Embrace the ritual forms of Buddhist practice, says Buddhadharma deputy editor Koun Franz — you can't escape them anyway. A friend and I were discussing a retreat she’d recently attended at a large monastery when she sighed and said, “I just love monks and nuns.” I asked why. I don’t know what answer I expected, but it wasn’t the one I got: “They’re the only ones,” she [...]
Pema Chödrön on how to enjoy life
In an exclusive interview with Pema, conducted at her home, Gampo Abbey, in Nova Scotia, she talks about what it means — and why it’s important — to enjoy our lives. From Lion’s Roar’s Pema Chödrön: A Special Collector’s Edition. I notice there's a sign in the entrance to Gampo Abbey that says "Enjoy Your Life." We don't usually think of that as a spiritual [...]
Buddhists bring meditation to the streets and subways of NYC
A new organization called Buddhist Insights is helping New Yorkers meditate in all manner of surprising places — and to make friends with their surroundings. And they're garnering attention, too. New Yorkers may not think of the city's gritty streets as a place to find inner peace, but a new group called Buddhist Insights is aiming to change that. “There’s this idea [...]
Why Larung Gar, the Buddhist institute in eastern Tibet, is important
There is nothing quite like ascending the slope into Larung Buddhist Academy from the rough road to remote Serta. After rounding a narrow bend, the valley opens out and red log cabins, housing monastics, line the surrounding hills on all sides. Two large assembly halls, one for nuns and one for monks, tower above the modest and sometimes makeshift cabins built along winding [...]
Twenty Tibetan Buddhist nuns are first ever to earn Geshema degrees
Equivalent to a Doctorate in Buddhist Philosophy, the Geshema degree represents the highest level of training in the Gelugpa school of Tibetan Buddhism -- a level of training previously only available to men (in whose case the degree would be a Geshe degree). But that's changed now that twenty Tibetan Buddhist nuns have become the first to pass all the exams necessary to earn [...]
Demolition of half of world’s largest Tibetan Buddhist institute to begin July 25th
As previously reported by Lion's Roar, Larung Gar, the largest Tibetan Buddhist institute in the world, situated in southwestern China’s Sichuan province, was recently threatened with demolitions by the Chinese government. Now, a date has been set. Demolitions at Larung Gar Buddhist Academy will reportedly begin July 25th following China's demands to demolish 50 [...]
Fake Buddhist monks a growing global problem
Buddhist leaders in New York City and around the world are warning the public to be cautious of the panhandling trend that takes advantage of the public's image of Buddhist monks as harmless. In many major cities around the world, men posing as Buddhist monks with shaven heads and monk's robes harass passers-by for money and react angrily when confronted. According to CTV [...]
Dharma 24/7
Most Buddhists today are lay practitioners with jobs and families, but a few still pursue enlightenment the old-fashioned way. In the July 2016 issue of Lion's Roar, Koun Franz asked four people why they gave it all up to practice the dharma full-time. Sister Peace, a nun in Thich Nhat Hanh’s Order of Interbeing, shares the details of her monastic life. The history of [...]
Can Angry Birds calm your thoughts?
Video games are famously, perhaps even notoriously, attention grabbing. Players frequently become so immersed, they lose track of time and seem to ignore everything and everyone around them. Parents and spouses of gamers often complain that it’s nearly impossible to tear their loved ones away from their favorite games. But could the highly immersive quality of good games [...]
The Rise of Militant Monks
Michael Jerryson reports on the growing tension between Buddhists and Muslims in South and Southeast Asia, where senior Buddhist monks are actively inciting violence and intolerance despite outcries from the international community. Recent developments in Burma have brought the world’s attention to the ongoing conflicts between Buddhists and Muslims in South and [...]