ABOUT THE AUTHOR

It may be of interest to readers of the Web Log to know a bit about Duane Nelson, the primary author of the essays.

Duane grew up on a farm in central North Dakota and considers that experience to be an important influence in the formation of his thinking. In 1956 he went to Concordia College, Moorhead, MN. and in 1959 to ETS, a theological seminary now a part of the United Methodist Church. In 1962 he continued graduate study at Northern Illinois University and took a teaching position at Elgin Community College in 1966 where he continued until retirement in 1998.

Philosophically he began in a Lutheran context and spent some years in the circles of the Methodist clergy before settling into college teaching of history, philosophy and religion which he found to be his personal dharma. During 35 years of teaching his personal philosophy moved toward a Buddhist cosmology and what is currently being referred to as theomonism. He considers himself to be a theologian but is careful to say that theology is a way to find one’s own spiritual path, not to find a formula to prescribe for other people to use to reach the truth or salvation. More importantly he is a mystic and is often perceived to be a spiritual maverick who insists that pursuing spiritual awakening and learning compassion for others is more important than learning fine points of theology.

In 1991 Duane and Marion Nelson were instrumental in the founding of the Mahayana Dharma Center for the teaching of Buddhist philosophy. A few years later health care, in the modality of Tibetan Medicine, was added to the services of that center. The current program and offerings can be found on this web site. A major part of his current teaching activity has taken the form of the essays posted on this Web Log which is intended not to present doctrinaire answers to spiritual questions but to stimulate creative thought toward answers that are appropriate to the reader’s spiritual needs.

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