Summary: Episode Description: In this Dharma talk, Ray invites us to think about God: Why do monotheistic traditions have a concept of God? What do we personally "want" in a God? What does God provide for us? God serves many roles: as a companion, a means to "fill in the blanks" of not knowing, a provider of a moral code, as a creator and purveyor of beauty, as something bigger than our selves to believe in, and more insidiously perhaps, as a means to control people. For different members of the audience, God is seen as a "Great Spirit," as an experiential process accessed through spiritual practice, as "inner knowing" as opposed to something external, and as experiences of what is possible for human beings. Ray concludes the talk with his own view of God: things "exactly as they are; just this." BIO: Ray Olson an internist by training, was a longtime Professor of Medicine at the University of North Texas Health Science Center. He has been a Zen student for over 30 years and received Jukai in 1989. He was ordained as a Novice Priest by Roshi Joan Halifax in 2009 and was made a Dharma Holder at Upaya Zen Center in 2010. Ray serves as coordinator of Upaya's Prison Outreach Program, and in that capacity he corresponds with many inmates in prisons around the country, offering spiritual guidance to the incarcerated. He also makes weekly visits to inmates in the high security units of the local state penitentiary. Ray is long-married to Nancy; they have three grown children and four growing grandchildren.
