Written by Jan Phillips and Narrated by Marie T. Russell.
We don't have faith because we understand.
We have faith because we hear
the echo from the Depths.
-- Oshida Shigeto
I first heard about Father Oshida from the Sisters of St. Joseph in Tsu-shi. They told me about his visit with the Dalai Lama, where both men sat together in silence for an hour. At the end of the hour, the Dalai Lama asked if Father Oshida would return again one day and honor him with another meeting.
After hearing the story, I wanted to meet the man. He lived far away in the Japanese Alps, the sisters said, on a small retreat that he built with a few others. Legend had it that as a Dominican priest in Tokyo, he was a social activist, always advocating for the poor, insisting that the church dedicate more funds on their behalf. In general, a thorn in the side of the hierarchy.
So they missioned him in the mountains on a small patch of land and sent him a few seminarians. He was to be their Novice Director. Together they built Takamori, a ragtag monastery of crooked thatched huts that was designed for simplicity, communal living, contemplation, and hard work in the rice fields.
The sisters of Tsu-shi were enthusiastic about me visiting Takamori. They tracked down the phone number. They brought out a map of Japan so we could see...
Continue Reading at InnerSelf.com (plus audio/mp3 version of article)
Music By Caffeine Creek Band, Pixabay
Narrated by Marie T. Russell, InnerSelf.com
Copyright 2021. All Rights Reserved.
Reprinted with permission of the publisher.
Article Source
Still On Fire—Field Notes from a Queer Mystic
by Jan Phillips
Still on Fire is a memoir of religious wounding and spiritual healing, of judgment and forgiveness, and of social activism in a world that is in our hands. Jan Phillips traveled the globe on a one-woman peace pilgrimage, raised the consciousness of women, faced her privilege on a trip to India, and is working to dismantle structural racism. Her Livingkindness Foundation supports schoolchildren in Nigeria. “Any spirituality that does not bring about more justice, more social awareness, more right action in the world is a lame and impotent excuse for faith … My action for justice is my spirituality.”
She tells the story of her life with humor and compassion, sharing her poetry, songs, and photos along the way.
For more info and/or to order this book, click here.
About the Author
Jan Phillips is an activist who bridges spiritual intelligence, conscious creativity, and social transformation. She is the author of eleven award-winning books, has taught in over 25 countries, and has published work in the New York Times, Ms., Newsday, People, Parade Magazine, Christian Science Monitor, New Age Journal, National Catholic Reporter, Sun Magazine, and Utne Reader. She has performed with Pete Seeger, presented with Jane Goodall, sung to Gladys Knight, and worked for Mother Teresa.
Jan teaches throughout the United States and Canada, facilitating retreats on evolutionary faith and prophetic action. Her quest has taken her into and out of a religious community, across the country on a Honda motorcycle, and around the world on a one woman peace pilgrimage. She has produced three CDs of original music, several videos, and a seven-hour audio program called Creating Every Day. This is an excerpt from her forthcoming memoir, . (Unity Books, 2021) www.janphillips.com
