In our Spring 2000 issue, the scholar Alexander Berzin examined the guru-disciple relationship in the West. He wrote: With a new millennium at hand, many Westerners called for a purely Western Buddhism, free of irrelevant religious and cultural trappings of the East. Differentiating the essence from the trappings, however, is never simple. People sometimes discard important [...]

The roots of all living things are tied together. Deep in the ground of being, they tangle and embrace. This understanding is expressed in the term nonduality. If we look deeply, we find that we do not have a separate self-identity, a self that does not include sun and wind, earth and water, creatures and plants, and one another. Joan [...]

Ever since Michael Jackson died last week, I can’t stop thinking about identity and how clinging to one—or several in his case— can bring much suffering. Yes, Michael was mesmerizing. But like the article, A Sequined Glove That Mesmerized the World, in the New York Times said last week, “There is no way to know [...]

It’s Thursday and we’ve posted our second Twitter challenge. It works like this Your take on NIRVANA in 140 characters or less. Best one today gets free sub to Tricycle: The Buddhist Review–print or digital edition, your choice. Use #tri140 to be counted. We’ll accept your takes until 3am EST. You’ll need to sign onto Twitter if you [...]

Dharma, the truth of things-as-they-are, acts upon us to help us awaken to liberation. Dharma isn’t a person; it isn’t a being to be supplicated to. It’s just the way things work, the reality of the universe unfolding as a process in time. The Buddha discovered and taught about a portion of this universe, and [...]

The Dalai Lama interviewed by the late writer, actor, and performance artist Spalding Gray. This was from our first issue and the unconventional discussion set the tone for things to come. To wit: Spalding Gray: Do you dream? The Dalai Lama: Yes. A few days ago, for three nights in succession, I had some very clear dreams. [...]

Inspired by this morning’s Daily Dharma, I began to ponder just how overwhelming starting out on the path can be and, completely ignoring Dean Sluyter’s good advice, wondered what might be some tangible, helpful entry points to Buddhism. One such resource might be Tricycle’s Spring 1997 issue, Dharma 101: Back to Basics. What was your [...]

Don’t be overwhelmed by the number of teachers and teachings. Just start by doing a little bit of something, even five minutes of meditation, but do it every day…. Once you put one foot in front of another, the dharma path has a way of leading you where you need to go. Dean Sluyter, Cinema Nirvana [...]