In lieu of physically attending a private viewing of The British Library’s “GOLD: 50 spectacular manuscripts from around the world,” I was privileged to enjoy a rich and informative virtual tour of the exhibit in the early hours of the Hong Kong morning with others that could not be in London this month. Gold is grandeur. […]
Buddhism
Dharma and the All-Divine: New Age and Buddhist Thought with Rebecca Wong Howe
In a previous editorial on the Ukraine crisis, we discussed the theological intersection of the country’s two Orthodox denominations and Buddhism. We asked the questions: how can we see the Dharma embodied in other religious traditions and others’ spiritual beliefs? How is the will of the bodhisattvas communicated? How can we learn about our own […]
Changing Minds: Uniting Monasticism with Education
“In the early 90s, former monastics were quite rare in my region. Society did not perceive ex-monastics in a good way. They were seen as failures that could not fulfil their commitment. These days it’s accepted. You don’t need to be a monastic to help the Dharma.” In telling me this, Choje Lama has highlighted […]
Christian Zen: Unlikely and Unorthodox, or Universal?
I recently received unfortunate news. A Buddhist-Christian interfaith event organized by the International Centre for Teresian-Sanjuanist Studies (CITeS), The University of Mysticism in Ávila, has been cancelled. The event was supposed to take place in July 2020, before the pandemic forced the conference to be held on July 2021. After the recent surge in cases […]
The Presence of Theravada Buddhism in Cuba
Think of Cuba, and one might see in the mind’s eye fine cigars and cocktails by the beach, ironic and decontextualized Che Guevara art, and romantic hotels and bars in the midst of Havana’s scenic buildings and streets. Yet there is something unusual developing in this misunderstood and oft-romanticized country: an interest in the Buddhist […]
A New World: Hispanophone Buddhism in Europe and the Americas
The term “Buddhism in the West” can be rather misleading. Too often, this umbrella term denotes Buddhism in the Anglophone world; namely, Buddhism in the US, Canada, and possibly Britain and Australia. But below the US, in Central America and South America, as well as in the former colonial heartland of Spain, the sphere of […]
The Lay Perspective: A Journey into the Dharma
Being Buddhist is wonderful, knowing the Dharma is even more so, and spreading it on social media, creating a small oasis of peace in a historical moment when these platforms have become places of pain, toxicity, and fake news, is a blessing. My name is Martina, but people call me Gotami, the Dharma name that […]
Medicine and Sickness, Heaven and Hell
“Medicine and sickness heal each other. The whole world is medicine.” —Blue Cliff Record, Case 87 In this week’s Dharma talk, I mentioned a parable that’s been on my mind lately. I don’t know its origin — I’ve heard different versions, some attributing it to the Zen or Taoist traditions, but I haven’t been able […]
The TLKY International Conference 2021 Interview Series – Prof. Jin Y. Park
Welcome to our series of conversations with participating speakers at this year’s Tung Lin Kok Yuen International Conference – Buddhist Canons: In Search of a Theoretical Foundation for a Wisdom-oriented Education (27–28 November 2021). In each blog post, I speak with keynote speakers and paper presenters about their subject at this conference. Register for this […]
A Prayer for All Who Are Sick
Yakushi the Medicine Buddha by Enku, 17th Century My friend Sister Petra is a Christian nun who also practices Zen Buddhism with our sangha. A few months ago she told me, “During the pandemic, I’ve been praying for everybody who’s sick, in body, mind, or spirit.” I was moved by this, and it has continued […]