Personal Relections on Bearing Witness in Rwanda by Roshi Eve Myonen Marko

People often don’t understand such a bearing witness trip. I have been asked why anyone would travel a long way to East Africa to listen to people describe a genocide perpetrated on them close to 20 years ago. Someone asked me candidly if I felt a peculiar attraction to terrible suffering. I can only speak […]

Bernie's Opinion on The Dude Abides

Hui-Neng, upon hearing a monk quoting from the Diamond Sutra, is said to have been enlightened. The quote he heard was: “Abiding nowhere, raise the Bodhi Mind.” In the end of the movie by the Coen brothers, the Big Lebowski, the Dude says: “The Dude Abides.” In my opinion, there is a wonderful similarity between […]

Three Tenets Koans

Koans based on the Zen Peacemakers Three Tenets: Not Knowing, Bearing Witness and Taking Action.

Mandala Energies

The following is excerpted from Instructions to the Cook by Bernie Glassman and Rick Fields, Bell Tower, 1996. This book is a primer on how to work with the mandala energies. A Mandala consists of five main “courses” or aspects of life. The first course involves spirituality or vision; the second course is composed of […]

Interconnectedness: The Rug That Ties the Room Together

It is the opinion of many scientists (including me) that about 15 billion years ago a tremendous explosion started the expansion of the universe. This explosion is known as the Big Bang. At the point of this event all of the matter and energy of space was contained at one point. What existed prior to […]

Homeless and At-Risk Youth Gluten Free Bakery

Please support Ven. Pannavati by linking here and donating to her project. Through culinary pre-apprenticeship training and social entrepreneurship, MyPlace has forged a proven path to independence for homeless youth in rural America.

Peter Matthiessen to Publish New Novel

Peter Matthiessen, a National Book Award winner, Zen teacher, in the Zen Peacemakers tradition, and a founder of The Paris Review, has written a new novel, his publisher said on Tuesday. Roshi Matthiessen, a renowned writer of fiction and nonfiction, said in a statement that “at age 86, it may be my last word.” The […]

Street Retreat in Tel Aviv by Uri Ayalon

Uri Ayalon Reports on Street Retreat in Tel Aviv From the blog of Uri Ayalon translated by Ruth Bar-Eden   My father thinks I’m crazy.  That’s nothing new.  Only a crazy person could claim that capitalism is not a directive from heaven; that giving and sharing are man’s basic instincts; and that a life of […]

Yom Kippur in the Streets of Tel-Aviv 2013 by Lilach Shamir

This Yom Kippur I won’t be in synagogue. The day before the holiday a group of people, invited by Rabbi Ohad Ezrachi, a friend and teacher, and the Zen teacher Roshi Bernie Glassman, gathered in the streets of south Tel-Aviv, in Lewinski Park. We stayed there without phones, money, identification papers or possessions save the […]

Zen Peacemakers: The Beginning

1994-2000: Zen Peacemakers: The Beginning I have written about my beginnings in zen and my formative years in zen training. This post starts at the conception of a Zen Peacmaker Family serving as a container for people wanting to do spiritual based social engagement. On my 55th birthday in January, 1994 I did a retreat […]