About

I am a Zen Buddhist, practicing with the Nashville Zen Center, an affilliate branch of the Atlanta Soto Zen Center, and taught by Taiun Elliston Sensei, in the lineage of Kodo Roshi, through our Order’s founder Matsuoka Roshi, as well as through Uchiyama Roshi, via Shohaku Okumura Roshi.  None of these people or organizations in any way endorses this blog or the ideas, opinions, etc expressed herein. 

In the fall of 2009 my wife and I decided to seperate.  We have since agreed to get a divorce.  In the meantime, my fibromyalgia pain has become disabling.  At the same time, I found my practice to grow stronger, more intense, and  take on a new prominence within my life.  Three things hold me back from moving to Japan and joining a monastery, in no particular order: I am not yet anywhere near fluent in Japanese, my disability would make samu (the daily physical labor expected of every monk as both part of their practice and their contribution back to the monastic community) impossible for me, just like it has regular work, and finally, I simply couldn’t leave my kids behind and be that absent from their lives.  So, I decided to do everything I could to create a lifestyle most conducive to my practice right here, right now.  I live a simple existence with few material possessions, eat simple food, practice several hours a day, and study the dharma.  I created this blog so that I could share what I’ve learned, what I’ve found helpful, not so helpful, and anything else about my experience along the Way,  in the hopes that we can all find our paths in the buddhadharma together.  Please, I am not a Zen teacher, priest, or any other title authorizing me to teach, and I do not claim that my scribblings here represent Zen, Buddhism, or any part thereof.  I am a simple practitioner engaged in his own practice, who thought his musings might aid others also striving for the Buddha.

Reviews of books, movies, podcasts, blogs and other stuff related to Zen/Buddhism as well as a description of my practice with anecdotes about going through a divorce, coping with fibromyalgia, raising kids, etc…

(Some of my posts will contain links to affiliates.  If you make a purchase after following one of these links, I do get a small commission, which I put towards the upkeep of this blog.)