True Dharma Blog
Wednesday July 16, 2025 Largo, Florida Tampa Bay on the Gulf of Mejico
I have forgotten to add to the True Dharma website. No excuses. I am not bad but busy.
Lately I have been focussed on visiting a Florida state prison more than 100 miles from home as a volunteer Buddhist spiritual advisor. A few months ago (December 2024) I received a snail mail letter from an inmate who is enrolled in the Buddhist Correspondence Course. The course is a long-term study of basic Buddhist teachings which was put together by a dedicated couple Richard and Adrienne Baksa. The course takes about four and a half years to complete. There are over 500 inmates from all over the country enrolled. Enrollees receive books and questions about the readings by mail at no charge. All materials are distributed by a temple in upstate New York where the great American scholar monk Bhikkhu Bodhi resides and teaches.
January 4, 2023
My mother Ann Gabriele Tedesco would have been 106 today. I inherited her house in Largo, Florida which is where my family has lived since the summer of 2001.
Today was spent with auto repair matters. My 2001 Prius has hybrid battery failure, at 255,500 miles. I have spent thousands over twenty years to keep it in service rather than buy another car. Nowadays, new and used cars are more expensive than ever. I have driven the car on many service missions for True Dharma- to Florida prisons, hospitals, hospices. I also used it to film footage for Good Death Auspicious Rebirth at Hindu, Jain and Sikh places of worship, teaching at USF campuses and satellite classroom sites for adult education classes. My Prius albatross has been my sole transport for innumerable trips to churches and temples to teach Buddhism, interfaith meetings and to lead meditation groups.
January 27, 2023
The 2001 Prius has been starting and moving without warning lights for a few days, after being repaired by Paul and his father Constantine Tassos of Affordable Hybrid in Brooksville, Florida. They replaced the hybrid battery and computer. The red triangle and check engine light appeared driving home about 30 miles away. I returned and spent hours with Constantine who test drove the car and checked all the codes. Finally, I left in the evening with the warning lights still on. Surprisingly, they disappeared the next afternoon for reasons unknown to me and the local deities.
March 10, 2023
The Prius has been starting quickly without fail without the red triangle or check engine light. All the lights appeared on mornings that were cold and damp but disappeared when I drove a bit and it got warmer outside. I think the problem is with the warning light system rather than problems with the gas engine or hybrid system. I am keeping all my fingers and toes crossed.
I have been driving short distances around town but haven’t tried to visit prisons in the countryside yet.