About the Author
Hello, this blog is about my life as a father, Buddhist and Japanophile / Koreaphile. Any useful information I can pass along will hopefully make the Internets a better place. Thanks for reading!
Monthly Archives: January 2012
Be The Bigger Person
While reading the Buddha’s famous Metta Sutta, and an interesting article about it, I found this interesting sutra from the Pali Canon. This is the Kakacupama Sutta (MN 21): The Simile of the Saw. In summary, the Buddha is teaching … Continue reading
Yokohama Chukagai: Adventures in Japan’s Chinatown
On the same day that I visited Sojiji Temple with “Johnl”, we had some time left over, but not enough to visit another temple, so John led me to Yokohama’s famous Chinatown called chūkagai (中華街). The name basically just means … Continue reading
You’re Not Getting Any Younger
Recently I found this old comic from Sinfest,1 and wanted to talk about it here. The Buddha described the “Four Sufferings” (or “stresses” as I like to call them) in his first sermon: Birth is stress (as a parent, I … Continue reading
Rethinking the Imperial House of Japan
The Japan Times recently had an interesting article about the Imperial Family of Japan, and how the current law has made the family so small, that there are very few heirs left. The Imperial Household Law of 1947 (Kōshitsu Tenpan … Continue reading
Sound Shifts in Korean Language
Since I started studying Korean alongside Japanese, I noticed some similarities. However, I’ve also noticed some differences. One of them is sound-shifts. Japanese has comparatively few, while Korean has a lot, and it affects how words are read. This is … Continue reading
Ishigakijima Chinese Oil comes to our home…and my stomach
My wife came home Monday after staying in Japan a little longer due to her best-friend’s wedding, but among the many things she brought back was this! This is the famous Ishigakijima hot Chinese oil that was a huge craze … Continue reading
Another Side of Soto Zen Buddhism: Sojiji Temple
One of the nice things about meeting blog readers, especially overseas, is that you get to see and learn so many cool things. I was fortunate once again to meet Tokyo expert and blog reader, “Johnl”, who has his own … Continue reading
Posted in Japan, Religion, Travel, Zen
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This, too, is KPop
KPop has been kind of a global hit in the last 10 years, and has been a frequent subject of this blog, but it’s also good to know its more humble origins: This is a famous song called “Itaewon Freedom”, … Continue reading
Happy 8th Anniversary, Baby!
Hi Honey, It’s been 8 fun years together as husband and wife, and since you’re in Japan1 enjoying sunny weather while we’re here in Seattle stuck in a snow-storm, I thought you might enjoy this video from Kinki Kids that … Continue reading
Day 3 of 2012: Meiji Shrine in Tokyo
In case anyone thought I forgot about this after coming back to the US, let me talk about my visit to Meiji Shrine on the third day of Japanese New Year. The first day, for hatsumode we visited Kawasaki Daishi, … Continue reading
