Proud to be Irish and Catholic? (Bible)

(Channel 4 Comedy) Sister Michael's Guide to Not Giving a F**k! | Derry Girls | Channel 4

.

The beautiful Black Irish in the US

Now, WoQy, w' don't mind if y' rite 'bout tha beyootifull Catholick Shurch as a wondrous institution of goode in the Emerald Isle that saved it from Snakes under St. Paddy 'n the scallywag Protestant-Royalists up North, but ye best not be sayin nuthin harsh or rude about that holy mother superior Headmistress Sister George Michael of TV's Our Lady Immaculate College (Siobhán McSweeney) on the teen British sitcom Derry Girls. And if'n y' do, we might forgit to pray fer yer eternal Souls during vespers. D'ya understand? An' der might be a knuckle-ruler  waitin' fer yous to halp y'all see da error uv yer wayz, too. Right?

• 

  Irish beauty from aos sidhe, Tuatha de Danann

  May we post a wee short Family Guy documentary cartoon about our beloved Isle and its traditions?

Well, that should be just fine, Laddys and Lassies. Seth McFarlane is a right good Irish Catholick boy hisself, tizn't he?

• The first Western Buddhist monk in history was an Irishman (U Dhammaloka born Lawrence Carroll, Laurence O'Rourke, or William Colvin with the nom de plume "Captain Daylight")
• The Irish lass Maura O'Halloran who became a Zen Buddhist saint
• Ireland’s forgotten witnesses to the Faith | The Irish Catholic
• Luck of the Irish spreads to all Catholics this Lent | The Catholic Sun

Irish Heritage and History

(Gooz Chos) Family Guy: Irish Heritage and History and Science

A good Christian Bible? Far better to read the original Un-Roman Ethiopian version

Seminarians from Pontifical Irish College, Rome ordained deacons | Irish Catholic Bishops' Con

(Abyss Archive) The final words of an Ethiopian Christian monk (relying on his church's 88-book Ethiopian Bible) about Jesus Christ is raising questions for Western Christians.

Beware the mermaid creatures: Selkies

(Kiki Rockwell) "Selkie" has been spotted in Ireland. Do not ask to marry one, do not consent.

Many Irish cartoon stock photos and royalty-free pictures | iStock

Well that's one way of putting it 👀 #QI #iPlayer

Subscribe to The Irish Catholic...or you may end up in hell. (You really want to chance it?)

• Pat Macpherson, Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

How to sit IRISH ZEN: Body and Breath

Irish gal motivated to move to Japan, becomes Zen bodhisattva: Maura Soshin O'Halloran

.

Irish centre dedicated to Zen Buddhism opens

(RTÉ News) RTE is an Irish public broadcast service (Wiki) April 22, 2022: A dedicated centre for Zen Buddhism in the Republic of Ireland officially opens in Dublin city centre. The new sanctuary is located in the heart of Temple Bar, where Reverend Myōzan Kōdō, who has been practicing Zen Buddhism for decades, is the guiding teacher.

Zen Buddhism is a Japanese school of Buddhism with an emphasis on Shikantaza or "just sitting" meditation. It can be challenging for newer members because it involves sitting in silence for what may seem like a lengthy period [almost an hour, but often an eternity of 20 minutes]. Head monk at the Dublin Zen Centre Hōdo Gomoku said the practice grounds him, enabling him to "stay awake" in the world and sit in the moment.

Keep up to date with all the latest Irish and international news and current affairs with rte.ie/news Follow us on twitter @rtenews and on Facebook: rtenews. RTÉ News

There's a time and place for joyful exertion.

Once upon a time there was a man who thought he knew better. He was going to muscle his way to meditation. Why listen to Zen Master Dōgen when you can just achieve the same thing by force of will and exertion, effort and strength of manly energy (viriya)? That man, let's call him "Doggone," found out.

• 

  Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind

  What happened, DG?
• "Uh, I guess it's harder than it looks. Punching something is easy, benching your body weight is easy, screaming [and grunting] is easy. But relaxing, no, softening, no, staying quiet, no."

Now, maybe, you'll listen. Let's put an Irish spin on it. Once upon another time, there was a soft spoken but willful lass named Maura O'Halloran.

She was dissatisfied living in and around Boston. She was meant to do something in this life. So she traveled to Japan to go Zen. There she became "Soshin" and so impressed the Sensei (Zen teacher) that she was dubbed a Western bodhisattva.

How to Sit Zen, One: The Body

Zen Buddhism Ireland (zenbuddhism.ie)

(Myozan Kodo) How to Sit Zen is a series that begins with what to do with the body, our smart vehicle to awakening. Rather than overcoming it, we celebrate it and make it comfortable enough to relax but not so comfortable we are lulled into sleepiness or sluggishness. It's a fine balance. "Zen" means dhyan' or jhana, "meditative absorption." One need not set it as a goal or ambition, which could ruin it by creating expectations and stress. It is enough to relax, let go, and stay on the breath, which is the next step after understanding what we do with the body. Rev. Myozan Kodo is an instructor at Zen Buddhism Ireland (zenbuddhism.ie).

"Lisa, can you teach me Japanese. I said, 'Hai, hai'!"

• American Zen: What happened to Doggone?
• Rev. Myozan Kodo, YouTube, Oct. 21, 2016; Doggone, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Pat Macpherson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

1st Day of Summer: Summer Solstice (6/20)

What we call "Stonehenge" is really a reconstruction set up by cranes and heavy equipment.

Take that, Big Oil! You're ruining the environment, and this orange cornstarch proves it! (CND)

VIDEO: Environmental activists spray Stonehenge with orange corn powder | Coast to Coast

It's time for Buddhist Summer School 2024

It's finally the first day of summer, after wildfires, heat waves, earthquakes, volcanos in Hawaii and Mexico, and more political nonsense than one can comfortably fathom.

Unofficial summer began on Labor Day a few weeks ago. But the Sun (Sol, Surya) and Earth (Gaia, Bhumi) do not decide, and not even Moon (Luna, Soma, Chandra) has the final say.

It is Gregorian Calendar reading humans making our social constructs that decide, but somewhere high above in the arrangement of celestial bodies, we move from a wet spring to a grass-filled summer. There will be flames. The big first wildfire has ruined our Summer Solstice and Full Strawberry Moon Ceremony and postponed it indefinitely.

DisclosureFest.org

DisclosureFest.org (Disclosure Project Meetup) was all set to go off as a three-day festival this weekend. But the Post Fire in nearby Gorman forced it to be scrapped to avoid smoke and ash irritation, heat, and injury if it kicked up again, sparing tens of thousands of party people around the Castaic Lake Lagoon 40 minutes west of Downtown Los Angeles out by Magic Mountain.

Instead, there's a much smaller free vegan potluck party at Oh Happy Days Cosmic Cafe above Pasadena on Saturday, June 22, 2024 (meetup.com). Or enjoy the Summer Solstice at Kinship Yoga on Friday night, 6/21/24 in Highland Park (NELA) with Ryan and Stellar.

Like California, Arizona is in the Southwest US

Anything's better than staying in Arizona, the Land of Sun and Sand. the summer gods are not happy so they're scorching the land. Get out, unless you're at ASU. In that case, alkalinize with a mostly raw, green, fresh diet to avoid burning. Acidity gives way to quick sun damage.

Summer Solstice Party — (kinshipyoga.com)

• Bhikkhu Bodhi (As It Is); Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Wisdom Quarterly

Irishman was first Westerner to be a monk

Irishman U Dhammaloka (Laurence Carroll), The Dharma Bum; Dhr. Seven, Pat Macpherson (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly; TheDharmaBum.eu, Dana.IO/thedharmabum

First Western Buddhist monk: Irish U Dhammaloka (Wisdom Quarterly)

I think I'll be a Buddhist monk

The Dharma Bum is a feature-length, partially animated documentary film that tells the tantalizing true story of Dubliner Laurence Carroll, who became Venerable Dhammaloka.

• Any relation to Lewis Carroll, author of Alice in Wonderland? Of course not, because "Lewis Carroll" is the nom de plume (pen name) for Irish-connected Oxford don Dodgson, the author of classic literature for little Alice Liddell.

Laurence Carroll was born in Dublin in 1856 and spent his early life as an alcoholic hobo drifter bumming his way across the United States of America.
 

This freethinking, un-Catholic, un-Christian, atheist activist worked the shipping route from San Francisco, California, to Japan.

Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind

He found himself on the beach, hungover and homeless, after being kicked off the vessel for drunk and disorderly conduct.

He eventually made his way to Theravada Buddhist Burma, where he was helped by compassionate local Buddhist monks.

After five years as a monastic apprentice, he became the first Western man to ever don the saffron robes of a Theravada Buddhist monk.

• Carroll was not the only amazing Irish-American Buddhist monastic: There was also Zen Buddhist "saint" (bodhisattva) Maura Soshin O'Halloran
• American Buddhist Journal: POEM: "Finnegan's Awake"

Irish-American female Zen Buddhist saint (bodhisattva) in Japan: Soshin O'Halloran

I'm glad I became a Buddhist and did so much to spread freethinking against the British Empire.

.

Ven. U Dhammaloka: First Westerner to ordain as a Buddhist monk

(Belfast Buddhist, 4/1/16) Venerable Dhammaloka was ordained in Theravada Buddhist Burma (Myanmar) prior to 1900, making him one of the very earliest attested Western Buddhist monks. He was a celebrity preacher, vigorous polemicist, free thinker, and prolific editor in Burma and Singapore between 1900 and his conviction for sedition and appeal in 1910–1911. Drawing on Western atheist writings, he publicly challenged the role of imperial Christian missionaries and by implication the British Empire. His Irish name was Laurence Carroll or Larry O'Rourke or Willam Colvin from Cork and Munster.

UK-occupied Northern Ireland

They gave him the new Buddhist name U Dhammaloka,* and that is just the beginning of the story!

• [*In Burmese U (pronounced "oo") is an honorific that signifies "sir," Dhamma is the Pali spelling of "Dharma," loka means "world." Interestingly, aloka means "light" or "bright whiteness" -- so his name, if pronounced with a long a, signifies suggests "Dharma Light or even White Dharma."]

U Dhammaloka was erased from history. His existence lay dormant for over 100 years. Why? The reasons are explored in the film.

Teach those Brits not to mess with the Celts

This Irishman caused quite a stir in his life, as he singlehandedly took on the might of the Christian British Empire in colonial Burma.

• [George Orwell was also decrying British colonial crimes against humanity in Burma and England for which he wrote Nineteen-Eighty-Four, and he wrote about the city monks of Burma -- eviscerating the layabouts -- in an essay "Shooting an Elephant"].

In the film we discover why he was under constant police surveillance and ultimately had to fake his own death as he transformed himself from an alcoholic bum to the original Dharma Bum. More

• The Dharma Bum - a documentary - Home | Facebook
• Goodbye Columbus, hello St. Brendan | Irish America

The Legend of the 6th Century Irish monk who may have sailed so America (grunge.com)

.

Happy St. Paddy's Day?

Wisdom Quarterly Wikipedia edit

The Patrician Roman Patriarch Pat

As we celebrate Saint Paddy's Day today, one has to wonder why British Protestant Patrick gets so much credit from the Imperial Catholic Church.

• Is it Druid Genocide Day or St. Patrick's Day?

Saint Patrick (Gaelic Pádraig, Latin Patricius, "father of the people") was a 5th-century Romano-British anti-pagan, Christian missionary, and patriarch named bishop of Ireland by an outside entity.

Known as the "Apostle of Ireland," he is the primary patron saint of Ireland, the other patron saints being Brigid of Kildare and Columba. Patrick was never formally canonized [2], having lived before the current laws of the Catholic Church on these matters.

• Is St Patrick's Day a celebration of genocide? (Quora)
• Why pagans don’t celebrate St. Paddy’s Day
• Druid Genocide (Ireland's Folklore and Traditions)
• The 6th century Irish monk who sailed to America (grunge.com)
• Study: “Woke” attitudes linked to anxiety, depression, and a lack of happiness

We may have been better off as pagans.

Nevertheless, he is venerated as a "saint" in the Catholic Church, which also venerates the Buddha as a Catholic saint (St. Josaphat), the Lutheran Church, the Church of Ireland (part of the Anglican Communion), and in the Eastern Orthodox Church, where he is regarded as equal-to-the-apostles and Enlightener of Ireland [3, 4].

He was a slave in Ireland for years, escaped back to England then seems to have returned to extract his revenge as a patriarch to impose Roman church law on the Emerald Isle.

Patrick is credited with forcing Christianity on Ireland, converting a pagan society in the process, despite evidence of an earlier Christian presence [7].

We defend Catholicism b/c the British don't like it

In Patrick's autobiography, Confessio, when he was 16, he was captured at home in Britain by Irish pirates and taken as a slave to Ireland. He writes that he lived here for six years herding animals before escaping and returning to his England.

After becoming a cleric, he returned to spread Christianity in northern and western Ireland. In later life, he served as a bishop, but little is known about where he worked.

By the 7th century, he had already become the "patron saint of Ireland." His feast day is observed on March 17th, the date of his death not his birth. It is celebrated in Ireland and among the worldwide Irish diaspora as a cultural holiday celebrating all things Irish.

It is hardly as a religious observance nowadays, but in the dioceses of Ireland, it is both a solemnity and a holy day of obligation, even if pagans mourn the genocide he wrought upon the island.

Good John Riley's flag of the Mexican regiment

The Irish are so much like the Mexicans in this regard, taken over and thoroughly saturated by the Holy Roman Empire, as if the Church liberated the people when it enslaved them and still tries to rule every aspect of their lives and exact tribute for Rome.

So much is this connection felt that there are Los Patricios ("The Patricks" not Patricians), who were US mercenaries ordered to fight Mexico, but when they understood the fight, led by John Riley, they took the side of Mexico and fought against the US, as anyone who champions the underdog might well have done. More

• Who wrote the Vulgate?

Irish female Zen Buddhist saint: O'Halloran

Amber Larson and Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Score: 4.4 out of 5 stars (with 45 ratings)

It's days like this in LA, sunny and green from the pre-spring rains, that the mind takes to wondering about Zen and Saint Soshin Maura O'Halloran (\oh hollerin\), who attained (kensho) in the Zen tradition.

Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran (1955-1982) was an Irish Zen Buddhist nun known for her book, Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind, which was posthumously published.

She was one of the "first of few Western women allowed to practice in a traditional Japanese Zen monastery."

What is the true nature of things?

O'Halloran was born in Boston, Massachusetts. Her parents then moved back to Ireland when she was 4-years-old. She was educated in a convent school in County Dublin and later attended Trinity College Dublin.

She graduated with a joint degree in mathematical economics/statistics and sociology. Shortly after her graduation, O'Halloran traveled to northern Japan, where she studied to become a Zen monastic at Tōshō-ji in Tokyo and at Kannonji (Iwate Prefecture). More

In 1979, 24-year-old Maura O'Halloran

left her waitressing job in Boston and began

her study of Zen in Japan. Today she is

revered as a "Zen Buddhist saint," and a

statue stands in her honor at the Japanese

Zen Buddhist monastery where she lived.

This is the story of her journey.

At 23 she left Harvard Square for Tokyo?

The Zen Journals of Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran (Gale Literature Resource Center)

After the ecstasy, the laundry...and always the dishes.

Commonweal readers already know of Maura O'Halloran, 23, whose mother, Ruth O'Halloran, wrote about her daughter's life in an essay published on Feb. 28, 1992.

A scholarship student at Trinity College, Dublin, who "early gave promise of a rare spirituality," Maura O'Halloran left a waitressing job in Harvard Square at age 23 to begin an apprenticeship as a Buddhist monastic at a zendo in Japan.

There, too, she showed uncommon gifts early on: She glimpsed enlightenment almost immediately and solved koans with the aplomb of a veteran Zen master. She stayed at the zendo for most of two years, resolved to "not stop until I reach complete enlightenment."

In 1982, intending to return to her family in Dublin, she had set out on a trip through Asia when she was killed in a bus accident in Thailand.

Since then "Maura-san," or "Soshin" -- celebrated during her lifetime in the Japanese media as an anomaly of anomalies, a female Irish Zen monastic -- has come to be regarded as a Buddhist bodhisattva or "saint of compassion."

Now, prompted by the Commonweal article, Tuttle & Co. has published the journal Maura "Soshin" O'Halloran kept while at the Buddhist monastery, along with letters she wrote to her family and a series of delicate, lovely drawings by her younger sister, Elizabeth.

Together they form a remarkable record of a life fully lived, a unique and inspiring and even heartbreaking book.

On one level Soshin's personal journal is an account of her determined progress toward Zen enlightenment (satori).

In an afterword, the American Zen monastic Patricia Dai-En Bennage sees it as a "record of a pure heart" (soshin) and a summary of her way, or teaching: "intense meditation, known as zazen, for long hours in natural...  More

Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind: The Life and Letters of an Irish Zen Saint

Maura O'Halloran (author), Beth O'Halloran (illustrator), Ruth O'Halloran (intro)

One of the most beloved Buddhist books of all time — having inspired popular musicians, artists, a documentary film, and countless readers — is now available in an expanded new edition, loaded with illustrations and extras.

It's absolutely absorbing from start to finish. This is a true story to truly fall in love with. At only 24, Maura O'Halloran left her Irish-American family in the States and traveled to Japan, where she began studying under a Zen Buddhist master.

She would herself become recognized as a Zen master, in an uncommonly brief amount of time.

What mighty lass made a go of Zen and satori?

Pure Heart, Enlightened Mind is Maura O'Halloran's beautifully-written account of her journey. These journal entries and letters home reveal astonishing, wise-beyond-her-years humor, compassion, wisdom, and commitment.

This expanded edition includes never-before-seen entries and poems, the author's unfinished novel, and an afterword that discusses the book's cultural impact.

It will be a must have for her fans and admirers and will surely find her thousands of new ones. More