Since 1 August 2020, Foundation for the Preservation of the Mahayana Tradition (FPMT) Sangha have been coming together as a global community reciting “Thangtong Gyalpo’s Prayer” to reduce the suffering caused by the COVID pandemic. This 1 August marks its first year – a milestone that the founders themselves would have preferred not to reach. […]
covid-19
Naresh Mathur
When your eyesFrom the deepest blueTurned into waterFlowing from within Magical touchCold breath of deathSad and stillTranscendental Your heart was tightAnd so aliveHot air boostingBlood and fire Elements revealedBlessing your bodyA new startAs there is no time Out of life
The Lotus Greeting: The New Normal, Part Two
In this new series with Bro. Ananda Kumaraseri, we’ll explore the Buddhist teachings in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Bro. Kumaraseri will focus on how we can reorient our thinking to one of authentic Buddhist liberation, so that we are no longer constrained by old assumptions and biases that are hurting our chances […]
A Conversation with Choje Lama Wangchuk Topden on Spiritual Leadership and the COVID-19 Era
Kathmandu has a special place in Choje Lama Wangchuk Topden’s heart. He was born there on 20 November, 1983 and the Nepalese capital has had its fair share of international exposure since the devastating earthquake in April 2015. “There is an interesting contrast between the recovery effort for the earthquake, and the present disaster that […]
A Social Duty
Header image from https://www.rferl.org/a/mural-masks-coronavirus-inspires-global-graffiti/30527353.html It has often been said that these days, young people have no respect for the elderly. To be honest, up until very recently, I wasn’t so sure what people meant by this. I tried to imagine how elderly people were treated in previous generations, while around me I observed my peers helping […]
Ajahn Brahm’s “Karuna-virus” – A book for these times
Why do we tell stories? Throughout history, the storyteller was the sage, the wise one. Stories have a mythic, primeval place in human society and culture. They are expressions of our deepest intuitions, our oldest folk memories, and our sense of ultimate destiny. At a social level, they speak to our times and advise us […]
The Lotus Greeting: The New Normal
In this new series with Bro. Ananda Kumaraseri, we’ll explore the Buddhist teachings in the context of the global COVID-19 pandemic. Bro. Kumaraseri will focus on how we can reorient our thinking to one of authentic Buddhist liberation, so that we are no longer constrained by old assumptions and biases that are hurting our chances […]
A Buddhist Response to the Coronavirus Pandemic
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 […]
A Pandemic of Hope
As fast as the virus and then some, Love is spreading. In the hands of doctors and nurses, it spreads. Through the central nervous systemof the species like an electric shock. Love grows with invisible power.Love is spreading. Everywhere, in more places than the virus could ever be, Love is taking over. We are on lock down andLove is our warden. […]
COVID-19: A Moment of Awakening for the World
By Tsering Namgyal Tsering Namgyal, a Buddhistdoor Global columnist, is the author of The Tibetan Suitcase: A Novel. He was previously a financial journalist based in Hong Kong. As a business journalist who also happens to be a Buddhist, it is easy indulge in some navel-gazing while observing the world reel at the catastrophic effects […]