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!
Category Archives: Religion
Happy Easter and Buddha’s Birthday
April 8th this year is unusual because it marks two holidays at once: Easter according to the Western calendar (the resurrection of Jesus Christ) and the birth of Shakyamuni Buddha according to the Japanese Buddhist calendar.1 The photo above is … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Christianity, Korean, Language, Religion
6 Comments
Is There More Than This?
Lately, I’ve been thinking about a quote from Roger Zelazny’s Isle of the Dead:1 Even if they had been real gods, what did it matter? What was it to me? Here I was still, right where I was born a … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Confucius, Literature, Religion, Shinto, Zelazny
3 Comments
Racism in the 21st Century, old habits die hard
(Another sad example in history when two tribes have clashed and caused needless loss of life) I am a happy follower of actor LeVar Burton on Twitter,1 and recently he posted an interesting article about the movie Hunger Games. Not … Continue reading
Japanese Names Through The Ages
Recently, the Japan Times had an interesting article about how names have changed in Japan to reflect the times. For example, if a new Emperor ascended the throne, many kids would have names that included kanji from the Emperor’s reign … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Family, Japan
11 Comments
Make Your Own Buddhist Liturgy Book
This is another post to celebrate the Ohigan holiday. When I flew to Japan recently, I bought a small notebook at the airport gift shop: It was an impulse purchase; I don’t know why I bought it, but it looked … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Religion, Shingon, Theravada
8 Comments
Need Some Focus
Hunchback of Chu: “…No matter how huge heaven and earth, or how numerous the ten thousand things, I’m aware of nothing but cicada wings. Not wavering, not tipping, not letting any of the other ten thousand things take place of … Continue reading
Spring Ohigan 2012: A Look At Its Founder
Once again, we come the twice-yearly Buddhist holiday of Ohigan, which falls on or around the Spring and Fall equinoxes. Instead of the usual sermon, I thought it would be interesting to look at the lives of the man (and … Continue reading
Posted in Buddhism, Japan, Travel
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Hats for Jizo: A Japanese Buddhist Tale
Note: One day last month, my wife asked me to help translate a Japanese children’s book into English for a presentation at my daughter’s pre-school. It is a famous old tale (mukashi-banashi 昔話) in Japan. This is my completed translation, … Continue reading
Ashes to Ashes
Over on my other, smaller blog, I’ve been writing about women poets from the Hyakunin Isshu, and I recently posted a poem by the famous Lady Izumi, or Izumi Shikibu as she’s called in Japanese. She was a very passionate … Continue reading
Why Did I Get Married Again?
Furthermore, a man and a woman hasten to be united, like iron particles attracted by a magnet….Although man and wife may love each other, they do not know the nature of their love….Their union is comparable to someone meeting another … Continue reading
