Buddhism

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    About.com Buddhism

  • The Kula Sutta

    8 Feb 2010 | 6:01 am
    I just discovered the Kala Kula Sutta, which is very brief. According to this Pali sutra, there are four reasons why a wealthy family cannot hold onto its wealth -- They don't look for things that are lost. They don't repair things that are old. They are immoderate in consuming food and drink. An un-virtuous person is placed in charge. Since I'm nominally the only one in charge of my household (Miss Lucy, the household cat, is really in charge, but she doesn't handle money), I can't really speak to #4. As for #3 -- I'm working on it. As a culture, probably few of us are good at #2, getting…

  • Snow Day

    6 Feb 2010 | 9:52 am
    I understand much of the eastern U.S. is buried until a ton of snow. It missed me (nyah nyah nyah), but some of you readers must be snowed in right now. Stay safe and stay home, if you can. So who's in the mood for winter haiku? Review the rules at "Spring Haiku Challenge"  and "Zen and the Art of Haiku," then give it a shot. I'm drawing a blank, possibly because there's little snow where I am, but here's Bassho -- Winter solitude-- in a world of one color the sound of wind. Maybe we can update that -- After the snowstorm -- in a world of one color, spinning tires.Snow Day originally…

  • Zen at War and the Opposite of Equanimity

    4 Feb 2010 | 3:32 am
    Buddhism recently came to the attention of American political partisans via the Great Brit Hume Flap. And since then some right-wing writers have felt compelled to sully the reputation of Buddhism. One of these, Marvin Olansky, strongly implies that Buddhism is responsible for the infamous Nanjing massacre of 1937. After some graphic descriptions of atrocities in Nanjing, for which he implies that Buddhism is to blame, Olansky goes on to cite Brian Daizen Victoria's Zen at War and Zen War Stories, which forthrightly documents Zen institutional support for Japanese militarism in the 1930s.

  • On Buddhism, Beethoven, Babies, and Bathwater

    2 Feb 2010 | 7:14 am
    The perennial debate over the "westernization" of Buddhism often breaks down into an argument over innovation versus tradition. And it seems to me western Buddhists are divided into two camps. One camp thinks cultural adaptation of Buddhist forms and rituals will happen gradually, as they always have, and that western Buddhism will find its own distinctive style at its own pace without anything having to be decided by committees. Rushing this process before we fully appreciate the traditional forms could cause us to throw the baby out with the bathwater, so to speak. The other camp argues…

  • Sulak Sivaraksa

    2 Feb 2010 | 12:44 am
    There's a lovely profile of Sulak Sivaraksa, founder of the International Network of Engaged Buddhists, at the Washington Post's On Faith website. This very engaged Buddhist was mentioned here recently in a post on environmental activism among Buddhist monks in Thailand. The Washington Post profile, titled "The Activist Buddhist," describes Sulak Sivaraksa as a man committed to social activism as Buddhist practice. Check it out.Sulak Sivaraksa originally appeared on About.com Buddhism on Tuesday, February 2nd, 2010 at 08:44:36.Permalink | Comment | Email this
 
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    AmericanBuddhist.net

  • Kazakhstan: China looking to lease land for agricultural purposes

    Robyn
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:39 am
    Kazakhstan’s government is mulling a plan that would enable China to lease a large swath of Kazakhstani land for agricultural use. The proposed deal is stirring passionate opposition in the Central Asian state, with critics expressing concern about the country’s sovereignty. Controversy has been brewing since December, when President Nursultan Nazarbayev announced that China had expressed a desire to lease a million hectares of Kazakhstani land. Under the proposal, Chinese growers would cultivate soybeans and rapeseed, which is used to produce vegetable oil, on the leased land. The…

  • Woman seeks "Jessica Alba" makeover to win back lover

    Robyn
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:26 am
    SHANGHAI (Reuters) - A Chinese woman is seeking extensive plastic surgery to look like U.S. actress Jessica Alba, mainly because she hopes to win back her boyfriend who she said always wished she looked more like the Hollywood star. LINK TO ORIGINAL ABN...Can we add a "Samsara" tag for stories like this? Robyn

  • Orissa offers to organise 3rd International Buddhist Conclave

    Robyn
    9 Feb 2010 | 4:16 am
    Known for its Buddhist relic sites, Orissa has offered to organise the third international Buddhist Conclave in the state. LINK TO ORIGINAL

  • Ayudhya woman lays her Doraemon to rest

    Robyn
    9 Feb 2010 | 4:13 am
    We all know Thailand loves Doraemon, but this story lifts the anime doll's celebrity status to new heights. According to recent Thai media reports, a woman in Ayudha spent 200,000 baht for an elaborate Thai Buddhist funeral for a Doraemon doll that concluded last week. Yes, that's right, a stuffed doll. Blog Xomba posted an English version of the reports, noting that Plubplueng Ngamchareon, a 48-year-old Thai woman, received the famous blue Japanese anime character from a Buddhist monk when she was in the hospital being treated for cancer three years ago. LINK TO ORIGINAL

  • Book Review: Study on the concept of dharma

    Robyn
    9 Feb 2010 | 4:10 am
    This anthology of 19 well-researched articles examines the concept of dharma from semantic, cultural, and religious points of view. ‘Dharma’ is considered the fulcrum of Indian civilisation, since it is not affected by any linguistic, sectarian, or regional differences. The term itself is “untranslatable” for it has several connotations. Paul Horsch, in his article, attempts to examine the evolution of the term ‘dharma(n)’ from its Indo-Aryan origin to the position it occupies in the intellectual history of India, tracing the various phases it has gone through. LINK TO ORIGINAL
 
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    BigNewsNetwork: Buddhist News

  • Japanese monk gets down with the beat for Buddhism

    8 Feb 2010 | 11:40 pm
    TOKYO -- He raps. He chants. And this month, Japan's famed hip-hop loving monk, better known as MC Happiness, will tap dance on stage, in the name of Buddhism.

  • Singapore trounces Christian minister on jokes about Buddhism

    8 Feb 2010 | 10:15 pm
    Singapore - The Singapore government has trounced the leader of a Christian church after internet video clips showing the minister making jokes about Buddhism caused a chorus of outrage in the multira...

  • Buddha announces quota for Muslims

    8 Feb 2010 | 9:47 pm
    KOLKATA: The Left Front in West Bengal on Monday attempted to hijack the minority quota move of political competitors by appropriating a part of the Ranganath Mishra Commission recommendations and ...

  • Bihar CM invites the Dalai Lama

    8 Feb 2010 | 3:57 pm
    Patna, Feb. 8: Bihar chief minister Nitish Kumar today met the Dalai Lama at Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh and formally invited him to inaugurate the grand Buddha Memorial Park being built at an est...

  • Million-dollar Buddha sculpture arrives in California

    8 Feb 2010 | 3:02 pm
    ) -- The world's largest Buddha carved from gem quality jade arrived in the United States over the weekend. The nine-foot tall sculpture is called the Buddha for Universal Peace and weighs over four ...
 
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    The Buddhist Blog

  • Fierce Fudo Myo-o.

    7 Feb 2010 | 2:00 pm
    If you've been reading me for a while now then you also know that I like deities, Bodhisattvas and other super natural beings, but as archetypes only. They inspire, motivate and help give me strength to face the challenges of life. That is primarily because as an artist their visual representation brings their meaning and symbolism out stronger for me sometimes than just reading esoteric lines in a daunting tome.Though don't get me wrong, I adore a good esoteric tome but they are best absorbed in my brain coupled with visual representations. These statues of beings are powerful…

  • Don't Expect Your Practice to be Clear of Obstacles.

    5 Feb 2010 | 2:52 pm
    My practice has dwindled of late. So this is exactly what I need to hear:So an ancient once said, "Accept the anxieties and difficulties of this life". Don't expect your practice to be clear of obstacles. Without hindrances the mind that seeks enlightenment may be burnt out. So an ancient once said, "Attain deliverance in disturbances. - Zen Master Kyong Ho[ 1849-1912]James: It's not a sprint it's not even a marathon--it's placing one foot in front of the other. Present moment. Wonderful moment. Only moment.~Peace to all beings~

  • Haircuts: Now with ZEN!!

    29 Jan 2010 | 12:52 pm
    Being Friday I decided to post something a little light-hearted. Every week or so I scan through the news stories via Google News on Buddhism and Zen. Well, the other day I came across an advertisement for a beauty salon in Dubai called, "Zen Beauty Lounge."I had to giggle a bit because the idea of primping and dying hair isn't exactly the image I think of when I think, "Zen." When I think, "Zen" and "hair" I think of bald monks!! I doubt all the ladies going to this salon in Dubai would want to truly experience a "Zen haircut!!"~Peace to all beings~PHOTO CREDIT: Mirror, UK

  • Buddhist Converts in India.

    28 Jan 2010 | 10:28 am
    For the last 5-10 years I have watched in marvel at the mass conversions in India from Hinduism to Buddhism. It was explained to me that many of the converts are Dalits, (the "untouchables") or members of the lowest caste. I can see why someone who is treated as less-than simply for being born into a certain caste would seek the freedom from caste through Buddhism. Buddhism tells us that we are all equal and interconnected, thus, how can we treat any other being as less than us when they are apart of us? That would be like treating ourselves in the same manner and who wants to see themselves…

  • Hidden Buddhas: A Book Review.

    26 Jan 2010 | 11:01 pm
    Sacred Buddha statues imbued with ancient powers are disappearing. From the minute you open this book your are pulled into a page turning mystery with nothing less than the fate of humanity, Buddhism and the world at stake. What unfolds is a novel that crosses the path of many people who seemingly have nothing in common, or do they?The energy of the book hurls you forward and deeper into a world balanced between spirituality and total chaos but page by page that balance teeters toward the unimaginable. The author does a wonderful job conveying Japanese culture, especially as seen through the…
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    FWBO & TBMSG News

  • International Buddhist Youth Exchange program in Malaysia

    lokabandhu
    8 Feb 2010 | 9:55 pm
    Today’s story on FWBO News comes from India’s National Network of Buddhist Youth (NNBY) - just back from participating in the 2010 International Buddhist Youth Exchange program, held in Malaysia.Chetan Meshram from Nagpur, central India, attended along with Vasitkumar from Pune. They say- “Last week we have been in the Asean Youth Exchange at Malaysia. The WORLD FELLOWSHIP OF BUDDHIST YOUTH  (WFBY) organized the ASEAN INTERNATIONAL BUDDHIST YOUTH EXCHANGE (IBYE) 2010 which was hosted by the YOUNG BUDDHIST ASSOCIATION OF MALAYSIA (YBAM)."We were representing the National…

  • Two stories from Malaysia

    lokabandhu
    7 Feb 2010 | 9:20 pm
    Today and tomorrow we've two stories from Malaysia - independent visits by FWBO members from the UK and India, to different Buddhist groups. Dhammaloka, a regular visitor to China, Singapore, and Malaysia, writes to say - "I've just finished a series of talks followed by a practice weekend on karma for the Than Hsiang Foundation in Penang, Northern Malaysia. “As things turned out, I was the first person to teach at their newly established centre for English speaking Sangha members. Located in a very spacious ex-residential house in central Penang, the new place is at daytime used as a…

  • Interview with Subhuti: Ambedkar, Buddhism, and the world today

    lokabandhu
    6 Feb 2010 | 10:12 pm
    Insight Young Voices is an on-line Dalit Youth Magazine currently featuring an interview with Subhuti, a long-standing member of the Western Buddhist Order and leading light in TBMSG’s Dhamma work in India.Anoop Kumar, the interviewer, explores with Subhuti the specific difficulties - and opportunities - faced by Buddhism in the world today - in fact in the ‘three worlds’ of the old Buddhist world, the new Buddhist world of the West, and the revived Buddhist world of India.The interview can be found online at http://blog.insightyv.com/?p=1155 To quote two of their exchanges - Buddhism…

  • The FWBO and the 'New Monasticism'

    lokabandhu
    5 Feb 2010 | 9:50 am
    Munisha, Director of ClearVision - the FWBO's audio-visual centre - writes to say:"I was on the BBC Radio Four programme 'Beyond Belief' on Monday, in a programme looking at something called The New Monasticism."This is a movement within modern Christianity to set up residential quasi-monastic communities, very much like those we are used to in the FWBO."I wasn't very happy with the way it went in the studio but it's been well edited and I think the result is pretty good. Judge for yourself if you wish; listen to it online herewww.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b00qbw64" - it'll be available to…

  • First Mitra ceremonies for East Kent Buddhist Group

    lokabandhu
    4 Feb 2010 | 9:48 pm
    Danapriya writes from the FWBO’s ‘East Kent Buddhist Group’ with news of their first Mitra Ceremonies - perhaps, he says, even the first in the Triratna Buddhist Order! He says - “The East Kent Buddhist Group has just had Mitra Ceremonies for Hannah Youngs and Sally Birch. Hannah is 18yrs old and is daughter of Karunajala - and has been going on retreat since she was 4 yrs old! Sally has been on the LBC's winter retreat the last 2 yrs and hardly misses a class. “27 people attended - we just about packed them into our shrineroom which is only 11 x 13 feet! It was a wonderful evening…
 
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    thinkBuddha.org

  • Something is happening here, but you don't know what it is...

    Will Buckingham
    29 Jan 2010 | 6:14 am
    OK, so I’ve written about this before, but I’m still not sure that I’ve got to the bottom of it, so at the risk of repeating myself I’m going to have another stab at it. Or, at least, at reframing, once again, the question that has been recently haunting me. As regular visitors will know, I’ve been thinking a bit lately about what some folks call the cognitive unconscious. My cognitive unconscious is not some terrible area of inner darkness where, unbeknownst to me, lurk various childhood repressions and Oedipal shenanigans, but instead the large chunk of my…

  • A Viable Way

    Will Buckingham
    15 Jan 2010 | 3:12 am
    The other day, I was browsing through the town library here in Leicester, and I decided to have a look through the shelves of books in Chinese, to see if I could find anything to give me a bit of reading practice. It was there that I stumbled across, How to Marry a Western Woman, a handy guide for the Chinese male; and although I’ve no plans to marry a Western woman just yet, I though that this would be worth a look given that I had fifteen minutes to spare. Because, after all, you never know… Anyway, as I was making my way through the book, I came across a passage in which…

  • Meditating and Knowing

    Will Buckingham
    2 Jan 2010 | 1:45 pm
    Firstly, I should wish all visitors to thinkBuddha.org a happy New Year, if a little belatedly. Since I got back from retreat, I’ve had my head down working on the next philosophy book, and it has been good to have some time away from teaching, and a bit of the clarity that comes from meditation, to really get some thoughts on paper. So for a few days, we were up before five in the morning and on our cushions for the first sit of the day. And when the sky started at last to lighten, the view from the window of the meditation room when I opened my eyes was – pleasingly – that…

  • The Storm Before the Calm

    Will Buckingham
    23 Dec 2009 | 1:47 am
    Later today I’m off on the first retreat I’ve been on for some time, at Satipanya in Shropshire, and I’m looking forward to a few days of meditation and reflection. So yesterday I was putting things in order ready for the departure, and this included sorting out the kind of backup solution for my desktop computer that I should have got round to ages ago. The trouble with moving large chunks of data around, however, is that things can go wrong, and when my aging desktop wheezed a little too despairingly and then decided to go into a sulk half way through the most ticklish…

  • Zoom!

    Will Buckingham
    17 Dec 2009 | 8:58 am
    Who’d have thought it? A monk on Mount Emei (literally, Mount Lofty Eyebrows) has been photographed zooming around his temple courtyard on a skateboard, and the pictures have been causing a great deal of consternation amongst the faithful – and, no doubt, a measure of glee amongst the unfaithful. There’s a news article over here. On the scale of things, there are many worse ways of spending one’s time; and today’s shocking innovations can quickly become tomorrow’s traditions. All they need to do over there on Mount Emei is to turn up a hitherto unknown…
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    Progressive Buddhism

  • Bhutan 4 Christ and a potential backlash

    5 Feb 2010 | 7:30 am
    This is just in from "Wisdom Quarterly." It documents the recent rise of Christianity in the tiny Buddhist kingdom of Bhutan.In the post, also found at Digital Tibetan Buddhist (dated to last November), the author responds to his worry for Bhutan with a divination:As reported earlier... there have been devastating earthquakes, unusual weather anomalies, insidious acts by troublemakers, epidemic illness, and now, from Pemagatshel, comes word of a plague of grasshoppers.Because I care very deeply for this place -- very deeply -- I decided to do a divination. In some ways, I wish that I had not,…

  • The Purpose of Meaning

    4 Feb 2010 | 5:09 pm
    (Cross Posted at The Reformed Buddhist) If there was one thing that stands out as a great testament to our human endeavor as a species here on earth, it has been our wild ability to use the world around us, to mold, shape and create form from it, in order to better our living conditions and our material lives. Humans have an uncanny ability to twist the objects in the world, creating some of the most brilliant and mind boggling inventions, making countless discoveries of the properties of matter and form and have advanced our society to feats many thought unattainable just a few hundred years…

  • Narrative verses Awareness in Buddhist Ethics

    30 Jan 2010 | 1:53 pm
    (cross-posted at American Buddhist Perspective) While I was in China this summer I tried to explain my ph.d. thesis to one of my travel mates. "I am examining the underlying structure, philosophically speaking, of Buddhist ethics. I seek first to understand the Buddhist worldview or cosmology -based roughly in the dualism of samsara and nirvana- and then spell out the various injunctions found in the texts that purport to lead one from the former to the latter.""That doesn't seem to have much to do with people's lives... or ethics," he replied, obviously a bit disappointed. I realized then…

  • When Science and Philosophy Collide

    28 Jan 2010 | 3:00 pm
    (Cross Posted at The Reformed Buddhist) The Higgs-Boson, a theoretical particle which some scientist have speculated give mass to all matter, has become the big new thing within the elite circles of the physicist community. The Large Hadron Collider(LHC), encompassing a 27 Kilometer tunnel straddling under the Swiss and French borders, will be coming on line piecemeal over the next 6-8 months, and finding this Higgs-Boson will become one of the primary objectives of the tests conducted by the Physicists. The Higgs-Boson has been nicknamed the God particle because the theory states it is a…

  • God and The Fundamentalist's Problem with Time

    21 Jan 2010 | 11:51 am
    (Cross Posted at The Reformed Buddhist) Time is nothing more than the measurement of change. Just as a ruler measures length, a thermometer measures temperature and a scale measures weight, time is merely a tool, a human concept to help us parse the endless cycle of change into weeks, days, hours and minutes to help us in our everyday lives. Even science has shown time to be nothing more than other dependent, conditional on, and relative to everything else around it. I see what scares a lot of the fundamentalists Christians is this need to fill that gap left by our concept of time with…
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    Zencast

  • Zencast 247 - The Jewel

    7 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am
    The Jewel - Gil Fronsdal This teaching is given freely courtesy of Audio Dharma. Audio Dharma ; IMC ; Gil Fronsdal

  • Zencast 246 - The World of Impermanence

    31 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am
    The World of Impermanence - Gil Fronsdal This teaching is given freely courtesy of Audio Dharma. Audio Dharma ; IMC ; Gil Fronsdal

  • Zencast 245 - Q & A

    24 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am
    Q & A- Gil Fronsdal This teaching is given freely courtesy of Audio Dharma. Audio Dharma ; IMC ; Gil Fronsdal

  • Zencast 244 - Suffering

    17 Jan 2010 | 4:00 am
    Suffering- Gil Fronsdal This teaching is given freely courtesy of Audio Dharma. Audio Dharma ; IMC ; Gil Fronsdal

  • Zencast 243 - Choosing Presence

    10 Jan 2010 | 7:01 am
    Choosing Presence - Tara Brach This teaching is given freely courtesy of imcw.org. and courtesy of Dharma Seed. Tara Brach ; Dharma Seed;
 
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    Loden Jinpa - Merely Labeled

  • Dear All: New Website Will Contain Dharma Stuff

    Loden Jinpa
    17 Jan 2010 | 8:36 pm
    Hi Everyone, The migration of the old content to the new website has been completed and most of you signed up. Thank you. However, some of you have not, and so I wanted to send through a reminder as well as to let you know that I will continue to focus on dharma and meditation articles—albeit with a twist of science. I also have exciting news coming up (just waiting on an official document to arrive via email). Think…retreat center in the mountains just North of Hobart. Think…Australian wide institution committed to Research, retreat and education. If you have not already done…

  • More News and a New Website

    Loden Jinpa
    9 Jan 2010 | 9:42 pm
    Well, I am back in Hobart. Normality has return to life and I am working on my thesis again—currently I am researching the history and development of the notion of the self in ancient Indian philosophy, looking at the Rig-Veda and Upanishads in particular. My retreat went well and was mostly peaceful. New Years Eve was a great night for meditation on impermanence. For most of the day it was hot, then came a massive storm around 9.00 pm. Needless to say, I stopped, opened the windows and doors to let some cool air inside. I took some photos with a low-resolution camera. Here is one in which…

  • The Twisting of a Phrase For Clarity

    Loden Jinpa
    27 Nov 2009 | 12:35 am
    A pithy turn of phrase, a quip engendering insight, all these linguistic devices are the tools of smarter men (and women) than I. Philosophy, for the most part, is not easy. It is not easy because of the hours spent frustrated by misunderstanding, or, as is more often the case, a sense of not understanding what the hell it is that you are reading. In the end, I must add, it is an experience for which one is better off for having. With the afore written in mind, and as good evidence of my point, I wanted to address the notion of clarity in philosophy. Some might argue there is, in fact, a lack…

  • Thank You Geshe Thubten Loden

    Loden Jinpa
    16 Nov 2009 | 3:38 pm
    This is a copy of a letter I wrote to my teacher–Geshe Thubten Loden–a few days before leaving for Tasmania. I am publishing it here now as a means to create the merit for Geshe la to continue to stay with us. Please Geshe-la do not leave us now. Please continue to remain with us, to help, guide and protect us. Dear Geshe la, This letter is to say thank you for the kindness you have shown me over the past 14 years, in particular the teachings, initiations and daily guidance I received from you over that time. You have been more than a father, more than a mother, more than a best friend.

  • Why Socially Engaged Buddhist?

    Loden Jinpa
    8 Nov 2009 | 10:46 pm
    Below is a stream-of-consciousness thought and I mean no disrespect to Socially Engaged Buddhists. Today, I heard someone call themselves a socially engaged Buddhist. Isn’t all Buddhist theory socially engaged? As many have already had a lot to say along this line of argumentation, I will desist hereto. Instead, I want to discuss the follow this line of argument: If you are calling yourself a socially engaged Buddhist, you do so, because you are motivated by the wish to help others, regardless of who they are and you want to do so directly, as you see this as a good thing to do. By no…
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    The Zennist

  • Releasing from illusion

    Muni Butsu
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:27 am
    The attribution of substantiality to phenomena is exactly what the Buddha is against.  The phenomenal world, including our temporal bodies, is really an illusion, that is, a spectacular illusion by which we can easily become deceived.  It is especially true with our temporal body, with which we are proximate; interfacing with it and being unable to release from it.  As a matter of fact, we have put our entire life into substantializing an illusion and staying bound to it!  The Vimalakirti Sutra has not missed this fact, that our body is, essentially, an illusion.

  • Our disintegrating world

    Muni Butsu
    8 Feb 2010 | 5:21 am
    According to the Buddha the world (loka) is subject to disintegration (S. iv. 52).  Moreover, this same world, according to the Buddha, is said to be empty, empty as regards the self and what belongs to the self (S. iv. 54).  It should be obvious, then, that as far as my practice is concerned, I shouldn’t identify with this empty world or, eye-consciousness and things cognizable with the eye—or for that matter, the ear or thought-consciousness (mano-vijñâna).  These things, in other words, are not my self although I am connected with them. Based on the aforementioned,…

  • Humanizing the Buddha

    Muni Butsu
    7 Feb 2010 | 6:48 am
    We like to humanize the absolute, not to mention our gods or our creator God.  The notion of the absolute becomes too much for us to handle when it is beyond the ability of our mind to represent it in some familiar form.  As Xenophanes long ago pointed out (and it is still true today): “The lions, if they could have pictured god would have pictured him in the fashion of a lion; the horses like a horse; the oxen like an ox.” Most humans are uncomfortable with any religion when it gets too esoteric; when it posits something mysteriously transcendental to human sensory…

  • Rejecting Buddhism based on personal knowledge

    Muni Butsu
    4 Feb 2010 | 6:01 am
    It has become accepted in modern circles of Buddhism, particularly in the West, that the doctrines and teachings of the Buddha shouldn't be accepted just on the basis of belief; rather one should follow one’s own personal knowledge when deciding which doctrines are to be accepted and which ones are to be rejected.  All this sounds great.  But is it?  Not to mince words, and cutting to the chase, it is a  flawed methodology that decides which doctrines and teachings of the Buddha should be observed and which should be rejected based on one’s personal knowledge.

  • Laying down of the burden

    Muni Butsu
    3 Feb 2010 | 5:23 am
    In some passages of the Pali canon the Five Aggregates consisting of form, feeling, thought, inclination, and consciousness are suffering or duhkha.  Tied to this is the fact that we crave these five psychophysical constituents.  We even mistake them for our Self.  In fact, our craving has caused us to interface with these aggregates as being our Self which keeps us endlessly in samsara.   By craving these aggregates, thus entering into the world of suffering, we consequently become the bearer (hâra) of the burden, the burden (bhâram) which according to the Buddha is…
 
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    Awake in This Life

  • Q & A: How Can I Best Do This Practice?

    Michael McAlister
    22 Jan 2010 | 1:29 pm
    Question: How does one go about dedicating their life to this practice? I’m 25 and don’t have many responsibilities, so I have more flexibility and time to give to it. Answer: It’s like that old Nike slogan: just do it. There are ways of going about “doing the non-doing” but in the most basic terms, one [...]

  • Interview with Buddhist Geeks: The Mountain of Spirit

    Michael McAlister
    11 Jan 2010 | 1:30 pm
    Had this enjoyable conversation with Vince Horn of the Buddhist Geeks a while back. Hope you like it. This week we’re joined by Zen-inspired dharma teacher, Michael McAlister. Michael is the leader of the Infinite Smile sangha, just east of Berkeley, in what Michael calls, “the hard edge of suburbia.” After many years of [...]

  • Attachment Alert: When Newsanchors Proselytize…

    Michael McAlister
    6 Jan 2010 | 12:36 pm
    It’s hard to take much of this too seriously, but I still think two things are amazing: Brit Hume’s views on what Buddhism does and doesn’t offer speaks to a significant lack of understanding, and He does his best to play the martyr here even though an apology might have been the most “Christian” thing he could [...]

  • Q & A: Meditation Techniques

    Michael McAlister
    1 Jan 2010 | 11:57 am
    Question: I’ve got a nuts-and-bolts question about meditation.  There are so many varieties:  following the breath, paying attention to whatever arises,  focusing on something particular (like a prayer), Tonglen, etc.  After years of teaching and practice, which methods have proven most helpful to you and your students? Is it useful to try different types of [...]

  • When Peace is an Incomplete Response

    Michael McAlister
    27 Dec 2009 | 11:06 am
    I was asked recently after giving a talk on engaged politics, what I thought of peace as a political orientation. What came out of my mouth made me laugh. “I’m pro-peace,” I said. The young man just staired. I then went off a little bit on how an attachment to peace can be viewed in the same way as [...]
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    Wildmind Buddhist Meditation

  • Accessing inner wisdom (part 2)

    Srimati
    9 Feb 2010 | 5:08 am
    Can anyone access inner wisdom? Do you have to be a meditator or a spiritual person? Business trends consultant and founder of Piatkus Books, Judy Piatkus, asks inner wisdom coach, Srimati. Srimati is a freelance spiritual teacher, writer and co-founder of Thrivecraft Coaching, and a former member of the Western Buddhist Order. She is currently engaged in publishing her whole body of work via books, articles, CDs, films, and the internet. Her aim is to contribute accessible and relevant spiritual intelligence to mainstream modern life and business. Srimati’s CD, Answers: Finding Wisdom…

  • New York hospital goes zen

    Meditation News
    9 Feb 2010 | 4:20 am
    ABC: “Zen” is the Japanese word and “Ch’an” is the Chinese word derived from the Sanskrit word “Dhyana” meaning “meditation.” Zen began in China back in the 6th century CE. Zen is practiced all around the world and has recently found a huge following in the United States. Zen Buddhism focuses on gaining enlightenment through meditation. Zen is a means to reaching enlightenment. Zen declines the study of scriptures, devotional practices and any religious rites (Source: Encyclopedia Britannica). Some of the key beliefs of Zen focus on The…

  • Slow breathing may soothe pain

    Meditation News
    9 Feb 2010 | 4:00 am
    Fox News: The simple practice of slow breathing may help people deal with the physical and emotional reactions to moderate pain, a small study suggests. Researchers say the findings, published in the journal Pain, offer support for the idea that yoga-style breathing exercises and meditation can help ease chronic pain. The study gauged pain responses among 27 women with the chronic pain condition fibromyalgia and 25 healthy women the same age. Researchers found that when they had the women perform slow breathing, it dampened their reactions to a moderately painful stimulus — brief pulses of…

  • Accessing inner wisdom (part 1)

    Srimati
    8 Feb 2010 | 7:05 am
    How do we know when our inner promptings are truly wise? Which inner voice do we trust? Judy Piatkus, business trends consultant and founder of Piatkus Books, asks inner wisdom coach, Srimati. Srimati is a freelance spiritual teacher, writer and co-founder of Thrivecraft Coaching, and a former member of the Western Buddhist Order. She is currently engaged in publishing her whole body of work via books, articles, CDs, films, and the internet. Her aim is to contribute accessible and relevant spiritual intelligence to mainstream modern life and business. Srimati’s CD, Answers: Finding…

  • Moby on meditation

    Meditation News
    8 Feb 2010 | 6:43 am
    Moby has spoken out in favour of Transcendental Meditation, or TM, as it’s often abbreviated to. He explained that he had avoided it for a long time because it “scared the shit” out of him, saying “I thought that TM involved ritual animal sacrifice and moving to some country and renouncing wealth and materialism”. He continued: “One of the things that impressed me so much about TM when I finally learned it was its simplicity. It’s a simple practice that calms the mind… and the thing that won me over about TM, apart from having my hero David…
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    Daily Buddhism

  • Spam?

    Brian Schell
    21 Jan 2010 | 2:31 pm
    Hi guys! I’ve been getting complaints that I have “sold my email list to spammers.”  This is, of course, not true.  I’ve spent years building this list up, and I’m not going to jeopardize my credibility for a few pennies per name.  That would be totally against everything I’ve said here, and I just wouldn’t do [...]Post from: Daily Buddhism, by Brian SchellSpam?

  • Podcast Episode 60: Buddhism Once Again

    Brian Schell
    17 Oct 2009 | 5:21 pm
    Podcast Episode 60: Buddhism Once Again Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number Sixty. My name is Brian Schell, and I am the your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com. Announcements: Do we have anything [...]Post from: Daily Buddhism, by Brian SchellPodcast Episode 60: Buddhism Once Again

  • 12 Steps, Higher Powers, and Buddhism

    Brian Schell
    10 Sep 2009 | 5:50 am
    Question: I appreciate all the hard work that you spend in spiritually enriching the lives of myself and, I’m sure, countless others.  It is a matter of life and death for me, as I am on a path of recovery from addiction.  I am unable to embrace a “higher power” via the christian concept because of [...]Post from: Daily Buddhism, by Brian Schell12 Steps, Higher Powers, and Buddhism

  • Ambition

    Brian Schell
    9 Sep 2009 | 6:00 am
    Question: How do I let go of the constant striving for a higher paying job with more power and a title? The whole idea of making more money in order to buy more things is a way of thinking that is hard to break free from. I am a fifth grade teacher and I love teaching. I am  happiest when I am in the [...]Post from: Daily Buddhism, by Brian SchellAmbition

  • Aging and Suffering

    Brian Schell
    8 Sep 2009 | 7:14 am
    Question: Brian, I was asked to join Facebook by a friend. I really did not want to do it but I did. I now wish I never had. I have found lost friends but at a huge price. The first was a big strapping Marine who was one of the first kick boxers in the USA. [...]Post from: Daily Buddhism, by Brian SchellAging and Suffering
 
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    the 12 Step Buddhist

  • Drinking in My Dreams

    Darren Littlejohn
    6 Feb 2010 | 11:35 am
    But in 1995 I relapsed for real with almost 10 years of sobriety. But I couldn't wake up from that reality. It wasn't just a dream. It's quite shocking to dream that you've woken from a drunk dream but then discovered that it was not a dream at all.

  • Episode 011 – Mirror Neurons and Recovery

    Darren Littlejohn
    26 Jan 2010 | 5:31 pm
    Episode 011 features Don Goewey, author of Mystic Cool. We discuss neuroplasticity (the brain’s ability to grow neurons) as it relates to stress, fear and addiction. Don gives an explanation of Mirror Neurons and their role in the social brain’s ability to learn from participating in support groups such as 12-Step programs. Don ends with some easy to use tips for healthy brain development using some tools he learned from his long time friend, psychologist Carl Rogers.

  • Disturb the Comfortable, Comfort the Disturbed

    Darren Littlejohn
    26 Jan 2010 | 4:12 pm
    Combine a smart ass 12-stepper with a holier-than-now Zen-tillectual and you've got a reason for Prozac whether you're the subject or the object. On one hand we're superior because we've overcome addiction and on the other because we've found The Way. Add the ability to quote some Freud and you get an insufferable jerk who really knows how to get under people's skins.

  • Be-ism or Theism

    12stepbuddhist
    18 Jan 2010 | 1:48 am
    I admittedly don't know how to use theism, or the belief in an outside force, to feel better. As much as I've tried to use externals to change my feelings it's never worked on any long term basis. Be it from drugs, women, grades, raises, applause, laughter - temporary relief always fades. And guess what doesn't? That pervasive dark feeling of dis-ease, shining black through like a reverse sunrise-blinding any glimmer of satisfaction that the crack of quick cash or a fat stash or batting eye lash could give me. Gone. And there I am left to feel, one more time, like the wrong side of a colon.

  • New Webcast Time: 6pm PST Alternate Wednesdays

    Darren Littlejohn
    4 Nov 2009 | 4:09 pm
    Webcasts will be scheduled for 6pm Pacific Standard Time every other Wednesday. The next several dates are: Jan 20th, Feb 3rd, Feb. 17th, March 3rd. Other sessions may happen spontaneously and will be announced on Twitter and Facebook. Group sessions may be scheduled as well. Send an email and we’ll set a time. Free TV : Ustream ©2010 [...]
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