I usually write my message for the Dial the Dharma recordings on Mondays, often about something that happened over the weekend. On a weekend in late August, my daughter got married. I can’t begin to express what a joy it was to see my daughter get married. Even more of an honor and joy, she and her fiance asked me to officiate their wedding. I had double duty. I walked her down the aisle with my wife and then I officiated the ceremony. Over nearly 40 years of ministry, I have officiated...

I attended the Southern District Buddhist Conference in June that was hosted by Senshin Buddhist Temple in Los Angeles. The keynote speaker was Rev. Dr. Mark Unno, professor of religious studies at my alma mater, the University of Oregon. Rev. Dr. Unno gave a tremendous keynote message that resonated with everyone who attended. One of the highlights of his talk was where he said that “Buddhism is fundamentally a body practice.” I have felt this for many years, but it was the first time...

In May, I was asked to be the weekly guided meditation instructor for Lion’s Roar magazine for its online program. It was a wonderful experience, conducting a short, 30-minute guided meditation every Wednesday morning. It has inspired me to continue it for our BCA community and I recently began meditation sessions on Wednesdays in June. For the Lion’s Roar weekly guided meditation, there were people from not only in various parts of the country, some were even joining in from outside of the...