The TV show Roadtrip Nation visited the San Francisco Bay Area last year. They interviewed some local luminaries, including Political Analyst Michael Parenti, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings... and Zen Master Bon Soeng of Empty Gate Zen Center (where I've practiced for decades). ZMBS' clip is below.
In this new year, Empty Gate just might follow through on our resolution to get more Zen on video. Bill filmed last Wednesday's evening program. Before ZMBS' talk and Q&A, I gave an intro talk, rhapsodizing about the 2004 indie film Zen Noir. (In most meditation schools, such talks start off with stories from sacred scriptures. We haven't got any of those in Zen... but Netflix provides plenty of alternatives.) The talks are on YouTube in 4 parts, the first of which is embedded below.
It's been a month since I last posted. First, I was on pre-holiday vacation with my mother and some friends. It was good to hang out with them, there were some cool sites and a fun morning snorkling, and it was kinda good to be away from the Christmas hoo-hah. Since then I've been busy with my new contract with Gap. It's going real well, but considering these uncertain times, I'm making extra efforts to be especially productive... and less snarky in my attitude. I'll be happy when the economic crisis is over, and I can return to normal.
Thanks to those who posted comments during this time. In the Abortion Politics comments, Doug offers some sane thoughts, and a link to an audio of a Zen talk discussing politics and abortion. In the comments to Adi Da Dies, Morgan writes of his positive view of time spent with Da. It's great that Morgan, who spent years close to Da, has offered a different perspective here in such a thoughtful way.
5 comments:
Hi...Glad you had a good break. Did I ever mention that I live in the same bldg that is the GAP hq? If you are ever in NYC let me know. I published something on Adi Da after his death and have since had an interesting correspondence with one of his devotees. Cheers, S
i like your blog......
Stuart; Thank you for posting the links to the videos. I appreciated the interview and the Dharma talk of Zen Master Bon Soeng, and was delighted by your “intro talk”. Take care. clyde
Great to hear from you, Stephen and clyde. (And thanks for spamming, gooood girl.) I hope you all are having a clear and correct New Year!
Gonna have to Netflix "Zen Noir" now. Sounds like a fun flick. :)
Thanks for the link. It's always fun to peek into another zen community and see how things are done.
Unrelated note: Stu, a few days ago I watched some videos of interviews with A.G. Krishnamurti (distinct from the better known Guru Krishnamurti). I liked what he had to say, thought you might be interested if you hadn't seen it before:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U3azqF_OMu4
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