African Zen
Is it possible to make a Soto Zen sangha flourish in a small rural town in Eastern Africa? Apparently, it is. This article describes the dojo of Morogoro town, in rural Tanzania, but also explores my feelings of amazement when I visited it. For years, I have asked myself how to reconcile the need to attend the sangha back home, in Europe, with my deep passion to work in developing countries as a humanitarian nutritionist.
In February this year, during a sesshin in Spain, I asked my Zen Master Roland Yuno: “…I have lived for many years in developing countries and I have realized that my practice has become stiff, lonely and sometimes sterile because of the absence of a sangha. Soon I will go back home to Kenya and I do not know what I should do really”. The Master, in the most direct and easy way ever, popped up the solution I had been seeking for years (and I never dared to ask): “Well, my Belgian disciple lives in Tanzania (neighboring Kenya!). He also works in humanitarian activities, and has set up a sangha. He is an ordained monk. Why not get in touch with him?”
Tegan and Sara – On Directing
Making Comics: Storytelling Secrets of Comics, Manga and Graphic Novels
Scott McCloud's serious explorations of comic craft, culture and commerce are incredibly insightful and treat comics with the respect they demand. Making Comics is an incredible resource for understanding the process of comics creation. Readers, would-be creators and professionals could each gain a tremendous amount of wisdom from this practical, entertaining and heartfelt celebration of comics storytelling.
Tearing down the walls between “boy” and “girl”
If men and women tend towards different strengths and interests, it is due to a complex developmental dance between nature and nurture that leaves ample room to promote non-traditional skills in both sexes.
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So should we abandon our search for the “real” differences between the sexes? Yes. There is almost nothing we do with our brains that is hard-wired: every skill, attribute, and personality trait is molded by experience. At no time are children’s brains more malleable than in early life – the time when parents are so eager to learn the baby’s sex, project it to others and unconsciously express stereotyped impressions of their child.
A Very Brief History of Airships
From the Hindenburg to the Goodyear Blimp, airships have for centuries captured our collective imagination and, in recent years, given lift to the popularity of the steampunk genre. But how much do we know, really, about their history and evolution? How did steerable, lighter-than-air craft progress from some crackpot inventor’s dream to the elegant, Victorian technology of literature?
Well, it certainly didn’t happen overnight.
The “Golden Age” airships, in all their silvery, romantic glory, were, in fact, the culmination of nearly a hundred and fifty years of development in many disparate fields.
The Experiment and The Practice
We could all be more skillful at conducting effective change in our lives, and I’ll raise my own hand high if we’re going to count failures in change. Recently I’ve been learning from some fine examples of people working to change their lives and I’ll to pass along some of what has been valuable.
Self-experimentation is a very effective way to discover ways in which we can alter our lifestyles. Experimentation gives us objective data about how we are living and how well we are changing our lives. Without evidence, we can fool ourselves with wishful thinking or doubts about our progress, but we have the tools we need to confirm our practices are working and to shape them into more effective vehicles for change.
Speculative Words to Live By
Great science fiction and fantasy novels don't just expose us to other worlds and alternate timelines — they expand our minds and give us compass to steer by. Here are our favorite bits of advice and maxims from SF books.
You could do a lot worse than living your life according to principles espoused in science fiction books — in fact, here's somebody who claims that it's impossible to live a moral life unless you read science fiction. We won't go quite that far, but here are some words to live by from science fiction. Please do post your own favorite maxims and aphorisms from SF in the comments — I have a feeling it'll be a really amazing comment thread!