A Renewed Call for Engaged Buddhism

With the direction of our country, and indeed the world, seemingly hanging on this Presidential election, it can be difficult for many to avoid being fearful or cynical about the future.  A Christian friend who shares my concerns told me he is at the point where he is unable to sleep at night over the uncertainty of this [...]

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“America Needs a Buddhist President” (Serious Thoughts)

The recent Presidential forum at the Saddleback Church, the California megachurch led by mega-best selling author and forum host Pastor Rick Warren, left me more than a little cold.  Not because the forum came across as a political litmus test from time to time when the audience occasionally applauded strongly or groaned somewhat at certain times.  No, [...]

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Attention, Please…Please? Pretty Please?!

The subject of attention is a common one in Buddhist practice.  Indeed, meditation is all about paying attention to this present moment only, while letting ‘everything else’ – thoughts about the past, speculations for the future – float away like so many clouds.  Meanwhile, society in general seems to be increasingly aware there is an [...]

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Tibet Crisis Worsens, Information Harder to Come By from Main US News Outlets

It is very distressing to see what is going on in Tibet.  It is also very distressing to see the very nominal mention of Tibet on main news sites. 
Predictably, the BBC coverage is far superior to US news outlets — BBC reporting that China is now unconscionably blaming the Dalai Lama for “organizing” the riots.
Surprisingly, BoingBoing.net (typically a “fun” site [...]

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Speaking of Faith on “Buddhism in the World”

Speaking of Faith is a radio program hosted by Krista Tippett that I listen to on the internet sometimes.  It’s always thoughtful and interesting.  Recently there was a program called “Buddhism in the World”,  in which she interviews Pankaj Mishra, author of a book called An End to Suffering: The Buddha in the World.   I [...]

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Vietnamese monk to save Thai Buddhism?

So says Thanong Khanthong in an interesting op-ed piece from yesterday’s Nation (“Bangkok’s Independent Newspaper”). Vietnamese Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh is visiting Bangkok as the keynote speaker at the Visakha Bucha celebrations at the Fourth Annual International Buddhist Conference that took place earlier this week even as Buddhism in Thailand finds itself suffering from a bit of an identity [...]

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Jack Kornfield’s Vision…

I came across this vision statement on the Spirit Rock website published as an article in the Summer 2007 edition of Buddhadharma.   It’s entitled “This Fantastic Unfolding Experiment”.  I think the title covers a lot.  It’s exciting to be a witness and a participant in a tiny way to this continuing arrival of Buddhism to [...]

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“Meditation: What do the numbers tell us?”

James Shaheen wrote a very interesting post on the Tricycle “Editors’ Blog” a few weeks ago in response to a previous post by contributor Jeff Wilson. The question: What exactly is the prevalence of meditation in Buddhist practice?

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“Google’s Buddhist Top Ten”

Tricycle magazine contributor Jeff Wilson has a very interesting piece on the pros and cons of looking for the Dharma on the Web.

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“Jeweled Demise”

In his dhamma talk this month, Ajahn Mangkone touched briefly on the subject of relics. As it turns out there is a fascinating article on the subject in the current issue of Tricycle.

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