On my way to Boston I drove through the empty streets of Sandy Hook, Newtown, Connecticut after the massacre of 20 children and 6 adults in 2012. I could not describe the grief that I saw in the air from the victims who were killed so mercilessly in cold blood. It was the same grief I saw when I visited the town of Balingiga in the Philippines where US soldiers were ordered by General Smith to kill every Filipino over 10 years old in 1902. It was also the same grief I saw when I visited the Vietnam War Memorial in Hanoi during the 50th anniversary of the My Lai Massacre when 504 unarmed older men, women and children were killed by the US military.
Continue reading “Diary 6/5/22”Author: renejnavarro
Saving the Sequoias
I was scrolling down the files when I saw this photograph of two giant tamarind trees just outside the Tao Garden in Doi Saket, Chiang Mai, Thailand. I do not how old they are. Perhaps 100 years? I also have a photo somewhere of 2 gingko trees in the Shaolin Temple in Loyang, Hunan Province that were, according to the plaque, at least 1000 years old.
Continue reading “Saving the Sequoias”May 2022
*May 5: I had great fun reading poetry on Zoom with the group at the Grind Coffee Open Mic in Vancouver, BC last Friday April 29. It was held at 7 PM, PT, 10 PM here on the eastern seaboard. I read poems from my book “Ascension and Return.” The program also included a “tour” of the artifacts in my study and a video of myself doing Classical Tai chi chuan fist and sword forms. It was one of the most memorable and happiest poetry readings I’ve done. I was surprised to see Kelsey Pardonner, an artist and friend from New Jersey, Jackson Tan, an acupuncturist and student from the Philippines and my cousin Ray Navarro from Oakland, California in the audience. It was too late in the night for me, I could barely keep my eyes open.
Continue reading “May 2022”March 2022
I am sorry that I haven’t blogged for sometime now. It’s partly because of the pandemic, partly because of work on my poetry book “Ascension and Return: Poetry of a Village Daoist” (TambuliMedia: 2020) and partly because I’ve kept busy with other projects.
Continue reading “March 2022”Video: Poetry reading
See video of Rene reading his poetry, filmed for the 2020 4th Annual Marble Summer Arts Festival – Poetry & Prose Program. (Rene is featured directly after the short introduction.)
Continue reading “Video: Poetry reading”Cambodia, Thailand
China
Luang Prabang, Kuala Lumpur, Cyprus
You’ll see these Buddhist monks everywhere in Laos. Young men who probably left their families when they were children to join a temple.
Estipona, Hong Kong, Delphi
Three hours north of Manila is Estipona, Pura, Tarlac, Philippines: The farm has 1300 ylang-ylang trees. It processes essential oilat one of the buildings. When I am not in Manila, that’s where I often stay when I am in the country. There are mangos and coconutsand other fruit trees in the compound. A section of the farm is devoted to breeding native wild boars. Another section raises rice. It is a good place to visit.
Continue reading “Estipona, Hong Kong, Delphi”September 2020 – Photos, Poetry, Meditation Practice
September 10, 2020
Since we’re all probably marooned, I’ve decided to post photos of different places I’ve visited over the next few days. It is always a pleasure to be out traveling. But short of flying to a foreign country, I often just drive out to the Appalachian mountain. In just 30 minutes I am there staring at and lost among valleys and waterfalls. At the millennium I lived in Lake Harmony, Pocono Mountains. Often I would see deer, bears and smaller wild animals like racoons, squirrels and foxes in the neighborhood. There were 2 lakes and 3 ski resorts around the area. In Winter there were a lot of skiers. I did not ski myself but I loved the snow. I would do Tai Ji Quan outside even when the weather was freezing. I also enjoyed the seasons: they are one of the reasons I love the country.