Amidst the ongoing political and cultural turmoil we see in the United States and around the world, I often return to the opening verse of the Kural’s chapter on kindness. […]
Dr. Larry Ward and the Rain of Compassion
I was saddened to learn that Dr. Larry Ward, a dharma teacher in the tradition of the Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh, recently passed away. He and I got […]
A Musical Kural . . .
I’m delighted to announce that Volume I of Amirthavarshini and Lydian Nadhaswaram‘s extraordinary project of setting all 1330 verses of the Kural to music has just been released. Here is […]
Thirukkural 1330 with Lydian Nadhaswaram and Amirthavarshini
One of the qualities of the Kural that I am always keen to point out is how playful and musical its language truly is. Indeed, that’s why I sang a […]
The Kural and Martin Luther King
Last month I had the honor of speaking alongside Dr. Aaron Bryant, museum curator at the Smithsonian National Museum of African American History and Culture, at the Anna Centenary Library […]