I like to set my intention through this first week of 2022 by reviewing my understanding of the Noble Eightfold Path, being a Zen Buddhist and all. On Monday I went over the first of the Threefold Division, sila (or ethics). That blog post was unforgivably dry reading it over — sorry about that. I’m … Continue reading Zen Check 2022: Samadhi
Category: Self-Reflection
Zen Check 2022: Sila
Happy New Year, everyone! I thought I would start the blog this year by doing a gut check on a few fundamentals. I identify as a Zen Buddhist, meaning that I adhere to the principles of both Zen AND Buddhism. Especially in the United States, Zen has become its own discipline — a way of … Continue reading Zen Check 2022: Sila
Kwanzaa 2021: Imani (Faith)
I lost my faith in humanity on the night of November 8th, 2016. It was the end of a terrible year of campaigning where Donald Trump had harassed his way to the GOP nomination despite — or perhaps because of, in hindsight — his egregious temperament. I had thought he’d demonstrated his unfitness to be … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2021: Imani (Faith)
Kwanzaa 2021: Nia (Purpose)
What is your purpose here? Even if you’ve thought a lot about the question and have an answer locked and loaded, there’s no denying it’s a heavy thing to ponder. What are any of us doing here, really? Why do we exist, and have the faculties to wonder about our existence? There is no objective … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2021: Nia (Purpose)
Kwanzaa 2021: Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
It is an unfortunate fact of life that we live in a capitalist society. For Black Americans in the United States, this means that one of the fundamental levers of life has been purposefully and aggressively tilted away from us since the days of a promised 40 acres and a mule. Disenfranchisement through discrimination in … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2021: Ujamaa (Cooperative Economics)
Kwanzaa 2021: Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
The Fantastic Mr. Fox opens with the titular hero plucking an apple fresh from the tree beneath a clear golden sky, listening to a song about the King of the Wild Frontier. It ends with Mr. Fox admiring the artificial stars on the genetically-modified apple glinting in the fluorescent light of the supermarket that has … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2021: Kujichagulia (Self-Determination)
Kwanzaa 2021: Umoja (Unity)
The past five years have been very difficult ones for me. The fundamental shock of seeing my fellow countryfolk vote for Trump in the 2016 election curdled into a trauma over time, as I learned just how mistaken I was about the attitudes of the Americans around me — even folks I thought had been … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2021: Umoja (Unity)
Kwanzaa 2020: Ujima
Habari gani, fam? 2020 has made me keenly aware of my place within my community, and how important my relationships are to me. When George Floyd was murdered by police officers and the collective frustration of millions of Americans bubbled over into street protests, it meant a lot that folks checked in on me because … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2020: Ujima
Kwanzaa 2020: Kujichagulia
Habari gani, fam? Today we focus on the principle of kujichagulia, or self-determination. Any people that have struggled to throw off the legacy of slavery and institutional racism fundamentally struggle for the right to determine who they are themselves, instead of accepting the role the dominant culture pushes on them. As Black Americans, we deal … Continue reading Kwanzaa 2020: Kujichagulia
Kwanzaa 2020: Umoja
Hot take: achieving unity is an active effort that requires us to see the virtues in others and the flaws in ourselves.
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 