One City Blog

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Welcome to One City. You’ve lived here your whole life, whether you know it or not. This blog is an outgrowth of the Interdependence Project, a Buddhist-inspired, community-oriented 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization dedicated to teaching the insights of meditation and applying the truth of interconnectedness to life in the 21st-century world. If you’re interested in how your mind works, are interested in meditation (but don’t want to pretend you live in ancient Asia), care about the world, are into media, love contemporary culture, and above all, really dig the truth of interdependence–that nothing happens in a vacuum—then this blog is for you.
Updated: 23 weeks 1 day ago

Getttin' Busy Gettin' Quiet

Fri, 10/09/2009 - 4:07pm
Autumn, siren of red and gold, harbinger of tweed and velvet jackets, of renewed promises and vigor, clear sun-ed autumn you come to us once again.  You have come Autumn, shoving the margarita out of our hand and replacing...


Yom Kippur 2009: Atonement - Karma isn't Just a Buddhist Thing

Mon, 09/28/2009 - 12:58pm
by Ethan NichternAs your typical half-jew, half-protestant, God-loving agnostic and Buddhist practitioner, I wanted to wish everyone a very fruitful Yom Kippur 2009. Someone mentioned to me that they think atonement and fasting, seem un-Buddhist, because of the possibility of...


Buddhist Quote of the Day: Pema Chodron on Tea Boys, Race Riots, and World War III

Mon, 09/28/2009 - 12:12pm
A good Buddhist quote on how annoying people can turn into bitter enemies, and how Buddhism uses the "tea boy" analogy to keep your enemies as close as you can."The story goes that Atisha was told that the people of...


Pop Zen or The Branding of Buddhism: Remix

Sun, 09/27/2009 - 11:00am
by Evelyn CashA few weeks ago, Jerry Kolber wrote an article on this blog about the Branding of Buddhism.  His piece presented an intriguing argument for branding and popularizing Buddhism in order to make the Buddha's valuable teachings available...


What would Sid do: I had an abortion

Fri, 09/25/2009 - 9:52pm
by Lodro Rinzler   Angulimal, photo courtesy of shunya.netBefore Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment at age 35 he was a confused twenty and thirty-something looking to learn how to live a spiritual life. He had an overbearing dad, expectations for what he...


Dharma Poetry: Jane Hirshfield

Fri, 09/25/2009 - 12:53pm
A few weeks ago I blogged about Tyler Doherty, a fine contemporary Buddhist poet, and Gary Gach of Tricycle Magazine posted a comment.  I looked Gary up and found out that he hosts a lively Haiku Corner blog at Tricycle's...


Envisioning a Dzong

Thu, 09/24/2009 - 8:06pm
an actual dzong. photo by miles_laneby Davee EvansSome things poignantly remind me that I've just moved back to San Francisco — a city that I so dearly love — like cold, foggy evenings; bells ringing from street cars; or discovering my housemate...


Why We Meditate: It's Cheaper Than Adderall

Thu, 09/24/2009 - 3:53pm
by Ethan NichternThis November 6 & 7, the Buddhist-inspired Interdependence Project will be hosting our largest fundraiser and event to date in the form of a 24- hour Meditation Marathon in the window displays of ABC Carpet & Home, a...


Buddhism is Not a Religion: The God Problem

Wed, 09/23/2009 - 5:29pm
by Jerry KolberI am going to continue exploring where I left off last week with my question:  is Buddhism a religion or a way to approach living?  The ONLY reason I think this question matters is that the ideas that...


Dalai Lama in Memphis: Fist Bump is the New Namaste

Wed, 09/23/2009 - 12:34pm
by Ethan NichternAccording to the Associated Press, the interim Mayor of Memphis, Myron Lowery concocted a new way to greet His Holiness the Dalai Lama: Fist Bump! Yes, that's right. He also said "Hello, Dalai." Apparently his Holiness was a...


Making our voices heard: A week of taking action on Climate Change

Wed, 09/23/2009 - 7:00am
European leaders are saying that Americans do not have the will to take action on Climate Change. They are highly concerned that we will (again) ruin the efforts being made to set "legally binding and internationally enforceable targets for reductions...


Coldplay 's Chris Martin to Teach Jay-Z Yoga?

Tue, 09/22/2009 - 5:19pm
Jay-Z 's got '99 problems' but a stanky yoga mat ain't one. Jay's been opening for the UK based band Coldplay the past month and has noticed the flexible on stage presence of Lead Singer Chris Martin:'Chris hasn't tried to...


Autumn Quotes About Fall: Chogyam Trungpa on the Natural Hierarchy of Four Seasons

Tue, 09/22/2009 - 3:51pm
Happy Autumn! Enjoy this quote about fall from Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche, founder of Shambhala:"The Four Seasons have a natural hierarchy of restriction, openness, celebration, practicality--and then restriction again. We could talk about the functioning of governments or any organization,...


Monday Night Heartcore Dharma: Karma and Bodhisattvas & Ice Cream

Tue, 09/22/2009 - 1:04pm
"Vajrayogini would claim to be enlightened. If you asked her, she would just dance. And throw cookies & cream at you." -Ethan Nichtern Cookies & cream ice cream was the image that connected the various threads of last night's Heartcore Dharma discussion...


The ultimate truth is fearless

Mon, 09/21/2009 - 6:09pm
by Greg ZwahlenOver the last few days our friend Waylon Lewis, editor at elephant journal, blogged about allegations he had recently discovered about Chogyam Trungpa. Waylon was convinced they were false, and suggested that a reference to it on Wikipedia, be deleted pronto,...


Buddhist Leader Karmapa: "Video war games satiate my feelings of aggression"

Mon, 09/21/2009 - 5:32pm
Today is The International Day of Peace! The Karmapa recently shared one of his methods for avoiding aggression ... by playing video games!"All of us have emotions, happy emotions, sad emotions, displeased emotions and we need to figure out...


Buddha of the Week

Mon, 09/21/2009 - 4:40pm
B-B-B-Buddha of the week!A lovely wheatpaste piece up onBogart Street, inBushwick, part ofBrooklyn, it'sBuddha! Thanks to IDP member Patrick Groneman for this photo.Would be great if the wheatpaste artist came forth too -- spread it around!...


Buddhist Quote of the Day: Economist Jared Bernstein on Hell and Heaven

Sun, 09/20/2009 - 12:04pm
Since the last quote provoked a surprising discussion, here's another from Economist Jared Bernstein, Chief Economic Adviser to  Vice President Joseph Biden, and apparently, a fan of Buddhism. His book was given to me by Senator Eric Schneiderman, recently honored...


Music and Meditation

Sun, 09/20/2009 - 10:00am
Music has a lot of power.  It can make you laugh, it can make you cry, it can bring back memories long forgotten and it can help you create new ones.  I love music and my tastes are about as...


What would Sid do about my party-hardy neighbor?

Fri, 09/18/2009 - 7:46pm
What would Sid do?Before Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment at age 35 he was a confused twenty and thirty-something looking to learn how to live a spiritual life. He had an overbearing dad, expectations for what he was supposed to do...