Archive for July, 2009
Friday, July 31st, 2009
This Buddhist is Illin’
Back in the early 90s when I was making my living as a stand-up comic, I met a fellow comic named Arj Barker. He cracked me up on all sorts of different levels. He just seemed to look at the world differently and irreverently but was never offensive. He scored high on the likability scale [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Video by Michael McAlister
Monday, July 27th, 2009
God doesn’t care about anyone’s sex life
I enjoyed reading Mark Morford’s SF Chronicle piece today. Made me laugh… in a Kosmic way, of course. What God really loves is meddling and poking and maybe forgiving, and also psychoanalyzing and scrutinizing and prying, gossiping and complaining and moderating, sighing and punishing and condemning, all while He shakes His big, shaggy head in [...]
1 Comment » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Monday, July 27th, 2009
Podcast: ISmile227 – Faith No More
In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses the perils of centering one’s practice on faith. While there is mystery in practice, it is critical that we nurture our ability to skilfully question our teachers, our preferred teaching, and our spiritual friends as we progress along the Path. via ISmile227 – Faith No More | Infinite Smile.
No Comments » - Posted in Podcast by Michael McAlister
Friday, July 24th, 2009
Dalai Lama’s Successor Dilemma… take a vote.
So very interesting… The People’s Daily Online reports: According to an interview with People’s Daily Online, professor Shen Weirong, director of the Research Center on Han-Tibetan Buddhism at Renmin University of China, and expert on Tibet, said that the Dalai Lama’s wishes to select his successor through “democratic election,” but this procedure neither accords with [...]
No Comments » - Posted in People by Michael McAlister
Friday, July 24th, 2009
My Mental Positions, My Beliefs, and My Judgements
UrbanMonk.Net offers up a great post on how we can be big babies. Is it possible that we are all giant babies in our own way? Even as adults, we cling and grasp to something, anything, in order to stay in our fantasy, to keep these fears at bay. Take a moment to think about [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Friday, July 24th, 2009
Your Enlightenment?
At the encouragement of c4chaos, I read a post by Alan Chapman of Open Enlightenment. Chapman offers us an interesting bit of writing on how he’s evolved after becoming enlightened. Admittedly, I spend a great deal of time with my own sangha cautioning about this kind of language since it implies that one has awakened [...]
3 Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Friday, July 24th, 2009
Podcast: ISmile226 – The Buddhist Call to Prayer
In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses how we can recognize the we are continually called to practice. Stillness, like any exercise, sharpens itself and our being whenever we engage in it consciously. Repeatedly making space for meditation in our daily lives then allows for all things, all relationships, and all activity to inform our walk [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Podcast by Michael McAlister
Tuesday, July 14th, 2009
Redux: Chapter 7 — Clarity
This issue came up over the weekend as I spoke with someone about their desire to leave their community. Individuals with these false Awakenings fill the spiritual marketplace. They may be charismatic, brilliant, and disarming. Yet as teachers they perhaps haven’t fully dealt with the shadow elements of their personalities, thus leaving spiritual gaps in [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Monday, July 13th, 2009
Podcast: ISmile225 – Spiritual Adulthood
In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses the maturation process of spiritual work. How is it, for example, that we can evolve into deeper expressions of embodied helpfulness; especially in the context of activism in general and the Iranian situation specifically. via ISmile225 – Spiritual Adulthood | Infinite Smile.
No Comments » - Posted in Podcast by Michael McAlister
Monday, July 13th, 2009
Attachment Alert: How fundamentalism begets fundamentalism
Jeff Sharlet writes on Killing the Buddha about how Christian fundamentalism helped turn Somalia into the next staging ground for Islamic radicalism.
No Comments » - Posted in Fundamentalism,Writing by Michael McAlister
Monday, July 13th, 2009
What would Buddha smoke?
Shambhala SunSpace offers up The Smoking Monk: The fifth precept of Buddhism tells us to “refrain from taking intoxicants.” This seems pretty clear. However, a decade ago, if we asked the monks in Cambodia whether Buddhist should smoke, many of them would have excused it. Now those numbers are starting to decline. The vow I [...]
2 Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Monday, July 13th, 2009
Podcast: ISmile224 – Being the Wow
In this evening’s talk, Michael discusses helpful ways of looking at what in Zen we call, “beginner’s mind.” via ISmile224 – Being the Wow | Infinite Smile.
No Comments » - Posted in Podcast by Michael McAlister
Monday, July 13th, 2009
Podcast: ISmile223 – Underneath the Sheet
In this evening’s talk, Michael talks about how meditation is designed to help us fail. He also speaks to the fact that we are essentially walking around in life as ghosts. Knowing what’s underneath the ghostly sheet is the Path to Awakening. via ISmile223 – Underneath the Sheet | Infinite Smile.
No Comments » - Posted in Podcast by Michael McAlister
Friday, July 10th, 2009
The Infinite Smile BBQ!
Please join us for the Annual Infinite Smile BBQ at the Lafayette Reservoir Saturday, July 11, starting at 11 am. Bring family, friends, pets and something delicious to share and the beverage of your choice. There will be hamburgers and garden burgers on the grill. We will be gathering at the ‘Small Picnic Area’ across [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Friday, July 10th, 2009
Podcast Alert: ISmile222 – The Source of Mind
In this evening’s talk , Michael addresses the divine and eternal source of all things.
No Comments » - Posted in Podcast by Michael McAlister
Friday, July 10th, 2009
You’re a Christian? What level?
Stuart Davis nails this one beautifully: I know Bill Maher thinks Pat Robertson is an idiot. So do I. But not because he’s Christian. I think Pat Robertson is an idiot because he’s a developmentally arrested person. And he expresses his retardation through the vehicle of religion. But he would not be at any higher [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Fundamentalism by Michael McAlister
Sunday, July 5th, 2009
Blogless in the Mountains
So far, I’ve found the last several weeks to be difficult on the blogging front. Rarely at a computer; iPhone connection issues; too much dancing, all have pushed the commentary out of the picture. And now the family and I are off on a camping trip where (I’ve been assured) there won’t be much communication. [...]
No Comments » - Posted in Writing by Michael McAlister
Thursday, July 2nd, 2009
Dog gets too close to child during baking…
Dog gets too close to child during baking… Originally uploaded by Michael G. McAlister
