Inside the Summer 2017 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly

The Summer 2017 issue of Buddhadharma is available now. Here is a preview of what you’ll find in the magazine.

By Lion’s Roar Staff

Buddhadharma magazine cover. It shows a statue that is made through coils and swirls of metal.

The Summer 2017 issue of Buddhadharma is available now. Preview the magazine contents and sample articles below.

Destroyed Not Destroyed

In his commentary on the koan “Dasui’s Aeonic Fire,” Norman Fischer takes on the end of the world. It’s happening right now, he says, but probably not in the way that you think.

A Jewel Heart

Gelek Rimpoche passed away in February at the age of 77. Dimitri Ehrlich remembers his teacher’s generosity.

This Rare and Precious Life

We have been given an incredible opportunity for enlightenment, says Gelek Rimpoche. We should practice as if we believe it.

There, There — It’s All Empty

Dismissing someone’s suffering as relative truth, says Gesshin Greenwood, isn’t imparting the wisdom of emptiness. It’s using the dharma to silence them.

Forum: Exploring Emptiness

The teachings on shunyata, or emptiness, are a cornerstone of Buddhism—and they’re frequently misunderstood. Ari Goldfield, Daijaku Kinst, and Guy Armstrong discuss what emptiness is, what it isn’t, and why it ultimately points to an experience that is dynamic, intimate, and workable.

The Clarity Aspect

Emptiness without wisdom can lead to nihilism, explains Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche. That’s why we have the teachings on buddhanature.

We Walk the Path Together

The Buddha never intended awakening to be a solitary pursuit, says Larry Yang, so why do many Western practitioners resist spiritual community? He invites us to explore the value of sangha—and our cultural biases around it.

What Meditation Can’t Cure

Meditation wasn’t designed to heal early psychological wounds, explains Debra Flics. She cautions us not to look to it as a replacement for psychotherapy.

Departments

Commentary

Jeff Wilson / Why Buddhist Communities Should Include Children

First Thoughts

Not a Moment to Lose, by Andrew Olendzki

Right Where You Should Be, by Diane Hamilton

Let It Break, by Elizabeth Mattis-Namgyel

The Test of Time, by the Dalai Lama

Dharma Isn’t the Only Gift That Matters, by Bhikkhu Bodhi

We’re Only Human, by Ajahn Sundara

Ask the Teachers

Q: Should I meditate if can’t stop thinking about porn? — Bodhin Kjolhede, JoAnna Harper, and Repa Dorje Odzer respond.

Feature Reviews

A Thousand Hands: A Guidebook to Caring for Your Buddhist Community edited by Nathan Jishin Michon and Daniel Clarkson Fisher; Review by Pamela Ayo Yetunde

The Lotus Sutra: A Biography by Donald S. Lopez, Jr.; Review by Paul Swanson

Book Briefs

Reviews by Rory Lindsay

Secular Buddhism, by Stephen Batchelor

Master Ma’s Ordinary Mind, by Fumio Yamada, translated by Nick Bellando

Patriarchs on Paper, by Alan Cole

Right Thoughts at the Last Moment, by Jacqueline Stone

Power Objects in Tibetan Buddhism, by James Gentry

The Suttanipata, translated by Bhikkhu Bodhi

Journeys

Catherine Toldi / Me and My Imperfect Teacher

Lion s Roar Staff

Lion’s Roar Staff

Lion’s Roar is the website of Lion’s Roar magazine (formerly the Shambhala Sun) and Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, with exclusive Buddhist news, teachings, art, and commentary. Sign up for the Lion’s Roar weekly newsletter and follow Lion’s Roar on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest.