Everyday Buddhism: Making Everyday Better
Religion & Spirituality:Buddhism
You're in for a treat in this episode. At least it was a treat for me to have a conversation with Clark Strand. Clark is a former Zen monk, author, Haiku teacher, and communicator of all things spiritual and religious. He has studied and actually practiced within many, many spiritual and religious traditions so he speaks from actual experience.
The focus of today's conversation is on his book, Waking the Buddha: How The Most Dynamic and Empowering Buddhist Movement in History is Changing Our Concept of Religion, but Clark is also the author of Seeds From a Birch Tree: Writing Haiku and the Spiritual Journey, Now Is the Hour of Her Return: Poems In Praise of the Divine Mother Kali, co-author, with Perdita Finn, of The Way of the Rose: The Radical Path of the Divine Feminine Hidden in the Rosary, and many other books on poetry, spirituality, and ecology. He is the co-founder of an international, non-sectarian rosary fellowship with members across the world.
I invited him on the podcast to talk about Nichiren Buddhism, Soka Gakkai, and chanting, in general. It is a subject I haven't covered on this podcast and the timing was sparked by the recent passing of Tina Turner who was a very public Soka Gakkai practitioner.
Although the focus of the conversation began with the Soka Gakkai, it became a fascinating journey to many other areas, due to Clark's wide reach of Clark's spiritual depth.
Among many other things, we talked about the folk traditions within all religions. Or, as Clark said, "there is always a religion within a religion." …
About how the Soka Gakkai became virtually the only ethnically and racially diverse Buddhist organization religion in the world…
About why Clark states that spirituality needs to be about "ecology not theology" and that the reason the thread that runs through his spiritual experience IS ecology and the folk traditions…
And, for fellow Pure Land and Shin practitioners, about how the Pure Land tradition is the only tradition deeply grounded in ecology…
About Haiku…
About the divine feminine, the Divine Mother, and the rosary as a spiritual and NOT a religious practice … and is, essentially, a tantric mantra practice…
About the 12-Steps program…
About chanting and how it gives voice to one's intentions, dreams, or hopes … and is the most ancient form of spiritual practice…
Listen and enjoy the journey...
Everyday Buddhism 50 - The Social Dilemma and Otherness
Everyday Buddhism 49 - A Missing Future with David Farley
Everyday Buddhism 48 - Announcing the Everyday Buddhism Lecture Series on Mindful Writing
Everyday Buddhism 47 - Building a Resilience Bank Account
Everyday Buddhism 46 - 6 Steps for Coping with Uncertainty with Gregg Krech
Everyday Buddhism 45 - We're All in the Same Storm But Not in the Same Boat
Everyday Buddhism 44 - Chaos and Order: Personal Reflections, Poetry, and Chaos Theory
Everyday Buddhism 43 - Awakening to the Ordinary with Dr. Christiane Michelberger
Everyday Buddhism 42 - How Not to Feel Like a Victim
Everyday Buddhism 41 - American Sutra with Duncan Williams
Everyday Buddhism 40 - Covid-19 Mind Protection
Everyday Buddhism 39 - Let's Not Talk About Politics
Everyday Buddhism 38 - And Yet, And Yet
Everyday Buddhism 37 - Pragmatic Buddhism with Ken McLeod
Everyday Buddhism 36 - Random New Year's Thoughts
Everyday Buddhism 35 - Bodhi Day: The Light is Inside!
Everyday Buddhism 34 - The Book is Here! Book Launch Special
Everyday Buddhism 33 - Halloween: What Scares You? What Masks Do You Wear?
Everyday Buddhism 32 - Buddhism, Baseball, and Life
Everyday Buddhism 31 - The Boundless Heart: Bodhicitta
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