Ox Herding

Friday Video: Ode to Joy

Running low on joy? Thought so.

To remedy of this deficit, consider the following videos, each based on "The Ode to Joy" from Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

The first reveals how not to get joy. When we focus on ME, we fall straight into suffering. (That's my "loose" interpretation of the piece.)

The second video, on the other hand, shows how action WITH and FOR other people produces inestimable joy, a joy that liberates all beings, even if only for a few minutes.

Thank you for reading Ox Herding. As the new year approaches, may you experience the great joy of interconnectedness!

Video: Getting Ready for Christmas Day

Here's Paul Simon's wonderful 2011 song, "Getting Ready for Christmas Day," matched with jumpy, goofy, celebratory imagery. If you celebrate Christmas in any way at all, you'll appreciate the musicality and topicality of this work.

And turn it up loud, not just because it sounds great, but because Simon interweaves a 1941 sermon by R.M. Gates, an influential preacher and Gospel singer of the early wartime period.

Best wishes for the holidays, however you celebrate them!

Barry

Friday Video: Renunciation

Today's video features Ani Chudrun, a Tibetan Buddhist nun who gave up a rather glamorous life in order to look more deeply into life's great questions.

The spiritual life poses many challenges, especially in the early years. But, as Ani Chudrun observes, the worldly life also poses many challenges, especially in the later years.

How will you meet those challenges? What will you renounce?

I've just returned from a one-month residency at Cambridge Zen Center and am glad to have a few moments to offer something through this blog.

Thank you for reading Ox Herding. May each of us find our way!