Monthly Archives: July 2008

Assaulted in Dublin

I can’t seem to live in Dublin, Ireland for two weeks without running into trouble. Last week, my wife and I were harassed by drunken college students (on a Sunday morning at a park, mind you), and earlier today my … Continue reading

Posted in Family, Ireland, Travel | 15 Comments

Monkey see, monkey do

My daughter, code-named “Baby“, seems to have become very observant lately. She’s turned 19 months recently, and her language skills have improved quickly, and she often imitates what we say. Recently we were feeding her some pita bread, which she … Continue reading

Posted in Family | 1 Comment

Chop wood, gather water

Somehow I read this little Zen-witticism earlier today. In some famous Zen story, the teacher, when asked about Buddhism, said to chop wood and gather water. After enlightenment, also chop wood and gather water. Somehow this got me thinking about … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu, Religion, Zen | 12 Comments

Learning to live without

Things have finally settled down here in Ireland quite a bit now that we’ve found good places to get groceries (Marks and Spencer is highly recommended, as is the Dublin Co-op), good places for Baby to get exercises (St. Stephen’s … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Religion | 1 Comment

Pictures from our trip to Ireland, part 1

Now that our computer has successfully cleared Irish customs, I am now able to download and post some pictures from our trip from Seattle all the way to Ireland. There are too many for one single post, so I will … Continue reading

Posted in Seattle, Travel | 1 Comment

The Dublin Diet

Since moving to Ireland, I noticed that I’ve continued to lose weight. Our packages from home finally arrived this week, and this included our bathroom scale (or “scales” as people here call them). I was surprised to notice that my … Continue reading

Posted in General, Health, Ireland, Travel | 1 Comment

Must clear the queue

So lately, I have building up a huge backlog of post ideas I’ve wanted to share, but with life being so busy lately, I haven’t had much chance to put things down on paper (i.e. digitally). So, I decided to … Continue reading

Posted in General | 1 Comment

Hakuin and the Lotus Sutra

Verse 30: Even if the whole world is on fire, Be sure to pass through it to hear the Dharma; Then you will surely attain the Buddha’s Enlightenment. And everywhere deliver beings from the river of birth-and-death. –Larger Sutra of … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Jodo Shinshu, Jodo Shu, Nichiren, Religion, Shingon, Tendai, Theravada, Zen | 1 Comment

Dublin Weather, Cathedrals and Illnesses

What a week here in Dublin. The week started out pretty normal, but then Baby got sick with a bad throat, viral infection a couple days ago. She’s been very volatile and clingy to mom, such that Mom can’t basically … Continue reading

Posted in Buddhism, Family, Gaelic, Ireland, Language, Religion, Travel | 4 Comments

Teething!

UPDATE: We took Baby to the hospital later as the Tylenol wasn’t helping. Turns out it wasn’t teething, but a viral throat infection (probably picked up on the plane on the way over to Ireland). :p Wow, what a day. … Continue reading

Posted in Family | 5 Comments