The Most Important Thing
Death is certain. The time of death is uncertain. Knowing this, what is the most important thing? ~~Buddhist wisdom I’ve thought about that question a lot lately. My mom spent several days in the hospital recently, which means I’ve spent a lot of time at a hospital as well. She is home now, sleeping soundly, and I write this from their house. Today was more doctors, more tests, more of walking the path that comes at this stage of the disease she is living with and dying from. It is an interesting path and an interesting time. While that is a personal thing, I also have been...
Read MoreMerton & the Path
This morning I am thinking about Thomas Merton. For the uninitiated, Thomas Merton was one of the great mystics of our time. A Trappist monk and a prolific writer, in his later years he connected with Buddhist teachers and declared them brothers in contemplation. His autobiography, Seven Storey Mountain, is a road map, his own experience with starting off as an atheist and becoming a monk. Merton spent 13 years of silent meditation at the Abbey of Gethsemani, praying for God’s will. He came out and wrote this: My God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road...
Read More