Perhaps now more than ever, so many people face the fear of dying, or loved ones dying. I want to provide comfort however I can. So we’re giving away my last book. Simply email [email protected]: “I want the book!” and we’ll send the pdf. Amazon has all the reviews, hard copies, and audio copies.
“One’s man’s story of love, loss, and realization; it is a story that many of us know or will know. Heart-breaking, beautiful, intimate, challenging… This is a book we should all read.” ―Roshi Joan Halifax, author Being with Dying: Cultivating Compassion and Fearlessness in the Presence of Death
“How to express how deeply I am touched by this remarkable tale of the truth of living and dying? This is not just an autobiography and history of their time together and its cancerous ending, but also a Buddhist dharma teaching. Life and death lived within the Buddhist perspective. It is gift from them to and for all of us. We all need to come to compassionate understanding and radical acceptance of the truth of dying. This book is a great sharing teaching of this understanding.”
―Jun Po Denis Kelly, Abbot of the Hollow Bones Order of Rinzai Zen
Ever since I was 15 and first discovered Alan Watts’ “The Book” and Ram Dass’s “Be Here Now,” I wanted to practice Buddhism – sometimes referred to as “The Middle Way.” It took 15 years until someone showed up to show me how!
I recently passed the 32-year mark for Buddhist practice. From 1988-1995 I practiced with the organization SGI (Soka Gakkai International), most known for chanting “Nam-Myoho-Renge-Kyo.” Along with that sacred phrase, we chanted parts of the Buddha’s Lotus Sutra transliterated from Chinese into Japanese. From 1995-2000 I practiced Vipassana with the Spirit Rock sangha in Marin County, CA. I did many meditation retreats there; most notably one three weeks long in 1998 with renowned teachers Jack Kornfield, Tara Brach, and Sylvia Boorstein. Since 2000 I’ve largely practiced Rinzai Zen, beginning with the 2nd ever Hollow Bones retreat in May of that year. This “Warrior Zen” suits me best and, like many, I fell in love with our Founder Junpo Denis Kelly. Recent upheavals related to Black Lives Matter have caused me to reflect again on this varied history of Buddhist practice. Read on here…
Our new film portraying the organization Veteran Rites’ ceremonies on the land, Veterans Journey Home: Leaving It On the Land, has already dramatically impacted one of their supporters…
Dave Menicucci is a personal trainer who lives in Redwood City, CA. Dave has two family members, his father and a cousin, who served in the military and are interred at the Golden Gate National Cemetery in San Bruno, CA and another non-military cemetery nearby. His dad, David Menicucci, served in battle with the Infantry during World War II in the Philippines. His cousin, who was more like a big brother to Dave than a cousin, was Joseph Lucido, a Lance Corporal in the US Marine Corps. Joe died in service in Vietnam at only 22 years of age, when Dave was 19 years old. Read on to learn of the magical encounter Dave had at the cemetary honoring his comrades…