The practice of love, says bell hooks, is the most powerful antidote to the politics of domination. She traces her thirty-year meditation on love, power, and Buddhism, and concludes it is only love that transforms our personal relationships and heals the wounds of oppression. At a conference on women and Buddhism that took place in spring last year, I was upset because [...]
First Do No Harm
Environmentalist Stephanie Kaza invites us to consider how Buddhist principles can help us nurse the planet back to health. Sometimes it seems like Buddhism doesn’t have much relevance to environmental problems. Can Buddhist philosophy solve climate change? Can meditation bring back lost species? I think about these things much of the time, trying to find my way in a world [...]
Buddhist leaders pen open letter encouraging Americans to vote
The letter urges Buddhists across America to "express your commitment and respect for the innate dignity and worth of all" by voting in the midterm elections on November 6. Nearly 130 Buddhists teachers and leaders have signed an open letter to Buddhists across America in an effort to increase voter turnout at polling stations this election season. The effort, Mindful [...]
Listening Deeply for Peace
Without deep listening and gentle loving speech it is very difficult to move towards peace. Peace will only become a reality, says Thich Nhat Hanh, when world leaders come to negotiations with the ability to hear the suffering at the root of all conflicts. A traditional Vietnamese Zen garden is very different from a Japanese Zen garden. Our Zen gardens, called hon non bo, [...]
Why Is Rebecca Solnit Hopeful?
Writer and activist Rebecca Solnit fearlessly tells the truth about misogyny, injustice, and environmental destruction. But, as Lindsay Kyte reported in this 2016 profile, Solnit tells us another important truth: we have hope, and it is found in uncertainty. Rebecca Solnit is certain of only one thing—that hope includes uncertainty. “We don’t know what’s going to [...]
How Not to Freak Out
You're not alone if you despair about the present and fear for the future. If you find all the bad news overwhelming, Buddhist teacher Judy Lief has some meditations to help you relieve your socio-political pain. It’s not as if times of fear and despair are anything new. People have fought wars, struggled to survive, faced injustice, experienced loss, dealt with violence [...]
Help When Your Heart Breaks
Caring for people who are suffering is a loving, even heroic calling, but it takes a toll. Roshi Joan Halifax teaches this five-step program to care for yourself while caring for others. In the early morning, a weary man dressed in tattered clothes walked into a rural Himalayan mountain hospital with a grimy, reeking bundle in his arms. I was in Nepal serving in one of [...]
What Happens When a Government Loses Its Compassion?
Without compassion, everyone is worse off. Zen teacher Roshi Joan Halifax comments on the Trump administration's family separation policy. What happens when a government loses its moral footing? When elected officials seem to be operating without integrity? When our politicians and their officials lack any semblance of compassion? These questions have been burning in me [...]
Advice for Modern America, from When Buddhism Was Seen as a National Threat
For much of the 19th and 20th centuries, Buddhism was considered a threat to America. Hondo Lobley interviews scholar Duncan Williams about what we might want to remember from that time. Introduction by Funie Hsu. The history of American Buddhism is a story of immigration. Our understanding of the historical relationship between American Buddhism and immigration is [...]
5 ways Buddhist communities can take part in social change
Like fish in water, it's easy for us to ignore the systems of injustice that surround us. Colin Beavan offers five tips to recognize injustice and swing into action. All over the world, people are faced with the same questions about our suffering planet: Is there any hope, or is it game over? Why are some people in denial about climate change? Why don’t politicians do [...]
