Tricycle | Awake in the World

I remember reading somewhere a while back (it's pretty foggy) about what a modern-day Zen teacher (or he might have been Tibetan) said when asked about the skillfulness or use of laughter. His response was something to the effect of "I love laughter, because you can't think conceptual thoughts when you're laughing." The room full of eager students no doubt broke down in side-splitting non-conceptual thought. It's an interesting point, but I'm not sure I agree with it. Concepts, some gross (in both senses of the word), some more subtle, are so often the basis of what is making us laugh that I have trouble believing that it just shuts off with the rising of the first giggle. I like the quote mostly because it is proof that Buddhist teachers aren't against laughter (and it is short enough to more or less remember). Personally, the dharma and humor have always been highly complementary, and I believe both cultivate the same healthy perspective on life. More »

The Buddha taught far fewer things than he knew of. He told his disciples: "[T]hose things that I have known with direct knowledge but have not taught are far more numerous [than what I have taught]. And why haven't I taught them? Because they are not connected with the goal, do not relate to the rudiments of the holy life, and do not lead to disenchantment, to dispassion, to cessation, to calm, to direct knowledge, to self-awakening, to Unbinding. That is why I have not taught them." He likened what he did teach to a handful of leaves in the forest, which has inspired forest monk Thanissaro Bhikkhu to name his 4-volume anthology of translations from the Pali Canon just that—A Handful of Leaves (a fifth volume is soon to appear). You can't buy it, but you can have the entire set for free. More »

Speaking in Kolkata, the Dalai Lama called for improved relations between China and India. Calling himself India's "longest guest" (he's fast approaching the 50-year mark) the DL said friendship between India and China would benefit not only the nations themselves and the rest of Asia, but the entire world. China and India are important trading partners, but are engaged in a long bitter struggle to fix their mutual border. More »

Sakyong Mipham Rinpoche, spiritual and secular leader of Shambhala International and president of The Shambhala Sun, the Canadian bimonthly, has a new music video out. A wearer of many hats, the Sakyong is also a marathon runner. He completed the New York City Marathon last year in a very respectable 3 hours, 26 minutes. You can't say he's running on empty. - Philip Ryan, Webmaster More »

Buddhists are fleeing the terror-hotspot of Pattani in southern Thailand. While the Muslim insurgency there isn't causing much of a stir in the West (guess why) it is a fact of life for many Thais. Buddhists find themselves being targeted in a war where the insurgents are mostly anonymous, and make few demands. Muslims are a small minority in Thailand, but they dominate the south of the country near the Malaysian border. More than 1000 people have died in the conflict since 2004. - Philip Ryan, Webmaster More »

Visa is now offering credit cards with images of the Buddha, people meditating, and other "enlightenment"-inspired images. Touting the "socially conscious credit card," Visa says: "As a member of the Enlightenment Reward Card program, your purchasing power goes to support the things that matter most to you." For example, 200,000 Rewards points earns you a yoga retreat in Spain. More »

The Times of India reports that a Chinese Communist Party newspaper has published a "document review" describing how Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, supposedly misled China's premier Zhou Enlai concerning Tibet. Nehru supported Tibetan independence, the Chinese paper says, but was not honest about it: Nehru had assured Zhou that New Delhi respected China's sovereignty over Tibet and then encouraged the Dalai Lama to work for Tibet's independence, the paper explained. Interestingly, China published this account while their president Hu Jintao was in New Delhi meeting with the Indian government over the countries' long-standing border dispute. More »

What is undoubtedly one of the premiere websites on Buddhism and vegetarianism launched this week. Shabkar.org is named after the Tibetan yogi Shabkar Tsodruk Rangdrol (1781-1851), who adopted vegetarianism far before it was an advisable practice in high-altitude, low-crop Tibet. His teachings on the subject are collected in Food of Bodhisattvas: Buddhist Teachings on Abstaining from Meat from Shambhala Publications. One of the first questions Western Buddhists seem to get (upon "outing") is "are you a vegetarian?", often accompanied by a smirk of varying degrees of smugness. More »

Sam Harris, bestselling author of The End of Faith and telegenic darling of the Godless set, has recently come out with a new title—Letter to a Christian Nation. For those who've been waiting for someone to debunk the miraculous or tell us that Leviticus could use an update, it's a real treat. After all, it's been a long six years. Harris thinks big. More »