Happy Holidays and Other Profanities

Holiday jeers again usurp holiday cheers with the return of  Fox News blowhard Bill O’Reilly’s “anti-Christmas cultural war.” Pre-thanksgiving, while touting his new book in the liberal news media, O’Reilly rebranded himself as a “secularist” with deep abiding love for church-state separation. But with the tour over, this turkey and his fellow Christmas crusaders once again ring the jingle bell jihad. 

Joining the chorus, Utah State Senator Chris Butters introduced legislation to “encourage” retailers to use the “Merry Christmas” greetings exclusively. Butters says although he’s tired of the so-called Christmas war, “we are a Christian nation and ought to use the word.”  Ah, Mr. Butters, some people would disagree that Utah was indeed part of a “Christian” nation, but that’s another ecclesiological issue.

Every year, some zealot condemns any use of an inclusive “happy holiday” salutation as anti-Christian bias. A few years ago, I wrote an article Happy Holidays and Other Profanities so with the current spirit of the season, I reincarnated it in The Winking Buddha Blog. Enjoy

The Children’s Candidate

I wrote this diary entry for the Daily KOS back during the 2008 Texas primary election. In honor of today’s historic election, I thought I would republish it.  

And the little children will teach us….

The Children’s Candidate – more

Remembrances of Storms Past

Since we stalwart residents of the Texas Gulf Coast suffer from post traumatic hurricane exhaustion, I’m much too tired to retell the adventures of the last week as my family evacuated from Hurricane Ike.  Thanks to good karma or just that recently upgraded roof, the storm limited damage to the elderly trees throughout our neighborhood. I hope soon to write up a report of the events of the week of Ike, but until then, I thought I would reminisce about other hurricanes past. And as this blog professes to relate somehow to Buddhism, I’ll recall the story of how Hurricane Rita blew away my chance to meet the Dalai Lama.

In September 2005, I had free tickets to the most talked about performance in town — His Holiness the Dalai Lama was to speak at Rice University. The previous night he served as keynote speaker at a $1,000 a person gala spotlighting all spiritualism in society, including Buddhism and “other” escoteric “New Age” philosophies. 

Unfortunately, that August and September 2005 brought two samsaric (and perhaps karmic) events to the Gulf region, Hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Because Rita wobbled to the right and the civic leaders fearing another 24/7 media (not just natural) disaster, they issued a mandatory evacuation order for the city. An estimated 2-million-plus vehicles clogged all routes leading from the Houston area. Journeys that normally took about two hours evolved into 15 hours of nonstop stopped congestion. Gas, food, water ran out as road rage flared in the 200 mile traffic jam. One hundred elderly people burned to death on a bus as traffic inched by.  

Thus, His Holiness’ talk about benevolence, compassion, peace, and kindness was cancelled and the leader of the Tibetan people had to be whisked out of town despite the gridlock that ensued. As the Dalai Lama is a Buddha in the flesh. And karma being what it is, all the evacuees headed north on clogged, congested and conflicted freeways while the His Holiness was escorted south in the direction of Hobby airport,  serendipitously in the opposite direction of the disconbobulation. And whether because traffic was fleeing the city, or because he was the Dalai Lama and actualized such things, no cars blocked escape route from the city. He caught his winged transport with plenty of time to spare.

I wrote a blog about the rather perplexing juxtaposition of $1000 tickets to see a poor monk and us poor supplicants whose free tickets to his public lectures blew away in hurricane winds. So, I decided to create a new blog page called Reincarnations to post past blogs or writings that may have renewed relevancy for today. 

So please check the new-and-old Reincarnations page to read the oldie but goodie blog, Houston Serves The Dalai Lama a Rita

Creative Urges

Buddhism and blogging should be dichotomous. Buddhism requires egolessness while blogs proliferate as perhaps the most ego-driven obsession around. To believe that anyone cares about the blogster’s witticisms, banter or jabberings — let alone have a stat counter (which we don’t) serves as the antithesis of Buddha’s teaching of “no self.”

Yet the creative urge strikes and a blog can serve as much as a parchment of mind as bound journal. Many a child’s locked diary contains a memoir just itching to mature someday. Consider this my journal. If any other soul happens upon it, I hope they enjoy it.

With this goal of creative outlet in mind, the Winking Buddha Blog becomes an archive of my writings about my spiritual path, my cyber-spiral journal notebook, if you will. The Creations page of this blog will include selections of poetry, articles, sketches, perhaps even a bit of artwork as the mood renders. Not just for my ego gratification, but in the sense of sharing with you. Your own creations, thoughts, comments and criticisms are welcome and encouraged.

My first entry ties into a Buddhist theme quite well. Say “Amen,” Gracie first appeared in Change Magazine and later in my diary on the Daily KOS blog. The article explains why I became a Buddhist.

So, click on the Creations page now and then to see if the creative urge struck.

© 2008 winkingbuddha.com