India Patents Yoga Poses
Trying to claim ownership over ancient spiritual practices is a pretty sick business. But it’s been a quite popular one. In the United States alone, the patent authorities have issued more than 130 yoga-related patents, 150 copyrights and 2,300 trademarks related to the ancient practice.
Making Charitable Giving More Palatable
Whether you want to admit it or not, charitable giving is probably not one of your highest priorities. You have bills to pay, food to buy, and a social life to fund, or worse, children to raise. Throwing two-dollars into the tin shaken at the traffic lights doesn’t count, not really. When it comes to charitable giving, we humans aren’t the most charitable of creatures.
Opting out of Conflict to Follow the New Commandment
Did Jesus fight? Of course he did. Did he criticize? Without question. In fact, he directed his anger and his scorn at the very behaviour that so characterizes religious life today. But the purpose of his ministry was not to condemn the thinking or the behaviour or the character of those with whom he disagreed; Jesus did not devote his energy to preserving a tradition of orthodoxy or promoting a cause in which his ego was deeply invested. His mission was much simpler but at the same time far more challenging; it was embodied in the new commandment he issued to his apostles: “Love one another as I have loved you.”
Abbey Retreat
Westminster Abbey, a Benedictine monastery and Catholic seminary in Mission B.C., had been on mind for some months before I contacted the Guestmaster and made arrangements for a three-day retreat at the end of February. I am writing a novel that is … Read more →
To Call Or Not To Call
Deciding to give up my handheld companion while basking in the glow of nibbana turned out to be quite different from the reality of pulling the plug once I returned home. I entered the stages of grief. I’d done the denial circuit for quite awhile before I went on retreat.
Loneliness During the Dark Days of Winter
This time of year tends to be challenging for me. I would guess the same is true for many others out there. And what's interesting to me is that although the level of activity with others is often ramped up, so, too, can the feelings of loneliness. … Read more →
The “Bad” Meditator
When I'm in the yoga world, it's not uncommon for someone to say, upon hearing about my Zen practice, "Oh, I'm terrible at meditation" or "It's too hard for me." Sometimes, I hear the same thing as well from newcomers on Sunday mornings down at the … Read more →
Gratitude Solves All Problems
Over the past year, I have been collecting the blogs of people living "alternative" forms of career. Or, you might say, doing lives in a form different from the wage-an-hour, 9-5 setting. One thing I've noticed among nearly everyone writing these … Read more →
Built On Faith
The consecutive painstaking rebuilding of NakSanSa temple is a testament to the dedication of the Korean people and successive national and provincial governments.
See The Light
Vincent Ross explores a fascinating window on religious life while visiting the NakSanSa Temple on South Korea’s northeast coast.
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