In the November 2018 issue of Lion's Roar, eight meditators discuss Buddhist themes in their favorite TV shows. Rod Meade Sperry says the characters in Mad Men are like hungry ghosts, endlessly consuming liquor, drugs — and each other. When we think of Matthew Weiner’s game-changing AMC series Mad Men, what do we picture? Smoking, suits, and sex. (Not to mention sexism.) So [...]
About Rod Meade Sperry
Our Furry Friends
Each Friday, we share three topical longreads in our Weekend Reader newsletter. This week, LionsRoar.com's Rod Meade Sperry shares the lessons he's learned through the years from loving and losing pets. Sign up here to receive the Weekend Reader in your inbox. This is supposed to be the “pets” edition of the Weekend Reader. But for the first time in 17 years, I’m [...]
Wayne Shorter’s New Musical Masterwork, Emanon, Is a Big Mind Adventure
Wayne Shorter is one of jazz's great geniuses, and at 85 remains an inspired, inspiring workhorse. His new three-disc album — which comes matched with a graphic novel — showcases his innovation, recalls his storied career, and reflects his Buddhist practice. It’s not uncommon for the press, or even friends, to refer to the legendary saxophonist and composer Wayne Shorter [...]
How to Start a Buddhist Meditation Group
What can you do if you haven't found a nearby place to meditate? One good answer: D.I.Y. Here are 7 tips from Rod Meade Sperry to get you started. Being part of a meditation group is a wonderful thing: it keeps us motivated in our practice, and it ensures that we have a relationship with sangha, the third of Buddhism's "three jewels" — ideally, a rewarding, heart-opening [...]
XXXTentacion funeral to be officiated by Buddhist teacher Lama Rod Owens
Today Buddhist teacher Lama Rod Owens announced to his Facebook followers that he would serve as the officiant at the funeral of rapper XXXTentacion (born Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy), who was killed in a suspected robbery ten days ago in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. XXXTentacion's work and life remain controversial. As Chris Richards wrote in The Washington Post, the rapper [...]
Even the Colonel Is Meditating
Meditation is getting mainstream enough to attract the attention of big league advertisers. Good news or the beginning of the end? Rod Meade Sperry analyzes the latest videos from KFC. Meditation, you’ve come a long way, baby. I don’t mean just to be glib when I invoke the famous Virginia Slims cigarettes tagline, which debuted in 1968 to take advantage of the surging [...]
Against the Stream to investigate allegations of sexual misconduct by Noah Levine; results expected within a month
In the latest allegation of sexual misconduct against a prominent Buddhist teacher, the Los Angeles-based Against the Stream Buddhist Meditation Society (ATS) on March 29 released a statement addressing allegations of sexual misconduct by its founding teacher Noah Levine; Levine addressed the matter via an email message the next morning. Update, April 20, 2018: Against the [...]
Buddhists supporting March for Our Lives share their photos and messages
On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people gathered at the March for Our Lives in Washington, a student-led rally calling for tighter gun control laws in the US following a massacre at a high school in Parkland, Florida that left 17 people dead last month. Demonstrations were held in more than 800 cities in the United States, Canada, and around the world. Many Buddhist [...]
When the late Stephen Hawking warned that one of Buddhism’s “Three Poisons” threatened us all
The brilliant physicist and cosmologist Stephen Hawking, inspiration and author of so many works — most famously, perhaps, A Brief History of Time — died today at 76. Now, Hawking wasn't a Buddhist—he was, in fact, an atheist. (Though there are, of course, many Buddhists who would describe themselves that way.) But back in February 2015, he sounded a worldwide alarm about [...]
Watch the trailer for a new documentary on the late comedian and Buddhist Mike DeStefano
The late Mike DeStefano -- a.k.a "Mike D." or "Mikey D." -- was many things: foul-mouthed, sweet, a recovering addict, living with profound loss, a Buddhist with a serious tonglen practice, and darkly, savagely funny. Now, DeStefano's memory is to get a much-deserved bump, thanks to the pending release of a documentary about him called Drugs, Disease, Death: A [...]
