Thirty-one years ago, among other reasons, I began practicing Buddhism to make better decisions. Actually, not just to make better ones but to decide period. I had no difficulty seeing alternatives but real difficulty choosing among them. Over the years I have become better at it but from time to time it still comes back to haunt me. Choosing a place to relocate to in retirement is no small decision–and it’s not mine alone. Nonetheless, my wife and I continued to evaluate one place after another, employing criteria meaningful to us. We have decided on Silver City, New Mexico Continue reading Making decisions
Tag Archives: Nam-myoho-renge-kyo
Iraq, Afghanistan and the American Psyche
For those whose loved ones are there now or who suffer after effects from time they spent in combat, Iraq and Afghanistan remain an immediate concern. For others, like myself, the conflicts are an abstraction. The sufferings of the soldiers and the civilians do not pain my psyche. I have to remind myself again and again, despite regular news coverage, of the real pain that war causes. Am I alone in that respect? Continue reading Iraq, Afghanistan and the American Psyche
Martin Luther King
Forty years ago today, shots rang out in Memphis, killing the Reverend Martin Luther King. I was in Hawaii that day, on R&R from Vietnam. I returned to my unit in Bearcat, the 9th Infantry Division basecamp 25 miles east of Saigon after the riots had spread across America. Things were not much more wonderful there. Tensions between blacks and whites were already high. Continue reading Martin Luther King