The Winter 2019 issue of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly features in-depth teachings for cultivating your Buddhist practice and manifesting those teachings meaningfully in everyday life. Inside, you’ll find thoughtful commentaries, reviews of the latest Buddhist books, Ask the Teachers, and more.
Features
Free from the Burden of Holding On
What do you cling to? Let it go, says Ajahn Jayasaro, and you’ll discover something profound.
Amida Buddha Welcomes All Refugees
Jeff Wilson explains how the Jodo Shinshu school of Pure Land Buddhism emerged from the refugee experiences of its two Japanese founders, Shinran and Rennyo. He tells us why that history is particularly relevant to the refugee and migrant crises today.
Ethical Conduct is the Essence of Dharma Practice
The Dalai Lama and Thubten Chodron outline three levels of Buddhist ethical codes, how we can follow them, and what it looks like when we miss the mark.
The Four Immeasurables Leave Nothing Untouched
If you don’t want your happiness to impede that of someone else, says Vanessa Zuisei Goddard, practice the four immeasurables. It will help you make space for others in your mind and to see others as yourself.
How the Sacred Treasure of Literacy Came to Tibet
When written language arrived in Tibet, says Patrick Dowd, it brought the dharma with it.
If You Could See the Heart Sutra
Paula Arai introduces us to the world of Tsuneo Iwasaki, who discovered a world of practice in giving (actual) shape to the Heart Sutra.
Awakening Fueled by Rage
As a dharma teacher, says Zenju Earthlyn Manuel, she’s told she shouldn’t feel or express rage. She disagrees and reveals how rage can be “life-giving and illuminating” and help “fuel a transformation toward awakening.”
Departments
Commentary
The Enlightenment Project, by Rob Preece
Ask the Teachers
Is happiness really the central goal of Buddhist practice?
Anushka Fernandopulle, Ven. Thubten Chodron, and Kaira Jewel Lingo respond.
Reviews
Cultivating Original Enlightenment by Robert E. Buswell Jr.; Reviewed by Juhn Ahn
Book Briefs
Reviews by Daigengna Duoer
The Life of Jamgom Kongtrul the Great: Tibet’s Great Treasure Holder by Alexander Gardner
The Circle of the Way: A Concise History of Zen from the Buddha to the Modern World by Barbara O’Brien
Enlightenment and the Gasping City: Mongolian Buddhism at a Time of Environmental Disarray by Saskia Abrahms-Kavunenko
Mind Seeing Mind: Mahamudra and the Geluk Tradition of Tibetan Buddhism by Roger R. Jackson
American JewBu: Jews, Buddhists, and Religious Change by Emily Sigalow
The Theravada Abhidhamma: Inquiry into the Nature of Conditioned Reality by Y. Karunadasa
Transcending: Trans Buddhist Voices from North Atlantic Books