Living “there”

Whether in childhood or later, many may wonder what their lives would be like under different accidents or circumstances. As a child traveling past houses and s...

Getting in, getting out

A big green fly is buzzing angrily at the window screen. Perhaps he wants to get into the house. I go to another room and there he is again, buzzing angrily. If...

Bassui and the Way

Fourteenth-century Zen master Bassui relates the story of a certain patriarch who took one meal a day, never lay down, spent the day in worshipful practice, and...

Library as universe

Umberto Eco points out that there are two model libraries. The first is found in the sixteenth-century classic novel Don Quixote by Miguel Cervantes, wherein th...

Retreat

In an essay for Tricycle (Spring 2005) entitled “The Power of Solitude,” author Reggie Ray discusses the efficacy of retreats. He describes not only...

Meng Hao-jan

A poem by eighth-century Chinese poet Meng Hao-jan speaks of “depths of quiet” that suggest more than silence or equanimity. Meng was a hermit, and ...

Silence and sorrow

In his book Unattended Sorrow, author Stephen Levine reflects on the role of silence as a form of healing. His entire book is intended to address grief and pain...