Forty scouts from the Muslim Scouts of France and the Buddhist-based Nature Scouts (also from France) gathered at a summer camp in France to promote mutual understanding and combat prejudice. The week-long camp at at the Karma Ling Institute was a chance for the children, aged 7 to 11, to ask questions, to share some vegetarian meals, and above all to "plant the seed of [...]
“Joining the Sacred and the Secular” conference to take place in New York on Friday
The Contemplative Alliance and Shinnyo-en will host "Joining the Sacred and the Secular" this Friday, a dialogue with young practitioners and leading contemplative teachers to understand the spiritual quest of young people. Our own Sam Littlefair will be in attendance. "I'm excited to see what people form all sorts of contemplative traditions are thinking about how [...]
Being Authentic at Your Shitty Job
Lodro Rinzler answers an all-too-common worker's question: Q: How do I leave behind the feeling of being trapped in my job and the resentment it causes? I want to be authentic at work. A: You never leave feelings behind, in my experience. You can go through a horrible breakup, think you're over your ex, then months later hear about the ex dating another person and [...]
Burmese youth snap selfless selfies
A grassroots campaign in Burma called #myfriend is harnessing the power of selfies to promote tolerance between religious and ethnic groups. Launched in April, the campaign encourages people to post selfies with friends from different religious or ethnic backgrounds on social media sharing the words, “I am [religion/ethnicity] and my friend is [religion/ethnicity].” The [...]
Students for a Free Tibet flag important issue
On January 14th, Students for a Free Tibet launched the #TibetFlagChallenge. The organization is asking people to fly a Tibetan flag, post it to social media, and challenge three more friends to do the same. According to the group’s website, the aim is to “shine a light on the Tibetan flag and the Tibetan people’s struggle for freedom.” The campaign comes in the run-up to [...]
Show Up Exactly As You Are: Taz Tagore of Reciprocity Foundation
The Reciprocity Foundation’s Taz Tagore on taking kids from the streets to a new life. It starts inside. Perched twelve stories above the clothiers and bustle that are native to its West 36th Street address, the Reciprocity Foundation has been quietly making a positive impact on the lives of homeless youth in New York City for ten years now. Its programs, strongly attuned [...]
Friday night: Brooklyn Zen Center to host panels on gun violence with angel Kyodo williams and others; Young people urged to join in
"Social Messages and Gun Violence – How are we communicating the devaluation of life?" This is the theme that Brooklyn Zen Center (BZC) will present on February 21, in the first in a series of three panels leading up to A Day of Silent Recognition – a day of contemplative silence on April 5th to bear witness to the violence caused by guns in the local community. About these [...]
“Show Up Exactly As You Are” — A Q&A with Taz Tagore of NYC’s Reciprocity Foundation
In our March 2014 magazine, Taz Tagore, who with Adam Bucko founded New York City's Reciprocity Foundation, talks about the Foundation's work of taking kids -- many of whom are youth of color and those identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender -- from the streets to a new, more healthful life. Click here to read the Q&A, titled "Show Up Exactly As You Are," [...]
A shrine for all at New York City’s Reciprocity Foundation
Rod Meade Sperry reports on his recent visit to the Reciprocity Foundation and their space in New York. You may recall reading about New York's Reciprocity Foundation and its open-handed approach to feeding and working with homeless youth in Taz Tagore's Lion's Roar piece, "Home Cooking," earlier this year. Just a couple of days ago, it was my good fortune to visit with Taz [...]
Folk legend Peter Yarrow uses Dalai Lama poem for new anti-bullying song
As part of the effort in Japan to counteract bullying and the alarming suicide rate among its young people, a Japanese music executive has produced a song by folk legend Peter Yarrow (ex-Peter, Paul and Mary), whose lyrics come from a unique source: a poem by the Dalai Lama. The catchy “Never Give Up” mines His Holiness’s constant theme that the courageous application of [...]
