In May, I published an essay that was said to be my last post on homosexuality and the Orthodox Church. I seem to have lied. This essay will be the last one. I have already published an essay on sex in general. It’s called “A Pebble in My Shoe.” It’s probably a good idea to look that one up and read it before this one.
Saturday, February 15, 2025
Recent Poetry: February 2025
Chantal Ackerman (1950-2015)
Why is your movie
“Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles,” which runs to more than three hours,
not boring?
In it we see the life of an ordinary woman.
She cooks and cleans. She teaches her son French
(He wants to go to a French-speaking school,
But knows only Flemish). And she turns tricks as a prostitute in their apartment when the son is away.
Only when her carefully observed life goes very slightly off the rails on day 3, does she murder one of her johns.
Why is your movie,
“Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles,” which runs to more than 3 hours,
Not boring?
Tuesday, January 21, 2025
The Sixteen Bodhisattva Precepts
I took these precepts formally in 2018, receiving the dharma name Shin Chi, which I am told can mean “deep wisdom.” In the Zen school in which I practice, one is asked to say something very personal about each one. The boldface below represents what I said about them. The lightface represents what was originally written by Boundless Way Zen. I also took the precepts in the Korean school in which I used to practice (this was in the early nineties) and the name I was given then was Il Shim, which I am told can mean “one mind.”
The Cross
I wear a cross on a silver chain around my neck. It’s only less than 1x1 inches. It’s silver. It doesn’t say “Save and Preserve” on the back, as Orthodox crosses often do. The one I had before said that. It was pewter, and being that, it wore almost completely away. It says on the front the abbreviation for “The King of Glory,” and the one for “Jesus Christ conquers.” That last word, NIKA, (“conquers” in Greek) is not an abbreviation though.
Recent Poetry, January 2025
Mike Leigh (1943- )
You taught us that
By not turning away
There is much to be learned.
And what a rare thing it is
Not to turn away.
In all of your films,
On our behalf,
You never turned away.
We learned so much.
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