on...
Talking the Talk
It took me a long while to make two of my Zen students “Dharma Holders.” That designation means that I think they’re on the path to...
Remembering Jishu
Bernie talked all the time about Indra’s Net, the Buddhist representation of the interconnectedness of all things. It was a metaphor for...
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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Baal Shem Zen
On July 7, 2020, I left Morrigan’s second birthday party early in order to get to a Zen Peacemaker Gathering near Santa Barbara scheduled...
Ken Byalin
Sep 28, 20236 min read
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Yom Kippur
At the center of my teaching in my role as President of Integration Charter Schools was, “Learn from your mistakes.” We were committed to...
Ken Byalin
Sep 23, 20236 min read
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Aimless Meandering
Last week, we talked about the joys of stability. Aimless meandering seems to be the opposite. There’s a lot of joy in aimless meandering...
Ken Byalin
Sep 15, 20236 min read
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