Tag Archives: Buddhism

When Resolution Meets Revolution

Posted on January 15, 2023 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

JUST OPEN A CAN I miss the days when we made garlands with strips of colored paper folded into rings and glued together for the Christmas tree. In winter we would crack nuts that arrived with their shells intact. My … Continue reading →

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Stuck to gorilla glue

Posted on April 10, 2019 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

LITTLE THEORIES I married a boy. I don’t mean a boy-boy. I mean a man-boy. You can find the evidence in the linen closet. There’s a shelf of light bulbs surrounded by boxes of batteries. I’m not talking cup-size when … Continue reading →

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What Will Kill You, and Who Cares?

Posted on November 4, 2018 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

Who Benefits?  Cui Bono? That’s the question posed by writer John Gresham’s lawyer-character when confronted with a mystery she can’t solve. She asks: Who benefits? That’s a key question I ask students in my Propaganda class to ponder when they … Continue reading →

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When One is Enough

Posted on October 15, 2018 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

  The Story of the Lone Fig Our potted fig tree—the third since moving to a new house—is an adolescent Lattrula fig (Ficus carica). All summer we watered the fig, and I cooed at its growing leaves, which became the … Continue reading →

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When Words Harm

Posted on July 30, 2018 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

  And Actions Matter  In my profession (writing and researching words, and thinking about their meanings) we argue: words mean. Exactly what they mean and how is worthy of conversation, especially because humans create the meanings we attach to words. … Continue reading →

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Threading the Needle

Posted on July 8, 2018 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

Closing the Osage-Buddhist Circle We spent the last weeks—months—on a sewing project, creating a Rakusu: a garment worn when you become a practicing Buddhist. The Rakusu has a rich tradition. The garment is a rectangular cloth with straps that you … Continue reading →

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Dependence within Independence

Posted on July 4, 2018 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

I wonder about the meanings of dependence on the day that celebrates independence (and my birthday): July 4. Thoughts about independence are buried deep within our nation’s stories, including myths that our Indian ancestors roamed free and wild and independent, … Continue reading →

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Honoring Ancestors

Posted on May 18, 2018 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

  My heritage—in addition to being a North American native–is English, French, Osage and Lakota. Turns out, I know more about my Indian ancestors than my English or French relatives. It’s not because my relatives kept good records: they didn’t. … Continue reading →

Posted in american, american indian, authenticity, NAGPRA, Naia, national native american history month, native american, Native American Heritage Month, native press, Native Science, nativescience, pine ridge, Plains Indians: Artists of Earth and Sky, zen | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Becoming Buddhist

Posted on April 15, 2018 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

I am inching toward becoming a Buddhist and find myself torn. When practitioners “become” Buddhists, they are given the name of an ancestor. And this is where my panic digs in. It’s not just the accoutrements of religion–the bowing and … Continue reading →

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When customs dictate behavior

Posted on October 7, 2017 by Cynthia Coleman Emery

On Friday mornings I head off on my bike into our little berg with my pack full of painting supplies. I lock my bike at a cafe and pull out a large ceramic mug and buy a bottom-less cup of … Continue reading →

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