The book: Bringing the Sacred to Life: The Daily Practice of Zen Ritual by John Daido Loori, spiritual leader and abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery outlines a simple set of rituals which can be used at home. Nothing complicated or overly involved,just a basic home practice which is just what I was looking for. I have been using it now for about a month and it fills the need I have of bringing some sense of the sacred into my daily life, without making it overly “religious”.

A quote from the book says it: “Zen ritual is a way of acknowledging and celebrating the sacredness in all things.”

You may be able to find it at your local library (or ask them to order it), local bookstore or order it through Amazon: [asa link]1590305337[/asa]

Further reading:

More about ritual at About.com.

Atheism and Buddhism — Buddhism as an Atheistic Religion scroll down to “The Roll of Devotion”.

Everyday Life is The Practice at Shambala Sun.

One of the reasons I started this site was to explore these issues. I have a tendency to turn inward when thinking about things, which in moderation can be a good thing. But I tend to get lost in there. So, turning 180 degrees I’m going to explore my inner life on the www.

Below are some of the links I am using in my search. I hope they are helpful to someone out there as well.

• The Life of the Buddha — Siddhartha Gautama, the Founder of Buddhism
• How to Become a Buddhist
• Taking Refuge in the Three Jewels — Becoming a Buddhist
• Beliefs of Buddhism — Buddhist Beliefs
• Buddhism Basics — An Introduction to Buddhism

An inspirational Father’s Day story

Another take on the subject

I have nothing to add.

The Hunger Site uses sponsored ads to donate money to hunger relief around the world. It costs nothing to the visitor to click on the link. When they click, they are taken to a page where they see ads. They don’t have to buy anything, sign up for anything, or do anything. The sponsors pay for showing you the ad. Just by clicking, you donate food to the hungry. – Good Karma!