Category Archives: Freedom

Letting Go and the Symmetry of Canoes

By Paul | Published: June 14, 2009
Tualatin River, September 22, 1999 On Friday I sold my canoe. The last time we had it in the water was the summer of, maybe, 2005. Since then it’s been in the backyard, covered with a decaying plastic tarp. It needed some minor repairs to make it usable and a lot of work to bring it [...]
Also posted in Buddhism, Canoeing, Dhamma, Dharma | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Are You Prepared to Fail?

By Paul | Published: December 17, 2007
We met yesterday morning, Robin and I, with our friends Sakula and Alistair. Sakula is one one of the founders of Portland Friends of the Dhamma, a Buddhist lay community and center with close ties with Abhayagiri Buddhist Monastery in Northern California. We were discussing with them our plans of establishing a similar community here [...]
Also posted in Belief, Buddhism, Delusion, Dhamma, Dharma, Eightfold Path, Four Noble Truths, Practice | Leave a comment

Five Precepts: Five Faultless Gifts

By Paul | Published: September 18, 2007
Having grown up within the culture of rules, regulations, and commandments, it’s easy to view the Five Precepts as just another set of rules to follow. Rules, after all, are for control, aren’t they? A governing body creates rules for the governed. This body controls the actions of that body. Those who break the rules [...]
Also posted in Buddhism, Dhamma, Dharma, Precepts, Safety, The Buddha | Leave a comment