Each Friday, we share three topical longreads in our Weekend Reader newsletter. This week, LionsRoar.com's editor Sam Littlefair explores sleeping, dreaming, and waking up. Sign up here to receive the Weekend Reader in your inbox. Buddhist teachers often describe our deluded experience of life as a “waking sleep,” in which we fixate on our illusory perceptions and remain [...]
About Sam Littlefair
Bernie Glassman, pioneer of American Zen, dies at 79
The Zen master, spaceship engineer, social entrepreneur, interfaith activist, and clown devoted his life to “penetrating mysteries” and immersing himself in the unknown. The influential Zen teacher Bernie Glassman died this morning in Massachusetts. He was 79 years old. Glassman was a vibrant character who had a significant influence on American dharma. Along with being [...]
J.K. Rowling reveals Buddhist mythology in Harry Potter backstory
Keen observers might have noticed this Sanskrit reference many years ago, but recently J.K. Rowling made public that a key character is related to a Buddhist deity. There are not many explicit Buddhist connections between Buddhism and Harry Potter. Though Pema Chödrön once called the series’ protagonist a “budding bodhisattva,” recently, a much more substantial connection [...]
“The Scorpion Gesture” bridges past and the future at the Rubin Museum
The interactive exhibition, based on the Buddhist figures Padmasambhava and Maitreya, takes traditional Buddhist imagery in radical new directions. This year, the Rubin Museum of Himalayan Art in New York City has been exploring the future. That is, in a series of exhibitions, the museum has been exploring the idea of the future through art and philosophy. One of the most [...]
Lodi Gyari, Dalai Lama’s top diplomat, dead at 69
Lodi Gyari, the former special envoy of the Dalai Lama, died on October 29 in San Francisco, aged 69. Gyari was the Dalai Lama’s chief diplomat in the United States and, later, China. Appointed the special envoy of the Dalai Lama in Washington, DC, in 1990, Gyari garnered widespread support for the Tibet cause in Washington. When he retired in 2012, the US Senate passed a [...]
Sangharakshita, founder of Triratna Buddhism, dead at 93
The sometimes controversial Buddhist teacher founded Triratna — one of the most popular sects of Buddhism in England — and helped establish Ambedkarite Buddhism, which has millions of followers in India. Sangharakshita, Buddhist teacher and founder of the Triratna Buddhist community, died this morning in Hereford, England. He was 93 years old. Sangharakshita was born [...]
Kenneth Kraft, influential Buddhist studies scholar, dies aged 69
On October 1, at the age of 69, Kenneth Kraft, a professor of Buddhist studies and author of several books on Buddhism, died. Kraft received a B.A. from Harvard University in 1971, followed by an M.A. in Asian Language and Cultures from the University of Michigan in 1978, and a Ph.D. in East Asian Studies from Princeton in 1984. Throughout his work, Kraft focused on [...]
Eve Ensler on Nobel Peace Prize Winner Denis Mukwege
"He moved me to my core," said the playwright about the Peace Prize Laureate in this 2014 conversation with bell hooks. In 2014, Eve Ensler and bell hooks spent an evening discussing patriarchy, activism, and dance at The New School in New York. In that conversation, Ensler discussed her experience meeting Congolese doctor Dennis Mukwege, who — along with activist Nadia [...]
Dalai Lama meets with survivors of abuse by Buddhist teachers
In the meeting, the Dalai Lama reportedly said that no Tibetan teacher is above the law. The Dalai Lama met with four survivors of abuse by Buddhist teachers on Friday. The meeting took place in the Netherlands, on the first day of His Holiness’s four-day tour of the country. “I am happy,” Oane Bijlsma, one of the meeting attendees, told Lion’s Roar in a phone call on [...]
Dalai Lama to meet with survivors of Buddhist teacher abuse
Twelve survivors of abuse by Buddhist teachers launched a petition for the meeting earlier this week. On Friday the Dalai Lama will meet with a delegation of survivors of abuse in Buddhist communities. The meeting will take place in the Netherlands, where the Dalai Lama is scheduled to give a public talk the following day. On Monday, a group of twelve survivors of [...]
