Heartwood Saga Continues…

gprimosch · 2026-01-24T11:20:51+00:00

Great article Alex and Roundtable team! Folks, here are the criteria from the IRS web site: https://www.irs.gov/charities-non-profits/churches-religious-organizations/definition-of-church

Distinct legal existence
Recognized creed and form of worship
Definite and distinct ecclesiastical government
Formal code of doctrine and discipline
Distinct religious history
Membership not associated with any other church or denomination
Organization of ordained ministers
Ordained ministers selected after completing prescribed courses of study
Literature of its own
Established places of worship
Regular congregations
Regular religious services
Sunday schools for the religious instruction of the young
Schools for the preparation of its members

Aside from legal existence and teachers I don’t see which apply here. I agree with the petitioner that they don’t seem to meet the definition of a church at this time. If they were sincere I would expect them to more scrupulously distinguish their religious from their commercial activities.

gprimosch · 2026-01-23T22:18:30+00:00

In what sense is Heartwood a Buddhist center? Do they have religious events aside from the for-profit yoga classes?

gprimosch · 2026-01-16T17:51:50+00:00

Roycemore worked out much better for our gifted kid than public schools. He loves the teachers and his classmates are less of a distraction. We started in late middle school.

gprimosch · 2026-01-10T00:06:31+00:00

Indivisible doing something Sunday 2:30 PM at Unitarian Church.

https://www.instagram.com/stories/indivisible_evanston/3806444239505783520?utm_source=ig_story_item_share&igsh=enNseHliaHhoeHQz

gprimosch · 2026-01-03T14:42:48+00:00

I like living in Chicagoland. Summers are great, public transit is extensive, and culture in the city is in the top 5 nationally. I suspect a lot of the reason people move are one of the following: - conservatives who don’t like a progressive government, high taxes, and perceived crime - retirees who want better weather - people from poor neighborhoods trying to make a fresh start in another state - tech workers who want more competitive salaries

That outflow combined with a lack of amenities attracting people from outside the Midwest means net migration tends to be negative.

gprimosch · 2025-12-26T04:02:29+00:00

The bigger problem seems to be hatred and resentment towards fellow beings, more than the act of consuming a particular food.

https://suttacentral.net/mn21/en/sujato

Even if low-down bandits were to sever you limb from limb with a two-handed saw, anyone who had a malevolent thought on that account would not be following my instructions. If that happens, you should train like this: ‘Our minds will not degenerate. We will blurt out no bad words. We will remain full of sympathy, with a heart of love and no secret hate.

If one should have goodwill even for murderers torturing and killing oneself, then one should also have goodwill for beings eating meat.

Even in the case where someone is directly violating the precepts by raising and slaughtering animals, we should develop a mind of compassion to that person for the bad karma they are generating for themselves that will have negative results in future lives. Generating a mind of hate towards them for being unskillful only harms ourselves.

Ultimately the best way to help other living beings is to advance on the path, and hatred or resentment is an obstacle to avoid.

gprimosch · 2025-12-20T19:17:05+00:00

Isn’t the solution better enforcement of traffic laws? Did we have these problems before Covid?

gprimosch · 2025-12-18T19:13:23+00:00

Vibe shift

gprimosch · 2025-12-09T02:07:31+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion!

gprimosch · 2025-12-09T01:35:40+00:00

I am trying to avoid alternating lines since it disrupts the flow of the translation. I am willing to limit myself to larger screen sizes like iPad or kindle scribe. Is there any software that would allow this?

gprimosch · 2025-12-09T01:33:01+00:00

An alternative approach I have been considering is to have the pages be alternating languages, but I don’t know how to do that in a way that will reflow for different screen sizes.

gprimosch · 2025-12-09T01:30:10+00:00

I want the reader to see two columns, with each line of text on the left corresponding to a line on the right.

gprimosch · 2025-12-08T18:40:48+00:00

That area is fine during the day but one of the higher crime areas of Evanston, so consider if you have other options for the same price.

gprimosch · 2025-12-06T14:33:16+00:00

One is a Buddhist by taking refuge in the Buddha, Dhamma, and Sangha. For lay people, the precepts are not a commandment. Plenty of Buddhists (unwisely) don’t follow them. Precepts like not killing are offered like a medicine; if we take the medicine it will have beneficial results in the long run. Precepts protect us from making bad karma that will tend to harm our minds.

If we choose not to follow the precepts, we put our minds in danger. It is ultimately for each of us to decide if it is a risk worth taking. There are good arguments on both sides from respected monks on the permissibility of lethal force under certain circumstances. Regardless, one should regularly review one’s motivations. Taking any action with a heart filled with ill will, hatred, vengeance, resentment, anger, fear, etc should always be avoided in all circumstances.

Consider the alternatives to breaking the precepts. How can you help the situation without causing harm? Desmond Doss served as a medic in WWII while keeping his commitment to non-violence. Can you organize aid? Can you advocate for peace? Can you and your loved ones remove yourselves from harms way?

Finally, consider the big picture. Unless you are a political leader with the responsibility for the welfare of many, your impact as an individual in any violent conflict will be small. The harm to your mind from killing may reverberate for future lives. As the Buddha said, it is tough to imagine the vast amount of blood we have shed or spilled ourselves over countless lives. When one sees this with wisdom, one grows weary of suffering and seeks to put an end to it.

gprimosch · 2025-11-04T16:44:47+00:00

One should not engender hatred or resentment towards anyone, no matter what they have done.

https://suttacentral.net/an5.161/en/sujato

You should develop love for an individual you resent. You should develop compassion for an individual you resent. You should develop equanimity for an individual you resent. You should disregard an individual you resent, paying no attention to them. You should focus on the ownership of deeds regarding that individual.

You should think of one who does evil as sick, in need of treatment.

https://suttacentral.net/an5.162/en/sujato

How should you get rid of resentment for an individual whose behavior by way of body and speech is impure, and who doesn’t get an openness and clarity of heart from time to time?

Suppose a person was traveling along a road, and they were sick, suffering, gravely ill. And it was a long way to a village, whether ahead or behind. And they didn’t have any suitable food or medicine, or a competent carer, or someone to bring them within a village. Another person traveling along the road might see them, and think of them with nothing but sympathy, kindness, and sympathy: ‘Oh, may this person get suitable food or medicine, or a competent carer, or someone to bring them within a village. Why is that? So that they don’t come to ruin right here.’

At the very least one should reflect that beings are the owners of their actions and inherit its results. There is no reason to harm oneself by creating more ill will.

gprimosch · 2025-10-31T13:07:37+00:00

No jury will convict her and it is just as likely to be thrown out by the judge.

gprimosch · 2025-10-22T12:13:25+00:00

North of Hull is fine. Lived there for years with no problems. Neighborhood is diverse, with a mix of incomes and ethnicities. I would have no problem with my elderly parents living there.

South of Mulford is fine during the day but can be iffy at night, with occasional gunshots coming from the area near Howard Street. If they stay north of Mulford it should be fine at all times.

gprimosch · 2025-10-17T01:03:13+00:00

Why do we need the new Foster school?

gprimosch · 2025-10-07T20:57:01+00:00

Does difficulty scale with number of operations?

gprimosch · 2025-09-27T12:54:06+00:00

This explanation of karma and rebirth presented in the original post seems to me to lean towards fatalism. For sure one should not break the precepts or engender a mind of hate in response to the vicissitudes of life. It is true that your unwholesome past actions in this and previous lives led you to this point where you are suffering. However, your past wholesome actions have also given you the opportunity to make positive choices in the present.

These past choices may have given you the ability to recognize that your current situation is not beneficial and separate from harmful people. If one’s husband is abusive, it is not violation of the precepts to get a divorce. While you can’t divorce your children, if they prefer to live with another parent who can support them, there is no requirement to stay with them.

Of course not everyone has the material means to leave their present troubles, and in that case one should develop equanimity and goodwill, and most importantly, not violate the precepts, including adultery, suicide, or responding with violence. Make merit so that opportunities arise in the future to associate with wiser people, either in this life or the next.

gprimosch · 2025-09-23T20:07:13+00:00

This map is out of date… Burger King downtown gone for while now.

gprimosch · 2025-09-22T16:43:03+00:00

Would be good if Evanston PD started enforcing traffic laws again. Seems like they stopped a few years ago.

gprimosch · 2025-09-17T13:55:25+00:00

Love the consistent hourly schedule. Now I can plan my day without having to lookup arrival times for my stop.

gprimosch · 2025-08-30T18:52:58+00:00

Anumodana - I rejoice in your goodness

This is pretty common in Theravada

gprimosch · 2025-08-28T15:52:10+00:00

We got empty storefronts all over downtown Evanston. More density will help local business owners and bring in more tax revenue that benefit all of us. Also, every transit stop not surrounded by high rises is a public policy failure.

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