Recently on the PBS News Hour, David Brooks called COVID-19 a national stress test for how well and long we can maintain our collective faith in institutions and each other. Indeed, the coronavirus has shaken the very foundations of society as we all know it. But to call it a stress test is, given what […]
Buddhism
“Unlocking Buddhist Written Heritage” at the British Library
From 7-8 February, the British Library hosted a conference titled, “Unlocking Buddhist Written Heritage.” This conference featured many veteran names in Buddhist textual studies, many of whom our website has covered and interviewed over the years. The conference was held in partnership with SOAS and supported by The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation.
Mongolia’s Buddhist Diplomacy and India’s Union of Religious and Foreign Policy
The Vivekananda International Foundation (VIF), along with Indian, Japanese, and Mongolian partners, hosted its third Samvad (which, in Hindi, means “dialogue”) conference in Ulaanbaatar over last Friday and the weekend. As reported in BDG’s news article on the conclave, Mongolian political and religious leaders took this event very seriously. In his closing speech on the […]
A Taizé Service
Two weeks ago I had an opportunity to attend a Christian Taizé service at night in a church close to where I’m living. As a Buddhist, I enjoy jumping into new environments to learn about the religious practices of others. In the course of my inter-religious exploration I encounter devotion that strikes a chord, or […]
Modi’s Triumph: What it Means for Buddhism
Narendra Modi has been re-elected as prime minister of India in a landslide, with the BJP winning sweeping victories across the states. Perhaps the Hindu gods smiled upon him, rewarding his party’s fierce Hindu nationalism. He should also pleased that the Buddha, or at least the Buddhist acolytes and spokespeople Modi appealed to for the […]
The Blankness of Being (For Alan Watts)
Consciousness is what we do not pay attention to.It is too free. We cannot even think about it. Likelooking at your head. We cannot find anything there. So much like the stars in outer space, it is what we cannot see.The blank. The whatever is necessary. Space all around. Like the severed head of Kali, we cut […]
The Image of Sarasvati in Buddhist Art
White Sarasvati, mural at the Namdroling Monastery in South India. Image courtesy of the author Sarasvati (Tib. yang chenma) is the goddess of knowledge, education, music, poetry, and culture. Her name can be found in the Vedic hymns. In these ancient Indian texts, she is worshiped as the divine power of ritual chants and sacrificial […]
United State of Buddhist Minds
Buddhistdoor Global is presently in New York, accompanying representatives from Woodenfish Foundation and Amitofo Care Centre officers from both Hong Kong and elsewhere for the sixty-third session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW63), which begins today on the 11th and finishes on the 22nd of March at the UN headquarters in Manhattan.
Exemplary Buddhists: Hong Kong’s Sri Lankan Community
I was unfortunately out of Hong Kong and missed my chance to attend the Sri Lankan community’s 71st celebration of Independence Day. 4 February, like the equivalent commemorations of so many postcolonial societies, is critical to modern Sri Lankan identity, and in many ways the opinion makers and influencers of Hong Kong—scholars, journalists, writers—have not […]
Marichi, Goddess of the Dawn
Marichi. From theyoginiproject.org Marichi (from Sanskrit “ray of light”) is the Goddess of the Dawn, who is revered in the Buddhist tradition as a heavenly warrior and powerful protector. Her name in Tibetan is Oser Chenma, which means “Goddess of the Great Light.” Marichi protects human beings from physical dangers and harm, sudden death, thieves, […]