George Floyd

June 8 – a new ‘new normal’?

/ Kokuu / 1 Comment

“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”

— Arundhati Roy


As I write, there are two obvious stories appearing in the daily newspapers and over social media, although if you are reading this from elsewhere in the world, this may not be the same for you.  In the UK, the current twin focuses of attention are the ongoing SARS CoV-2 pandemic and the protests in the USA following the killing of George Floyd at the hands of the police. 

Although these stories seem to be separate, there is a key link. 

In the UK, the Centre for Evidence-Based Medicine (CEBM) at the University of Oxford has shown that the number of deaths per 10 000 people is over twice as high for black people than white Europeans, with other ethnicities having different levels of risk.  At present it is not known whether there is a physiological or socio-economic reason for this, or a mix of both. Continue reading →

June 1 – engaged Buddhism?

/ Kokuu / 1 Comment

“I will not turn against my brother for his creed or for his colour
Nor the one he takes his lover or his class
You that beckon me that way you shall not pass”

— Grace Petrie, They Shall Not Pass

“O, that my priest’s robe were wide enough
to gather all the suffering people
In this floating world.”

– Ryōkan Taigu (1758-1831)


Engaged Buddhism is a relatively new idea, having its origins in the anti-war activism of Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, and comes out of the thinking that spiritual practice should not be separate from political action against the causes of suffering in the world.  Other teachers have drawn on this attitude and created Buddhist sanghas that actively include these principles or, in the case of Bernie Glassman’s Zen Peacemakers order, embody them completely.

However, it is fair to say that not all Buddhists agree with this philosophy, and many are vehemently against it, arguing that the Buddha himself did not involve himself in politics.  Some also see this push for social justice as making western Buddhism part of the political left-wing rather than being open to all. Continue reading →