Letters to the Editor

Letter from a Longtime Fan
I’ve been a devoted subscriber since the first issue. For over 20 years I’ve arranged each magazine in tidy rows on my bookcase. At the 20-year mark, I began wondering whether I would need a bigger house to contain my collection. So, with sadness, I posted a notice on our local freecycle.org page: “Complete collection of first-edition Tricycle magazines: free to a good home.” Within 24 hours a young woman showed up in an old station wagon to carry them away. Watching the magazines leave my driveway was a bittersweet moment, even as I knew they were going to a delighted collector.

Your publication has been with me from middle age into my mid-seventies. Throughout these years Tricycle has been a beacon of wisdom, common sense, beautiful artwork, and sometimes, controversy. Each issue is a treasure. Long live Tricycle and the gifted writers, editors, and artists who make it what it is.

–Patricia Ryan Madson
El Granada, CA

Tenets for Political Samsara
There is no escaping from the recent U.S. presidential election. I’ve found that the three tenets that Wendy Egyoku Nakao Roshi presents in “Hold to the Center” (Summer 2017)—Not-Knowing, Bearing Witness, and Taking Action—are not only needed in our current political context; they are equally useful in daily interactions and challenges.

–Cathy Jikan
Los Angeles, CA

Seeking a Plan for Climate Action
Thank you for sharing Paul Hawken’s “100 Best Climate Solutions—And Why They’re Going to Work” (Summer 2017). I think we all need a little hope regarding climate change and our ability to make things better. Don’t be shy about telling us all what we can do—action helps to make us feel like we are part of the solution rather than the problem. Caring for the earth is a deep and important responsibility.

–Chris Holly
Perkin, IL

Death Perception
Thank you, Bernie Glassman and Eve Marko, for sharing your ongoing story in “Now What?” (Summer 2017). I admire your courage, honesty, and humor. As I age, I have frequent thoughts about what might happen to me: a stroke, heart attack, dementia, limitations on my physical mobility, or decreased mental capacity. I have tended to think that dying would be preferable to suffering or not-knowing. Your story has caused me to look at my perceptions differently.

–Robert Currie
Bend, OR

Give Love to Get Love
Sharon Salzberg’s column “Real Love” (Summer 2017) led me to think about how I define love. For me, love is “the wish for the happiness of the other,” and pure love is when that wish for another’s happiness comes ahead of the wish for my own. I urge anyone who feels they are not getting enough love to give love freely, with no expectations of return from the object of their love. Take a risk. Do it and see what happens.

–Chris Hazzard
Richmond, Australia

Fertile Traditions
Steve Wilhelm’s article in the Summer 2017 issue, “Only Connect,” about how the Northwest Dharma Association is working to build bridges between different Buddhist groups, reinforced something that I have been thinking lately: We are in a place and time where all the traditions are available to anyone. It’s time to “cross-pollinate” and select what’s best for us over the next few generations.

–Patrick Mizelle
Portland, OR

♦

Send letters to editorial@tricycle.com, post a comment on tricycle.org, or tweet us at @tricyclemag.