Category: Buddhist Wisdom
Burning with the Fire of Shingon
Richard Payne's account of his experience with the Shingon tradition.
Understanding Buddhist Koans
A koan as defined by Steven Heine, a scholar of Zen Buddhism at the Florida International University.
The Karmapa in America
The Seventeenth Karmapa, one of the most important figures in Tibetan Buddhism, is making his historic first visit to the West.
On Becoming Karmapa
An exclusive interview with His Holiness the Seventeenth Karmapa by Melvin McLeod.
Grace Under Pressure
Alan Senauke reports from Burma on the ongoing repression and the unbreakable spirit of the monks who refuse to be silenced.
The New Buddhists
Review of Democracy’s Dharma: Religious Renaissance and Political Development in Taiwan by Richard Madsen.
What is Dukkha?
Dukkha or suffering is pervasive and can range from sickness, aging, or death to vague feelings of anxiety and dissatisfaction.
Beyond Carrot and Stick
The question we all face is, what will make our journey genuine dharma and not another spiritual fantasy or creation of ego?
We Think, Therefore We Are
Review of The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently . . . and Why, by Richard E. Nisbett.
Higher Powers
Review of Faith in the Halls of Power by D. Michael Lindsay and From Pews to Polling Places: Faith and Politics in the American Religious Mosaic edited by J. Matthew Wilson.
This Very Mind, Empty and Luminous
We can see awakening in the world around us, but we can also turn the telescope inward and look directly at our mind.
Glimpses of Awakening
In the gaps we notice moments of clarity, wakefulness, and peace. Enlightened mind turns out to be very ordinary and present, says Judy Lief.
Forum: Does Buddhism Make You Happier?
Debating the Third Noble Truth: three teachers discuss what the Buddha meant when he promised the "end of suffering".
The Road to McLeod Ganj
Kay Larson travels to McLeod Ganj in northern India for a firsthand look at the challenges facing this Tibetan exile community.
Without a Sangha, is My Practice Moot?
Ringu Tulku Rinpoche, Narayan Helen Liebenson, and the late Zenkei Blanche Hartman explore the meaning of sangha.
Rethinking Ritual
Review of Zen Ritual: Studies of Zen, Buddhist Theory in Practice, edited by Steven Heine and Dale S. Wright.
Phrases and Spaces
Zen practitioners don’t "work on" koans. Koans work on them. Norman Fischer offers a poet’s take on the phrases and spaces of Zen practice, including his favorite: “Who is sick?”