t e x t s

practical spirituality • new economics • cultural work

practical spirituality

  • PANDEMIC MINDFULNESS – Practicing Equanimity in a Time of Emergency
    In the face of the coronavirus crisis, Gary Gach shares how we can soothe our feelings of denial, anger, and fear with a helpful dose of equanimity.
  • INSPIRATION : :  27 Vital Aspects of Breath
    Each & any daily activity can be a chance for practicing mindful living. On the path to awakening, the gateway of language is an inevitable & important life encounter to engage with skillfully.

    As a writer, I’ve found writing mindfully is one of my greatest challenges, & deepest nourishments. Being aware of the present moment, being aware of my breathing, holding a pencil & writing — I wrote my most recent book this way.

    Letter by letter, word by word, breathing in & breathing out — in silence.

    Try it some time. Pick something vivid in your life – & stay in touch with your breathing in the present moment, as you tell others about it in words

    Here’s a recent mindful writing exercise I recently enjoyed practicing. “Variations on a Theme.”

    I wrote what was present to my awareness, focusing on my breathing.

    May these variations on a theme be an experience of mindfulness for to breathe with …

  • MINDFULNESS 24/7 : : Five Simple Everyday Practices
    Mindfulness can be defined as the clear and calm energy of an intelligent alertness, spacious and awakening, profound and knowing what needs to be done. The good news is it’s present all the time. It’s inherent in our human inheritance. We need only to remember this. Here are five simple everyday reminders for mindful living, to try for yourself.
  • A BETTER WAY TO BE ALONE  : :  Loneliness from a Buddhist’s Perspective. LoveAgain.com [ reprinted, The Buddhist Channel ]
  • CHILD MIND: Teaching the Way of Haiku. May 2015 issue 33. The Dialogue Australasian Network (DAN) 
  • STOP & Breathe …  Tricycle
    This is a practice of stopping … to breathe, and come back to the body,  back to the present body.  
  • A four-part series of reports on Peacemaking: The Power of Nonviolence, convened by HH The Dalai Lama in San Francisco at the Bill Graham auditorium. American Reporter. June 1987.
  • 1 : Blessed Are the Peacemakers ~ Introducing the conference and some of its presenters.
  • 2 : The Dalai Lama as Peacemaker ~ Applying Tibetan Buddhist liberation theology around the world and across the street.
  • 3 : Blessed Are Our Youth ~ A group of young participants spontaneously decided to nonviolently demonstrate at the conference and, in so doing, tested the Dalai Lama’s inspirational liberation theology for themselves.
  • 4 : We Want To Win This War ~ The remarkable story of a Mexico’s youth gang’s self-initiated embrace of nonviolence and positive action.
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  • Is Buddhism a Religion? Patheos (with a comment by Dennis Smith) and Faces of the Buddha PBS.org 
  • Different Paths: One Dharma Faces of the Buddha PBS.org [ republished at Patheos ] 
  • What Would Buddha Do? Faces of the Buddha PBS.org 
  • Reports from the World Buddhist Conference, Malaysia 2010
  • A POSSIBLE FUTURE :: Buddhism in the West. Patheos. July 2015.
  • NOTES FROM A TIDEPOOL :: Mindfulness & Compassion.Enlightenment.com. June 2015.
  • ENGAGED DIALOGUE :: Sulak Sivaraska & Joanna Macy. Part One, Buddhist Peace Fellowship National Gathering. Part Two, The Best Dialogue Is Peace. BuddhistChannel.tv. September 2014.
  • TEACHING TRUTHS: Buddha at the Blackboard. Dialogue Australasia: Values, Philosophy, and Religious Studies, May 2011. 
  • Zen & the Art of the Sex Scandal. ReligonDispatches.com 2011. 
  • TO BE CONTINUED: Preface to “Future of Buddhism.” Patheos.com. 2010.
  • How to Take Knowledge from Books & Actively Apply It to Your Life  edited by Ben Skute, in Fupping
  • 3 Inspiring Lessons from the Thai Soccer Team Rescue: A Story of Courage, Resilience, and Community. Live Happy magazine, July 31 2018.

new economics

    1. COMING ALIVE TO REGENERATION : :  Beyond Sustainability; Beyond Impact. (An historical backdrop.) Medium. May 20, 2018.
    2. MUSIC FOR REGENERATION : : Opening Night of Regen18. Medium. May 2, 2018
    3. EJIDO VERDE :: A Model of Regenerative Economics
    4. 6 P’s :: Michael Shuman’s Pointers to a Prosperous, Local Economy. Neighborhood Economics. January 2017
    5. THE GOOD NEWS :: Media Outlets Focused on Social Entrepreneurship & Impact Investing. SOCAP [ Social Capital Markets ]
    6. THE NEXT ECONOMY …   Huffington Post
    7. B CORP  ::  People Using Business as a Force for Good.  Huffington Post
    8. SOCAP  ::  Hub of Impact.  Huffington Post
  1. COMMUNITY CAPITAL   : :  50 x 50.  Neighborhood Economics
  2. SOCAP Goes Local  ::  Mortar.  Neighborhood Economics
  3. BUDDHISM & RACIAL JUSTICE  : :  Roots of Enslavement — Roots of Liberation.  Huffington Post
  4. REVITALIZATION :: Start Here, Detroit.Dow Theory Letters. December 9, 2015
  5. DEBTS & INDEBTEDNESS. Dow Theory Letters. September 20, 2015 [ reprinted in Medium, December 24, 2017 ]
  6.  The Toxic Trio vs. Having Enough. Dow Theory Letters. August 26, 2015
  7. WORK & PLAY. Dow Theory Letters. May 2015.

cultural work

  1. CHILD MIND: Teaching the Way of Haiku. May 2015 issue 33. The Dialogue Australasian Network (DAN) 
  2. BOUNDLESS: Contemporary Tibetan Artists at Home and Abroad. AsianArt.com. October 2019.
  3. THE IMPERATIVE FOR TRUTH : :  The Ashtray, a Book Pre-View. Medium. April 29, 2018.
  4. Look to the Growing Edge. – feature article by GG • in The Edge, on September 1, 2018.
  5. ON BEING LUMINOUS [ after words ] : MOVING PICTURES: Buddhism & American Cinema. (SUNY Press series in Buddhism & American Culture. July, 2014)
  6. THE DIARY : Introducing Robert Bresson.  Urthona – A Journal of Buddhism and Art.
  7. SCENES FROM THE RAMAYANA  ::  The Art of Storytelling.  AsianArt.com
  8. AN APPROPRIATE RESPONSE : Reconnecting the Dots. in THE CORONA TRANSMISSIONS – Alternatives for Engaging with Covid-19 – from the Physical to the Metaphysical, edited by Sherri Mitchell, Richard Grossinger, and Kathy Glass.
  9. NIRVANA IN REEL TIME: The International Buddhist Film Festival Eat Drink Films, April 2015 
  10. QUIETUDE :: Silence by Thich Nhat Hanh. Enlightenment.com March 2015.
  11. FULL CIRCLE RHAPSODY: I Love a Broad Margin To My Life by Maxine Hong Kingston. Poetry Flash. 
  12. DARSHAN :: Yoga : the art of transformation. AsianArt.com. 2014.
  13. Notes from the museum without walls. The Bay Citizen.
  14. ONE BREATH GREAT VOW: 1921 — “Thursday” by William Carlos Williams. Urthona 
  15. SEEING IN THE DARK: Buddhism & Film. Danny Fisher on Close Encounters of the Third Kind; Gary Gach on the films of Robert Bresson. Elephant Journal. 
  16. WHAT IF YOU KNEW YOU HAD ONLY 10,000 DAYS LEFT TO LIVE?  Being Human conference. Bay Citizen. 2012. [ reprinted,  Patheos ]
  17. BEING HUMAN :: We Don’t Have a Blueprint. Bay Citizen. 2012.
  18. Mindfulness for Young People :: Wake Up! The Bay Citizen.
  19. Celebrating “Change Your Mind Day.”  The Bay Citizen.
  20. LISTENING TO COMPASSION: Please Call Me By My True Names. Inquiring Mind. Fall 2011. 
  21. UNTYING INJUSTICE: The Novice by Thich Nhat Hanh. BeliefNet. October 2011. Reprinted, Eastern Horizons.
  22. UPDATES TO THE NOW: The Best Buddhist Writing 2010. American Book Review. 2011. [ reprinted, Patheos ] 
  23. CAN POETRY SAVE THE PLANET? Stephen Levine’s Dharma Jazz. Religion Dispatches.com 2011 
  24. NEED | SPEED | HEALTH : Why I Do Not Own a Cellphone. Ctheory.net; November 2009. 
  25. NOW PLAYING : THE SCREEN A Cultural Critique. Ctheory.net : Resetting Theory.
  26. FINDING THE OX: The Emergence of Buddhist American Literature. BuddhaDharma: A Practitioner’s Quarterly Autumn 2009.
  27. A BRIEF LONG SPIRAL: The Moment of American Buddhist Art. Urthona: Buddhism & Art 26, June 2009.
  28. THE DRAGON’S GIFT: Sacred Arts of Bhutan. AsianArt.com. March 2009.
  29. Riches of a Different Market. Tricycle.com. February 2009. [Reprinted at Al Young’s blog and The Council of Thai Bhikkhus in the U.S.A.
  30. WHAT WOULD THE BUDDHA BUY?. Adbusters: Journal of the Mental Environment. [An excerpt from The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Buddhism Third Edition. Utne blog commentary by Rachel Levitt, Zen & the Art of Not Buying, with photograph; also, noted by Deon’s blog and Weblogsky by Jon Lebowsky, under Shopacalypse Now]
  31. HAPPINESS & ITS CAUSES: Shambhala Sunspace. [Reprinted at Al Young’s blog]
  32. MING COURT ART: AsianArt.com
  33. WINTER SOLSTICE: Light in Darkness. Originally published at myPsychology Today blog, “Where Freud Meets Buddha”, Dec 18, 2008, here republished in newsletter of Upaya Institute & Zen Center — and also published in Vietnamese by the Buddhist Translation Group. Republished, revised, as Winter Solstice: Be Still, & Know, in Medium, December 22, 2017.
  34. ON TRANSLATING KO UN. Mindfulness Bell, 2008.
  35. LOST (& FOUND) IN TRANSLATION: The State of Literary Translation in American Publishing. Paste. August 2008
  36. TO BREATHE THE WORLD THROUGH THE EYES OF A POET: On Divination in the Poetry of Ko Un. nocturnes (re)view 2008
  37. “QUESTION AUTHORITY …” ? — The Zen Teachings of Brad Warner: Author, Musician, Filmmaker, Blogger, and Soto Priest. The Buddhist Channel, September 6, 2007
  38. MASTERS OF BAMBOO: Japanese Baskets & Sculpture in the Cotsen Collection; and “The Next Generation.” AsianArt.com. April 2007
  39. CONSTRUCTS & MONOTYPES: Peter Foley. Bill Lowe Gallery 2007
  40. HIDDEN MEANINGS : Symbolism in Chinese Art. AsianArt.com. November 2006.
  41. POINTING BEYOND WORDS, An Introduction to Ko Un. BuddhaDharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, 2006
  42. THE REST IS SILENCE: Everything Yearned For: Manhae‘s Poems of Love & Longing. Tricycle, The Buddhist Review.
  43. NOT GIVING IT A NAME: Movie Dharma. Urthona: Buddhism & Art, Issue 23, Summer 2006
  44. MAKE IT NEW: The Wisdom Anthology of North American Buddhist Poetry. BuddhaDharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly. Summer 2005.
  45. Afterwords and For Further Reading The Little Pilgrim by Ko Un (Parallax Press 2005)
  46. TIBET: TREASURES FROM THE ROOF OF THE WORLD. AsianArt.Com, June 2005
  47. THE KINGDOM OF SIAM  : :  The Art of Central Thailand,1350-1800. AsianArt.Com, July 2005
  48. Letter to the Pope. Buddhist Peace Fellowship.
  49. THE FUTURE LOOKS GOOD : :  Commentary on Haiku from the Japanese Culture and Civilization Centre, Constantza, Romania. World Haiku Review 5-2 (2007)
  50. MIND MIRROR : : BUDDHA AT THE MOVIES. Urthona: Buddhism & Art, Issue 21, 2004
  51. MAKING PEACE  : : The Fifth Book of Peace by Maxine Hong Kingston. In These Times. April 2004.
  52. AS EVER: Selected Poems of Joanne Kyger. Rain Taxi Spring 2003.
  53. KOREA THEN & NOW: Goryeo Dynasty & Leaning Forward, Looking Back AsianArt.com, October 2003
  54. NOT GIVING IT A NAME : : Movie Dharma. Urthona: Buddhism & Art, Issue 23, Summer 2006
  55. HIDDEN MEANINGS : : Symbolism in Chinese Art. AsianArt.com. December 2007; Italian translation in [1] Cultor, June 2009.
  56. REXROTH, REVISTED Complete Poems (Copper Canyon). CommonGround October 2004.
  57. THE REALM OF THE SACRED : : Maxine Hong Kingston Escapes Into Poetry. AsianWeek.
  58. YES YOKO ONO by Alexandra Munroe with Jon Hendricks. Rain Taxi, Fall 200
  59. Philip Whalen Obituary. June 2002
  60. PERSONAL LESSONS. In 9/11 8:48 am: Documenting America’s Greatest Tragedy (BookSurge).
  61. W A Y : Taoism and the Arts of China at Asian Art Museum, San Francisco Examiner, February 22, 2001
  62. TRANCE-SIBERIAN EXPRESS. The Desire Notebooks by John High. Poetry Flash #286 September-October 2000
  63. MAN OF LETTERS, BEYOND WORDS: Interview with Stephen Mitchell. Publishers Weekly. November 13, 2000
  64. MIND MANIFESTING: Touching the Edge: Dharma Devotions from the Hummingbird Sangha by Michael McClure. Shambhala Sun, May 1999. [Reprinted in Jack Magazine, preceded and followed by a haiku by GG, and with an uncredited illustration]
  65. TWIN PEAKS: The Gary Snyder Reader and Overtime: Selected Poems, Philip Whalen. Shambhala Sun, November 1999.
  66. ALL TOGETHER NOW : Across the Country, Communities Are Finding a Surprising Upside to the Y2K Countdown. Yoga Journal, July/August 1999.
  67. LOCAL LEGEND: Benny Bufano. Nob Hill Gazette. April 1999.
  68. THE FLOATING WORLD: Hokusai‘s Woodblock Prints Make a Rare Appearance. AsianWeek, September 24, 1998.
  69. DHARMA GEEKS The Atlantic Monthly November 1998
  70. WHAT WOULD THE BUDDHA SAY TO DARWIN? Buddha’s Nature: Evolution as a Practical Guide to Enlightenment by Wes Nisker. San Francisco Chronicle Book Review, December 6, 1998.
  71. INTERVIEW: Jose Ramos Horta. [2 parts] American Reporter, III:580, June 27 1997 [ Part Two reprinted at Global Exchange]
  72. Global Warming Is a Hard Truth To Tell. ‘”American Reporter [Reprinted in Albion Monitor] November 1996
  73. VISIONS OF THE FUTURE IN NEW MEDIA: WebNet ’96. American Reporter
  74. INTERVIEW: Brenda Blethyn & Marianne Jean-Baptiste. American Reporter 1996
  75. JOHN ALTON : MASTER OF THE FILM NOIR MOOD: The Late Cinematographer’s Influential Work Formed the Very Foundation of the “Dark Film” Style. [[American Cinematographer,]] September 1966.
  76. SUBJECT: HOW TO. YLEM: Artists Using Science & Technology. February/March/April 1995.
  77. INTERVIEW: He Ping;  AsianWeek, April 14, 1995.
  78. SCREAM AGAINST THE SKY: Post-War Japanese Art Exhibit a Milestone for Modern Art. AsianWeek, July 14, 1995.
  79. Internet Security Threatened: On the Arrest of Kevin Mitnick. Cyberspace Today March 1 1995
  80. DAWN PAGES: A Survey of Eastern Spirituality Books. New Asia Review, Fall 1994.
  81. VETERANS. MINDFULNESS. WRITING. Shambhala Sun, November 1994.
  82. INTERVIEW: Tian Zhuangzhuang. AsianWeek, April 1, 1994.
  83. THE INTERNET FOR JOURNALISTS: The Fourth Estate in Cyberspace. MediaFile/ Media Alliance, April-May 1994; reprinted in Computer-Mediated Communication Magazine I:6, October 1, 1994 
  84. MOSAIC OF A MODERN MIND IN MOTION: Ik-Joong Kang’s  Art Is a Way of Life. AsianWeek, March 4, 1994.
  85. ART FINK: [‘Big Daddy’ Roth] Retrospective at New Langton Arts. ArtWeek, September 13, 1990.
  86. AFFIRMING DEATH: Rooms for the Dead at Galeria Museo. ArtWeek November 22, 1990.
  87. GHOSTS by Paul Auster. San Francisco Review of Books. XI:3, Fall 1986.
  88. MAGNA CIVITAS, MAGNA SOLITUDO: City of Glass by Paul Auster. The American Book Review, VIII:5, SeptemberOctobder 1986.
  89. Rabbi Nachman’s Stories & Rabbi Nachman’s Wisdom; Hasidic Tales from the Holocaust by Yaffa Eliach & Genocide Its Political Use in the Twentieth Century by Leo Kuper. European Judaism.
  90. Reel Power by Mark Litwak, Film Month.
  91. Earth Power Coming: Short Fiction in Native American Literature edited by Simon J. Ortiz; In My Mother’s House by Kim Chernin; The Colder Eye by Hugh Kenner; Smoothing the Ground, edited by Brian Sewann;  Georg Trakl by Frank Grarziano; A Sketchbook by William Cummings; Ghosts and The Book of Memory by Paul Auster; Money & the Soul of the World by Robert J. Sardello & Randolph Severson; For Voice by Severo Sarduy; Jews in Old China, Sidney Shapiro. San Francisco Review of Books.
  92. The Smile of the Lamb; Anna; Dancers; My Life as a Dog; Ping Pong. [film reviews] New Fillmore. 1986
  93. The Sargasso Manuscript, Viaggio in  Italia, Orson Welles’ retrospective.[film reviews]  Film Month.
  94. Vincent; Popcorn & Sunflowers.  [film criticism] San Francisco Nose.
  95. Other articles published in AsianWeek (as columnist), The Christian Science Monitor, Common Ground, European Judaism, Ex-po-see (Mark Van Proyen, editor), Interactive Age, MediaFile (Media Alliance; as columnist), MultiCultural Review, Multimedia Producer, NetGuide, Nob Hill Gazette (as columnist), and Whole Earth Review
  96. And some duplicates are preserved & indexed via Internet Archives