à la carte spirit by ilona fried
silent retreat
Shambhala, Too
It’s been revealed that the Shambhala Buddhist “Emperor”, Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, has no clothes. An in depth investigative report, spearheaded by a former member of the Shambhala community months before the #MeToo movement made headlines, has turned up searing and horrifying stories of abuse of power, including sexualized violence, over a period of decades. Sadly, I am not … Continue reading
CHECK ENGINE: Of Cars, Karma, Gurus and Rabbis
[Dear Readers: This is a long essay. The narrative is not linear, it contains at least one four letter word, references to sexual scandal (not mine), and cars! It’s not the usual fare. Happy New Year!]. When I lived in Colorado, my Subaru Forrester’s check engine light went on intermittently, for days or weeks, before switching … Continue reading
Remembering a Holy Maverick: Encounters with Reb Zalman (z”l)
The world lost one of its luminaries, Reb Zalman Schachter-Shalomi (z”l), in early July. At a moving celebration of his life last weekend, I recalled a few of the more powerful times when my life intersected with this amazing being, with a “heart as big as the world”, if not as large as the cosmos. Grief introduced me to … Continue reading
à la carte spirit by ilona fried 
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