Masao Abe (1915-2006), a professor of religion, and one of the greatest Zen Buddhist communicators, opened up a rich dialogue with religious leaders around the world. He was also a key disciple of Shin’ichi Hisamatsu (1889-1980) a renowned Zen Master and scholar. I first met Abe-san in September 1964, at his home in Kyoto, whereContinue reading “Masao Abe, and the Week That Changed My Life”
Category Archives: My Journey
Scenes from Shokoku-ji Sodo (Zen Monastery) August 1964-August 1965
Shokoku-ji is a Rinzai Zen compound consisting of 12 temples and the sodo, where the Roshi (zen master) and the monks, live and train. It’s situated in central Kyoto, near Doshisha University and the old Imperial Palace where the emperor lived when Kyoto was the capital of Japan. When I arrived in Japan I livedContinue reading “Scenes from Shokoku-ji Sodo (Zen Monastery) August 1964-August 1965”
The Meeting of My Two Fathers
On a March 1972 evening in Kyoto, Japan, my two fathers met for the first and only time. The occasion was a tea ceremony, performed in Shokoku-ji, a Zen Buddhist monastery, by Kajitani Roshi, my spiritual father, for my parents Fred and Zelda Seldman. Anyone who knew or even just looked at Fred Seldman andContinue reading “The Meeting of My Two Fathers”
A Hero in 1949
I grew up on East 23rd Street, near the corner of Gravesend Neck Road, in the Sheepshead Bay section of Brooklyn, New York. Half of my block was occupied by Public School 206, a six-story elementary school for 1,200 students, and its school yard, which was the size of a baseball diamond. The chain linkContinue reading “A Hero in 1949”
Freddy’s Parenting Style
My father had an unwavering, unconditional love for my brother Neil and I. He rarely got angry with us, never punished us, and mostly wanted us to learn from our mistakes.In the case of Neil, this was easy. Neil was a very good kid and never got into any trouble. He gave my dad aContinue reading “Freddy’s Parenting Style”
Les Deux Voyageur
Last year, my dear friend Dave Levine died swiftly, from pneumonia after a slow, long struggle with Parkinson’s. Dave was one of those people who was “born” wise, and from the time I met him when I was 16 at Cornell until I was 75 I always sought his counsel, and he was always thereContinue reading “Les Deux Voyageur”
How a Year of Voluntary Poverty Put Me on a Path to Making, Saving and Giving Big $
Herman Hesse’s Siddhartha is one of my favorite books, and I re-read it every few years. You probably don’t want to be around when I do because at several points in the book I sob loudly. Like the actual Buddha, Siddhartha leaves a privileged life to join a group of wandering ascetics, the samanas. ButContinue reading “How a Year of Voluntary Poverty Put Me on a Path to Making, Saving and Giving Big $”
Marty Seldman 