Our friends at Shambhala Publications have revamped their official website — complete with very big news about the organization and new content specifically for the site. Congrats, gang!

I was incredibly honored and very happy to be able to contribute to their brand new “Expert’s Picks” section. Please check out  “Buddhism 101 with Rev. Danny Fisher” at the new website!

Dr. Kenneth A. Locke

My home institution, University of the West — one of the small handful of accredited, Buddhist-founded universities in North America — suffered a devastating loss on April 12th, when Dr. Kenneth A. Locke, Dean of the Administration, former Chair of the Religious Studies Department, and WASC accreditation liaison, passed away after a long illness, at only 45 years of age.

An 11-year member of the faculty, Ken was vital to securing the accreditation of UWest, and supervised numerous master’s theses and doctoral dissertations for students. He was an Anglican theologian with a Ph.D. from Trinity College Dublin, who was prolific in his field, writing numerous articles and a book, The Church in Anglican Theology: A Historical, Theological and Ecumenical Exploration. Devoted to inter-religious understanding, he was instrumental in launching the Master of Divinity in Buddhist Chaplaincy Program at University of the West, which I direct.

I was the Master of Ceremonies at Ken’s memorial service on UWest’s campus this past weekend, tasked with the opening remarks. Here’s what I said…

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Welcome. Welcome to this memorial for our dear departed Dr. Kenneth A. Locke. For most of us, he was our friend. For many, he was a beloved co-worker and supervisor. He was also a son. A brother. An uncle. A husband. And for all of us, he was a teacher.

Today we’re going to hear quite a bit about Ken from a wide variety of people in his life. I suspect that if there is going to be a common thread, it will have something to do with how he taught us. For me, my relationship with Ken is inexorably tied up in his role — his life — as a teacher. My name is Danny Fisher, and I’m the Coordinator of the Buddhist Chaplaincy Program here at UWest. Ken was my dear friend, boss, and mentor. He took a big chance on me and gave me my career. He believed in and always encouraged me. I stand before you as someone who owes just about everything to him. I stand before you as far from the only person in the room who feels this way about Ken.

We will remember his generosity. Ken taught generosity. He taught by example that being the best teacher — the best person — you can be means giving of yourself. He gave bounteously of himself. It occurs to me, for example, that, as far as he would have been concerned, I was in exactly the right place when I found out about his passing. I wasn’t at USC’s Keck Medical Center with his other friends and family, but at Cerritos College’s Inaugural Hall of Fame Dinner and Awards in Cerritos, CA. Among the historic first honorees were two people in our extended University of the West family: Dr. Edward Bloomfield (a thirty-five-year member of the Philosophy faculty at Cerritos, and a current, popular adjunct professor at UWest) and Mr. J.P. Wang (whose company GST, Inc., is a corporate partner at Cerritos, and who is personally a donor to the International Buddhist Education Fund, which has awarded over $1 million in scholarships for UWest students—including myself). That afternoon, I had hesitated about going to the ceremony: Ken was in risky surgery, and I felt strongly that I should be there. After checking in with his sister Vanessa, though, it seemed that things were going well, and off I went to Cerritos instead. During dinner I got the call: Ken had left us. I so wished I were at the hospital at that moment. But after a few more moments, it dawned on me: I have no doubt that Ken would have said, “No! Someone from UWest should be there to support and celebrate our friends Dr. Bloomfield and Mr. Wang on their special occasion.” That was who Ken was: someone who always — always — put others first.

We will remember how Ken’s generosity was manifest in all the ways — small and large — that he so loved and took care of those of us in the UWest community, and the other communities in which he found himself. He was the guy who picked up every check, gave money out of his own pocket when someone was in trouble, and never closed his office door. He listened. He noticed. He looked after. In my first year, when I worked longer hours than I should have, Ken (working into the evening himself) would show up at my office door and say, “Come on, I’m driving you home. It’s time to go home.” When I learned that this was non-negotiable, no matter the amount of tasks in front of me, I started to shut my door in anticipation of his visits. This only resulted in loud knocking, and Ken hollering, “I know you’re in there! Come out now! I’m taking you home!” He helped me find my way as a leader, but, more importantly, he was like my big brother.

We will remember that his generosity came with a lightness of a spirit. Ken loved to laugh. (As one of my colleagues said recently, the halls of campus are so very, terribly quiet now without that laughter.) He loved to joke and tease and be silly. He often put up the stern, serious front of the Trinity College dons he so deeply appreciated, but it only thinly concealed the warmth and humor underneath. When our students put thoughts and prayers online for him recently, one wrote, “We would come to your office, and you would look up and say, ‘Go away.’ But we always knew that that meant, ‘Come, come!’”

We will remember the extraordinary depth of his generosity. It was without territory. It never imposed. It was all-embracing. Ken was a Christian, but his life was devoted to assisting others in their own unique pursuits of meaning, whether they were Christian or not. What’s more, he himself derived such profound personal meaning by supporting his Buddhist students and colleagues, and Muslim family members, in their practice. This was enormously important to him in his own spirituality as a Christian. By virtue of being the Christian who made a Buddhist Chaplaincy program possible, he perfectly modeled the work of the chaplain: to love and support others just as they are, to help them become more who they are.

Finally, we will remember to pay Ken’s generosity forward. I think that for each of us this will mean something a little different. For me, this will mean trying my best to apply what I’ve learned from Ken — to try my best to be the kind of teacher for our students that he was. This is no mean feat, but that’s his legacy, I think. As I told his wife Huong and sister Vanessa recently, I had a dream about Ken the night before he died. In the dream, I was alone in the Keck Medical Center with him. He looked as he did the last time I saw him: in bed, connected to machines and various apparatuses. There was rain outside, but everything was silent. Then Ken turned, and, through the tubes down his throat, said simply, “Just love me.” Then I woke up suddenly.

I don’t know for certain what this meant, but I think that loving Ken will take more than just honoring him here today. It will mean aspiring to the example he set, following the path he showed — the way of generosity. In this way, Ken will always be with us.

There’s a prayer I like, and that I think Ken would have, that goes:

Sometimes in life when we lose someone we love and we don’t know what to do, we should just pray and worship: Thank you, Lord, for their lives, for their love, creativity, for their friendship, their good days and bad, for their happiness, for their anger, for everything they’ve brought into our lives. These are things we should say about each other always. If we did, life wouldn’t be half bad.

Let us remember Ken…

The Buddhist Delegation (with representatives from the White House and Hindu American Seva Charities) at the First Dharmic Religious Leaders Conference at the White House, Washington, D.C., April 20, 2012. (The author is in the back row, second from the left.) We're just like the Avengers, except more awesome. Photo by Phil Rosenberg of SGI-USA.

So I had an interesting weekend: I was in Washington, D.C., at the White House as a participant in the historic first Dharmic Religious and Faith Institutional Leaders Conference: Community Building in the 21st Century with Strengthened Dharmic Faith-Based Infrastructures.

Co-hosted by the White House Office of Public Engagement and White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships with Hindu American Seva Charities, the conference brought together a large group of religious and institutional leaders from Buddhist, Hindu, Sikh, and Jain communities to discuss service with various government departments and agencies.

Among others, we met with representatives of the Department of Education, Department of State, Department of Homeland Security, and the Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. We also heard from and dialogued with a large group of interesting speakers, including Joshua Stanton, founding co-editor of the Journal of Inter-Religious Dialogue, co-director of Religious Freedom USA, and co-editor of O.N. Scripture — The Torah; former U.S Senator Harris Wofford; and Rev. Suzan Johnson Cook, United States Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom.

Overall, I concur with many of my colleagues, who felt that the gathering was hugely important symbolically: to see Buddhists, Hindus, Sikhs, and Jains gathered together at the White House to spend a day in dialogue with the government about service and community-building felt like a huge step forward in terms of addressing the lack of attention to and representation of Dharmic religious practitioners in Washington. (Some of you may recall an article I wrote for Religion Dispatches in 2009 that talked about the lack of a Buddhist representative on the White House’s Advisory Council on Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships. As of today, this problem has still not been rectified. You can read that article here.)

The conference agenda itself, though, did feel a little overstuffed to me. And things were done in relatively broad strokes. I think we might have benefitted more from smaller groups and more precise focus on unique issues in particular communities, with some attention to broader concerns for us all. But it was certainly a great start in terms of encouraging future events like this, and I thought Joshua Stanton did a really nice job of illustrating the effect the conference had on one person outside these communities looking in. Make sure you give his piece a read over at State of Formation.

In addition to Joshua’s piece, you can read the official press release about the conference here, as well as a substantial blog post at Hindu American Seva Charities’ official blog. [UPDATE: In addition, Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi offers his own take at the official blog for Buddhist Global Relief.] I also thought I would share with you some pictures I took, as well as some other shots I have permission to share with you. You can find those below (and can click on all of them to enlarge).

What a thrill to be invited to the White House, a joy to see some old friends and make new ones, and participate in something so important. Many thanks to the White House Office of Public Engagement, White House Office of Faith-Based and Neighborhood Partnerships, Hindu American Seva Charities, and my friend Bill Aiken at Soka Gakkai International-USA. I’m humbled and always at your service in the future.

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All the attendees at the First Dharmic Religious Leaders Conference at the White House. Photo by Phil Rosenberg.

The First Dharmic Religious Leaders Conference at the White House begins! Photo by Phil Rosenberg.

(L-R) Sitting with old acquaintances: Robert Chodo Campbell and Koshin Paley Ellison of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, the author, and Clark Strand of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review. Photo by Phil Rosenberg.

An action shot. Photo by Phil Rosenberg.

Another action shot. Photo by Phil Rosenberg.

Buddhist snack time! Photo by the author.

The author (right) speaking to Bhante Uparatana of the International Buddhist Center (right) as Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi (center) looks on. Photo by Phil Rosenberg.

(R-L) The author with friend and hero Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi. Photo by Clark Strand.

Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi -- one of the most amazing, inspiring, kind people I know and am privileged to call a friend. Photo by the author.

(L-R) Buddhist cinéastes Gary Gach and the author at University of the West, Rosemead, CA, fall 2009. Photo by Ven. Hyun Gak.

My good buddy Gary Gach and I enjoy many of the same things, but we could talk forever about Buddhism and film. So when we saw each other recently at this past year’s American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting in San Francisco, we decided to channel that into something productive. So here it is at last: “Seeing in the Dark” — our new article series for elephantjournal.com about Buddhism and film. Every so often, we’ll consider a theme, and each select a film of our own to discuss that we feel captures that theme. Hopefully, by doing this, we’ll end up adding something interesting to the larger discussion about Buddhism and film. At the very least, readers will come away with two good films to add to their rental list!

Our first entry is now live at elephantjournal.com. You can read it here. We hope you’ll take a look!

During our recent spring break at University of the West, I spent the week doing some much-needed recreational reading. To tell you just how far behind I am on that recreational reading, the short stack of books I worked through included the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner and a collection of writing by Bill Moyers (no, not the new one, but the one from 2004).

The one that I’ll never forget, though — the one that shook me and changed me — was Nicholas D. Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn’s Half the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide.

As a great appreciator of Nick Kristof’s New York Times columns and blog work — I named my own Patheos blog Off the Cushion in a nod to the title of his blog “On the Ground” — I knew I would probably be a great appreciator of the book. What I wasn’t quite prepared for was to finish it so broken-hearted, moved, reflective, and (most of all) incredibly inspired. In addition, I believe it’s one of the two or three most important books I’ve ever read (or will read) in my life.

Needless to say, I started writing a dharma talk based on my experience of reading it almost immediately after finishing it. I delivered the final version of the talk at the Rosemead Buddhist Monastery last week, and recorded it recently for this blog. I hope you’ll listen to it. Most of all, though, I hope you will read the book…and watch the PBS miniseries based on it that’s scheduled for airing this fall (watch the trailer here).

UPDATE: I was really thrilled and touched that my talk got mentioned on the official Facebook page of Half the Sky. Here’s what they said: “After reading Half the Sky, Rev. Danny Fisher was inspired to deliver a dharma talk at the Rosemead Buddhist Monastery based on his experience reading it. Has Half the Sky or the issues it touches upon been discussed at your place of worship?” In addition, the talk got mentioned on the official Twitter streams of both the book and Mr. Kristof himself. Color me humbled!

Here is the talk itself…

Last night, Patheos underwent a design overhaul that included my blog for the site, Off the Cushion. I hope you’ll take a gander over there, and check out at the new and improved look/interface!

In addition, I’ve updated all the various pages of this blog, and, in some cases, redone them completely. I also added one new page: “Schedule”. Explore around and let me know what you think.

(L-R) The author and Charles S. Prebish at Moscone Center West, San Francisco, CA, for the 2011 American Academy of Religion Annual Meeting, November 21st, 2011. Photo by Bill Aiken of SGI-USA.

I’ve blogged before in the past about my friend and inspiration Charles S. Prebish, with whom I am pictured above. A great scholar and man, I can honestly say that he’s been as important to me personally as intellectually. Quite a guy, my friend Chuck.

I’m pleased to bring you more news of Chuck today. Our mutual friend Justin Whitaker already mentioned these pieces at his wonderful Patheos blog American Buddhist Perspective, but I wanted to make sure to hype them here as well.

First, Chuck was interviewed by the American Academy of Religion for the new “Member Spotlight” section of their website. Second, he was also interviewed by Tricycle: The Buddhist Review for their latest issue. Both are terrific reads, brimming with the usual Chuck insights that suggest what might be helpfully investigated in future turnings of the study of the Buddhism in America. Do check them both out.

Finally, Chuck also has a guest blog post (the first of three) at Tricycle‘s Awake in the World blog that is, if I may say, awesome. Awesome in that it challenges us as Buddhist Americans to do some important work that we, frankly, have been putting off for far too long. Here’s a snippet:

If the American Buddhist tradition is to affirm the suggestion that precepts are an integral aspect of Buddhist practice, and of a Buddhist lifestyle that nourishes awareness of and respect for all living beings, then a new and modern ethical literature must necessarily be created.

Don’t miss the post — and keep your eyes peeled for more from Chuck. As always, I’ll do my part to help keep you hip to the work of a friend and important mentor.

UPDATE: Chuck’s second post for Trike, about scholar-practitioners, can be found here. Like the first post, it’s essential reading.

UPDATE, part two: The third and final post for Trike is now up, and can be found here. Again, great stuff.

Please check out my brand new interview with Alex Co, team leader of the documentary film Daughters of Dolma: The Spiritual Journey of Tibetan Buddhist Nuns in Nepal, over at my Patheos blog Off the Cushion. In it, we discuss the project, its progress, and what Alex and the other filmmakers are learning about Buddhism and women as a result of their experiences. Read the full text of our interview here.

Dr. Michaela Haas

I’ve got a brand new video interview with Dr. Michaela Haas (pictured to the left) over at my Patheos blog Off the Cushion.

Dr. Haas is an international reporter, lecturer and consultant. In addition, she is the media consultant for and a board member of Lotus Outreach — the secular humanitarian organization founded by Buddhist teacher Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche and dedicated to “ensuring the education, health and safety of at-risk and exploited women and children in the developing world.” In the interview, we talk a bit about the organization and how readers/viewers can help.

We also talk a bit about Buddhism, women, and social justice. Among many other things, Dr. Haas is also currently a lecturer and research scholar in the Religious Studies department at the University of California, Santa Barbara. She is also an adjunct faculty member at my home institution of University of the West, where she is currently teaching our “Women and Buddhism” graduate Religious Studies course. Dr. Haas recently finished a book about contemporary Tibetan Buddhist teachers who are women that will be published soon with Snow Lion Publications as well.

In addition, Dr. Haas is a regular contributor to The Huffington Post and a must-follow Twitterer @MichaelaHaas. Make sure you keep up with her!

Watch our interview here.

Tenzin Wangmo.

Please check out my latest news post for Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly Online. I don’t mention every short news post I write for the site here, but this one is especially important and I wanted to make sure to say something about it. In it, I talk about (and link to) a petition Change.org is currently hosting, which asks President Obama to prevent the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG), “a US Federal agency which operates the Voice of America (VOA),” from ceasing VOA’s broadcasts to Tibet. With China’s crackdown on both Tibetan activism and outside media scrutiny increasing all the time, such broadcasts are crucial for Tibetans. Tenzin Wangmo, an executive board member for Students for a Free Tibet who graciously answered my request for a comment (and is pictured to the right), makes this point and helps put the petition into much larger perspective in the post as well. Please do take a look here — and make sure to sign the petition!