"I just want people to be liberated." John DeMont on the radical Buddhism of Rev. angel Kyodo williams. She is a well-known author, activist, and one of American Buddhism’s most dynamic and provocative teachers. But once, Rev. angel Kyodo williams was a lonely, bruised little girl living in New York City who would hide her face in a comic book as she walked home from [...]
Crisis on the Roof of the World
The repression, surveillance, and propaganda are Orwellian. Chinese money, immigrants, and tourists are pouring in. The fight to control religion is heating up. John Demont reports that China’s longterm campaign to assimilate Tibet has entered a critical new stage. There was understandable skepticism last March when Chinese state broadcaster CCTV declared Lhasa “the [...]
Lion’s Roar Book Briefs for September 2017
John DeMont reviews Older and Wiser: Classical Buddhist Teachings on Aging, Sickness, and Death, a new collection of Allen Ginsberg's letters, and more. Older and Wiser Classical Buddhist Teachings on Aging, Sickness, and Death By Mu Soeng, Gloria Taraniya Ambrosia, Andrew Olendzki Barre Center for Buddhist Studies, 2017; 255 pp., $15.95 (trade paper) Life is tough and [...]
Lion’s Roar Book Briefs for July 2017
Sit, Walk, Don’t Talk: How I Survived a Silent Meditation Retreat By Jennifer Howd Parallax Press, 2017; 111 pp., $14.95 (paper) For her fortieth birthday, Jennifer Howd gave herself a special present: a nine-day silent meditation retreat at the Spring Insight Retreat in Yucca Valley, California. Things started badly. After checking in, her throat began to ache and her [...]
