Penetrate the true meaning of the Heart Sutra, says Karl Brunnhölzl, and nothing will be the same again. The secret is to make it personal. There is no doubt that the Heart Sutra is the most frequently used and recited text in the entire Mahayana Buddhist tradition, which still flourishes in Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Tibet, Mongolia, Bhutan, China, parts of India and Nepal, and, [...]
4’33”
In 1952 composer John Cage shook the music world with his most radical composition to date: 4'33", known unofficially as “the silent piece.” Kay Larson explores its Zen-inspired lessons in her new book, Where the Heart Beats. It’s the end of August, 1952. Carolyn and Earle Brown, John Cage, David Tudor, and M.C. Richards are all driving up the Hudson Valley together, headed to [...]
Ask The Teachers: How do I stop meditation from making me feel isolated?
Question: There are times on the path when I feel isolated from society and the people around me. Perversely, this always seems to be when I am meditating the most and really clearing my head. Superficialities and consumptive tendencies seem very exaggerated, and I find myself feeling alien in the world around me. I don’t think this is the proper response. What can be done to [...]
Cunningham and Cage
Merce Cunningham was 90 when he died on July 26. Seventy-one years earlier he was sitting with friends in the lobby of the Cornish School in Seattle when his eye was caught by a red corduroy jacket and the 26-year-old who was wearing it -- John Cage, who was walking down the stairs from the music studio. Cunningham asked his companions, "Who's that?" He found out soon enough. [...]