How can we follow the news in ways that nurture – not diminish – wellbeing? Author, Buddhist, and media scholar Holly Stocking offers some guidance. I began to think about the harm that mindless consumption of the news can do after hearing of a spiritual teacher who cautioned his students about going to the mall. The mall can be a place where we feed our afflicted emotions, he [...]
What Do You Put in Your Mind?
Just as you consume food, you consume media. And like food, some media is wholesome and some is unhealthy. Sister True Dedication on why you need to pay attention to what nourishes your mind. You may take care of your body with a healthy and ethical diet, and perhaps a balanced program of exercise. But do you have a similarly intentional diet for your mind? We all want [...]
4 Tips for a Going on a Media Diet
Sister True Dedication, a Buddhist teacher and former BBC journalist, offers tips for keeping your head clear in the modern media landscape. 1. Take a reality check Make use of the clarity and courage you have generated in meditation to reflect honestly on your current media diet. What's coming in? How does it make me feel? What is it triggering? 2. Set your [...]
Middle Way Education launches website to support Buddhist educators
The website serves as a hub where Buddhist educators can access and share lesson plans, articles, videos, teachings, and practices. Middle Way Education has launched a new website to allow institutions and individuals involved in education to share their curricula, knowledge, experience, and resources. Middle Way Education (MWE), a nonprofit organization founded in 2017 [...]
Tsadra Foundation launches online library of translation and transmission conference recordings
The Tsadra Foundation has launched a new website that offers free access to video and audio recordings of conferences, workshops, speeches, meetings, and other events related to the translation and transmission of Tibetan Buddhism. The foundation, a New York-based nonprofit, seeks to support the study and practice of Tibetan Buddhism, taking inspiration from the Tibetan [...]
Google digitally preserves ancient Buddhist sites in virtual reality
The project was inspired by the destruction of the monumental Bamiyan Buddha statues by the Taliban in 2001. Google has collaborated with CyArk, a California-based nonprofit, to preserve heritage sites in online 3D libraries. The Open Heritage project has posted 3D models of 26 heritage locations in 18 countries, including ancient Buddhist temples at Bagan in Myanmar and three [...]
Japanese students prevent Buddhist statue theft by creating 3D-printed copies
One student described the work as "a mysterious and precious experience.” 160 Buddhist statues were stolen in Wakayama, Japan between 2010 and 2011. Now, Students in Wakayama Technical High School’s industrial design course in Japan are creating 3D-printed replicas of Buddhist statues to prevent the ongoing theft of the original statues from Buddhist temples. The [...]
SuttaCentral website relaunches with new translation of Pali Nikayas
The texts have been newly translated to as "accurate and reliable" as possible, and use gender-neutral language where applicable. SuttaCental, a free online collection of early Buddhist texts translated into over thirty languages, has relaunched its website alongside new translations of the four Pali Nikayas. The developers say the website is the first to host [...]
Acer announces “smart prayer beads” to digitally count mantra recitations
Electronic malas will track mantra recitations in a phone app, tallying "merit" that can be shared on social media. The Taiwanese electronics corporation, Acer, has developed Buddhist prayer beads to help keep track of recited mantras. Acer's "Leap Beads" contain a smart chip that displays the number of recited mantras on the user's smartphone, and turns repetitions [...]
Don’t Comment
In this short piece, originally posted on Facebook, Eli Brown-Stevenson explains his personal vow, "Don't comment." "Don't comment" is a vow that I made with my teacher that has been the most beneficial way to address my social media usage. I used to get into endless comment wars with others. Behind screens, I was more likely to use unskillful communication methods and [...]
