Book Briefs for Fall 2016

Rory Lindsay reviews "Dream Yoga," "Gods of Medieval Japan," "The Spirit of Tibetan Buddhism," and more.

Get Very, Very Close

Sayadaw U Pandita’s shares his instructions for satipatthana vipassana.

Larry Yang, Democracy, Sangha, Community, Buddhism, Lion's Roar, Buddhadharma, East Bay Meditation Center

Democracy is Good For Sanghas

In many Buddhist communities, teachers have dominant governing roles, but democracy is vital in order for Buddhism to flourish in the West.

abortion, buddhadharma, lion's roar, buddhism, narayan helen liebenson, blanche hartman, tenzin wangyal rinpoche

How can we continue Buddhist practice when dealing with dementia?

The teachers are asked "What happens to our right effort if we lose the ability to practice or to work with our mind?"

Human eye.

Discover Your Innermost Awareness

In his teaching on the essence of Dzogchen, the Dalai Lama describes the shock that naturally accompanies innermost awareness, the basis of all reality.

buddhadharma, paul fulton, insight, psychotherapy, hiri-ottappa, lion's roar, buddhism

Therapy Can Only Go So Far

Therapy is a powerful tool, says Buddhist psychologist Paul Fulton, but it can't solve the problem of being human.

Buddhadharma Cover, Free the Dharma.

It’s Our Journey, Too

Buddhadharma's editor shares her admiration for the varied voices of Buddhism in today’s world.

Buddhadharma Cover, Free the Dharma.

Inside the Summer 2016 Buddhadharma magazine

The Summer 2016 issue of Buddhadharma is now available. This issue explores issues of race, power and white privilege in American Buddhism.

Visualization.

Buddhist Visualization Practice Is Pure, Clear, and Vibrant

Visualization practice sometimes involves traditional symbolism that Westerners have trouble relating to, says Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. He shows us how we can make the most of this powerful method for transforming perception.

Tibet, Zen, Lion's Roar, Buddhadharma, Review

Forgotten Encounters of Tibetan Zen

The phrase “Tibetan Zen”—the title of scholar Sam van Schaik’s new book—may initially startle the casual reader.

Mahasi Sayadaw, Lion's Roar, Buddhism, Theravada, Enlightenment, Nibbana, Buddhadharma

The Promise of Nibbana

What does final liberation and the end of suffering look like and how is it achieved? Mahasi Sayadaw explains Nibbana.

Buddhadharma, Lion's Roar, Reviews

Book Briefs for Spring 2016

David M. DiValerio’s The Holy Madmen of Tibet (Oxford 2015) examines some of Tibetan history’s most fascinating figures. Diving straight into the grotesque for which these fifteenth- and sixteenth-century Kagyu “madmen” became known, DiValerio begins by describing Tsangnyon Heruka’s use of human remains as clothing and Drukpa Kunle’s verse about paying homage “not to the Buddha,…

Women in Buddhism Buddhadharma Christina Feldman Grace Scierson Lama Palden Drolma Rita Gross

Making Our Way: On Women and Buddhism

Grace Schireson, Christina Feldman, Rita Gross, and Lama Palden Drolma discuss how women are defining new roles as Buddhist leaders, teachers, and practitioners.

Vidyamala, Buddhism, Accessibility, Ableism, Lion's Roar, Buddhadharma

It’s Time for Buddhists to Address Ableism and Accessibility

Often, people with mobility impairments are excluded from encountering the dharma. The time is ripe to address accessibility head-on.

Buddhadharma, Enlightenment, Magazine, Lion's Roar

Inside the Spring 2016 Buddhadharma magazine

This issue explores enlightenment, dharma accessibility, and the many faces of Avalokiteshvara.

ask the teachers, buddhadharma, lion's roar, marriage, spouse, thoughts, believe

Is enlightenment off-limits to laypeople?

Three teachers discuss whether Buddhists must in ordain to achieve enlightenment.

After Buddhism, Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age, Review, Stephen Batchelor, Roger Jackson, Buddhadharma, Lion's Roar

Review: Stephen Batchelor’s “After Buddhism: Rethinking the Dharma for a Secular Age”

In his latest and most ambitious work, "After Buddhism," Stephen Batchelor makes a sustained and serious attempt to argue for his vision of a more secular Buddhism.

Waking Up to Patriarchy

Gloria Steinem and Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo talk about personal challenges they’ve faced, progress they’ve seen, and why there’s still more to be done.

Mitsu Suzuki, Lion's Roar, Buddhadharma, Norman Fischer, SFZC

The Place Where Your Heart is Kept

Norman Fischer tells the story of how Mitsu Suzki, a Japanese schoolteacher born in 1914, made a home for herself in American Zen.

Buddhadharma, Buddha, Winter, 2015, Lion's Roar

Inside the Winter 2015 Buddhadharma magazine

In this Buddhadharma, we look at the Buddha's life story, Buddhist-Catholic dialogues at the Vatican, and how Gen X teachers are changing Buddhism.