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Sep 13, 2023Liked by Bill Gardner

I benefited from reading this respectful view of Buddhism by a practitioner who is also a Christian.

My father was raised by a Buddhist father and a Christian mother. He became a Catholic priest at the age of 72 after my mother died. Before being ordained, he was required to obtain a master's degree in theology. For his master's thesis, he wrote about the harmony between Buddhism and Christianity and quoted from Marcus Borg's "Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings."

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Jun 13, 2023Liked by Bill Gardner

What a fine and surprising piece, Bill. Have you found Pema Chodron's version of Buddhism relevant and helpful? I've found her very good for helping me weather the storms of family life.

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Thank you, Natalie. Yes, Chodron's stream of Tibetan Buddhism was relatively close to the one I was part of. I have read several of her books and often recommend them.

I caution people, however, about the Shambhala Organization that Chodron belongs to (or at least she used to). There are no religions free from scandal, but this one seems to have a particularly troubled history.

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Indeed--I think she's distanced herself from the person/group at the centre of that scandal. I do find her uniquely helpful reading. And I know that my neighbour Paul Dewar was reading her when he was in your situation.

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Thank you, Louis. I am so grateful for the generosity of my Zen and Karma Kajyu teachers.

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