Archives: BD Articles
A Rich Tapestry
Vincent Fakhoury Horn on a special, crowdfunded project in appreciation of dharma teachers.
Relationship As Teacher
Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön and Lama Karma Zopa Jigme share the value in engaging everything as your teacher, including your relationships.
A Meeting of Minds
Anne C. Klein on the importance of listening, relating, and actively engaging with our teachers as the foundation for a genuine, transformative connection with them.
Excerpt: Buddhism Between Religion and Philosophy, by Rafal Stepien
Read a brief of Buddhism Between Religion and Philosophy: Nāgārjuna and the Ethics of Emptiness by Rafal K. Stepien, and an exclusive excerpt courtesy of its publisher, Oxford University Press.
Influential Buddhist teacher Tulku Thondup dies at age 84
Tulku Thondup, one of the most influential and revered Tibetan Buddhist teachers in the West, known especially for his healing meditations, passed away on Decemeber 29.
What I Wish I’d Known When I Met My First Spiritual Teacher
Scott Edelstein, author of “The User’s Guide to Spiritual Teachers,” shares 19 points to consider when beginning to engage with a teacher on the dharma path.
Sexual Ethics and Healthy Boundaries in the Wake of Teacher Abuse
Scholars Ann Gleig and Amy Langenberg look at how Buddhist sanghas have responded and evolved in response to the ethical breaches of the past few decades.
Read an excerpt from Seeing One Thing Through: The Zen Life and Teachings of Sojun Mel Weitsman
An excerpt of Seeing One Thing Through: The Zen Life and Teachings of Sojun Mel Weitsman, by Sojun Mel Weitsman — as reviewed in the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide.
Read “A Teachers Return to the Valley of Renewal” an excerpt from Notebooks of a Wandering Monk
An excerpt from Notebooks of a Wandering Monk by Matthieu Ricard.— as reviewed in the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guiden
Read an excerpt from Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method
An excerpt from Illumination: A Guide to the Buddhist Method of No-Method by Rebecca Li — as reviewed in the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide.
Read an excerpt from The Buddhist Tantras: A Guide
An excerpt from The Buddhist Tantras: A Guide by David B. Gray— as reviewed in the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide
Resources for Confronting Abuse in Spiritual Communities
From Ann Gleig and Amy Langenberg, authors of “Sexual Ethics and Healthy Boundaries in the Wake of Teacher Abuse,” from the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma, comes this gathering of select websites, communities, and projects of value to Buddhist communities, teachers, and students looking to develop and maintain best practices when it comes to fostering healthy teacher-student relationships and addressing conflicts and pitfalls.
Read “Mere Perception in Vasubandhu’s Twenty Verses” from Making Sense of Mind Only: Why Yogācāra Buddhism Matters
An excerpt from Making Sense of Mind Only: Why Yogācāra Buddhism Matters by William S. Waldron — as reviewed in the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide
Read an excerpt from Chapter 2 of Karma and Grace: Religious Difference in Millennial Sri Lanka
An excerpt from Karma and Grace: Religious Difference in Millennial Sri Lanka, by Neena Mahadev— as reviewed in the Winter 2023 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Guide
When You Are Ready…
Willa Blythe Baker on the many forms in which our teachers might manifest, including even our body and our community.
Developing Our Spiritual Capacities
Informed by the teachings of Nichiren Shonin, founder of the Nichiren school of Buddhism, and Sot’aesan, the founder of Won Buddhism, Rev. Ryuei Michael McCormick looks at our capacity for spiritual awakening and how it relates to our maturity.
The Benefits of Tummo, Tibetan Yoga Movement, and Breath Practices
Buddhadharma’s Spring 2024 issue looks at each of the renowned Six Dharmas of Naropa, starting with tummo, or “the practice of fierce inner heat.” What relevance does this practice have for the contemporary practitioner’s health and well-being, and how does it relate to one’s practice of mindfulness? James Bae explains, noting that “one need not become highly accomplished to reap the benefits of this practice; while progressive stages of tummo practice may be difficult to achieve, positive and substantial results are within reach.”
Awakening Through Sound
Guo Gu, contributor to the “Glimpses of Buddhanature” feature in the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma, shares the practice of contemplation of hearing, a practice rooted in a method for awakening attributed to the bodhisattva Avalokitesvara.
Emptiness, Existence, and “I”
Buddhist practitioner Ching Pan explores the Buddhist concepts of "emptiness" and "existence" within the Mahayana tradition, showing how they complement each other and reflect our inner states.
Venturing Beyond Our Fear of Emptiness
Paul Condon, author of “Buddhanature Beyond Mere Concept” from the Fall 2023 issue of Buddhadharma, explores how cognitive science can help us to realize buddhanature, and gain more capacity to participate effectively in the world.