"As people of faith and conscience, we feel that it is important that we speak out clearly in defense of basic human rights at this time." On Monday, the Soto Zen Buddhist Association released a statement on the separation of children from their parents at the US–Mexico border. The statement, which you can read in full below, is signed by more than 200 teachers across [...]
About Sam Littlefair
Heat maps illustrate the sacred routes of Buddhist pilgrims
In Strava's heat maps, the devotional movements of tired pilgrims become blazing symbols of sacred geography. Back in January, the fitness app Strava caused a stir when it released a global heat map of its users' fitness activity. The heat maps, meant to illustrate popular running routes, inadvertently revealed the locations of secret US military bases. But Jennifer Rowe, [...]
Kunga Dawa, first Western teacher trained by Trungpa Rinpoche, dies at 78
Buddhist teacher Kunga Dawa, also known as Richard Arthure, died in Colorado on Monday at 78 years old. Dawa met the pioneering Buddhist teacher Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche in England in 1966 and served as his private secretary for several years. In 1968, Dawa was with Trungpa Rinpoche when he composed the Sadhana of Mahamudra, an important contemporary Buddhist text. Dawa [...]
Happy Birthday, Buddha!
Each Friday, we share three topical longreads in our Weekend Reader newsletter. This week, LionsRoar.com editor Sam Littlefair discusses the meaning and importance of Vesak. Sign up here to receive the Weekend Reader in your inbox. On Tuesday, millions of Buddhists will celebrate Vesak, or “Buddha Day.” As LionsRoar.com assistant editor Lilly Greenblatt writes, Vesak “marks [...]
Reincarnation: What do modern research and traditional Buddhist teachings say?
In the current issue of Lion's Roar magazine, we look at academic research on reincarnation at the University of Virginia. How does that research compare to the Buddhist views? We break it down. What happens after you die? Traditionally, that question has been the province of religion. But, increasingly, academic researchers are trying to divine the answer using the [...]
The Case for Rebirth
Each Friday, we share three topical longreads in our Weekend Reader newsletter. This week, LionsRoar.com editor Sam Littlefair discusses ideas of rebirth in Buddhist and academic contexts. Sign up here to receive the Weekend Reader in your inbox. There is probably no issue in Buddhism more polarizing than rebirth. That's why I was so excited to tackle the subject in the [...]
Do You Only Live Once? The Evidence for Rebirth
What happens after you die? That used to be just a religious question, but science is starting to weigh in. Sam Littlefair looks at the evidence that you’ve lived before. On March 3, 1945, James Huston, a twenty-one-year-old U.S. Navy pilot, flew his final flight. He took off from the USS Natoma Bay, an aircraft carrier engaged in the battle of Iwo Jima. Huston was flying [...]
New Canada Dry ad raises the question: “What does nirvana taste like?”
The ad for lemon-flavored ginger ale inadvertently raises some heavy philosophical questions. What does nirvana taste like? That could be a koan. One could spend lifetimes striving to answer that question. Or, you could answer it with a slightly awkward 30-second TV spot for lemon-flavored ginger ale. That's what Canada Dry did with their latest advert for Ginger [...]
Congress weighs in on the Dalai Lama’s reincarnation
It seems that the United States Congress is suddenly interested in the Dalai Lama's next life. On April 25, a resolution affirming the Dalai Lama's right to reincarnate as he liked — cosponsored by Republican Senators Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio, along with Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein — passed in the senate. The main purpose of the resolution was to acknowledge the [...]
What do “2001,” “Dear White People,” and Buddhism have in common?
This month, Stanley Kubrick's sci-fi masterpiece, 2001: A Space Odyssey, turns 50. In an interview with LionsRoar.com, Justin Simien talked about how Buddhism and Kubrick both challenge one's ego without attacking it — a strategy that later leaked in his own series, Dear White People. Sam Littlefair: You say that you try to acknowledge that there’s no right and wrong in Dear [...]
