Tricycle - Awake in the World

Treasury of Lives: Jetsun Pema Trinle

Alex Caring-Lobel — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:56:09 +0000

Biography and autobiography in Tibet are important sources for both education and inspiration. Tibetans have kept such meticulous records of their teachers that thousands of names are known and discussed in a wide range of biographical material. All these names, all these lives—it can be a little overwhelming. The authors involved in the Treasury of Lives are currently mining the primary sources to provide English-language biographies of every known religious teacher from Tibet and the Himalaya, all of which are organized for easy searching and browsing. Every Tuesday on the Tricycle blog, we will highlight and reflect on important, interesting, eccentric, surprising and beautiful stories found within this rich literary tradition.

Jetsun Pema Trinle

Consider the Source: Why didn't Chinese Zen dharma halls have Buddhist icons?

Emma Varvaloucas — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 18:10:02 +0000

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Consider the Source: Why didn't Chinese Zen dharma halls have Buddhist icons?

In traditional Chinese Zen, the dharma hall had a special status as the place where the Zen master expounded the dharma. It was purposefully separated from the Buddha hall, where statues of the Buddha and other notables provided prominent devotional icons for temple services and visitors. The dharma hall itself, however, was always bare of such figures. Why?

Third Week of Chodo and Koshin's Retreat: Mindfulness and Concentration

Andrew Gladstone — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 04:00:00 +0000

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In this third week's teaching of Zen teachers Robert Chodo Campbell and Koshin Paley Ellison's online retreat, "Mindfulness and Concentration," the two continue their exploration of the eight awarenesses. Covering both mindfulness and concentration practices, Chodo and Koshin show us how developing and expanding awareness aids our ability to care intimately for ourselves and others.

As Chodo says, "One can only be as intimate with another as one is with oneself." The practice of samadhi, or concentration meditation, equips us to be at home in any situation, regardless of how stressful or terrible it may be, and begins our process of becoming intimate with our selves and the world around us.

Buddha Buzz: On Hiatus for Bonnaroo 2013

Emma Varvaloucas — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 17:04:27 +0000

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Buddha Buzz is on hiatus this week while Tricycle's daring and irreplaceable editorial assistant Alex Caring-Lobel travels to Manchester, Tennesee, for Bonnaroo 2013. Please come back in one piece, Alex.

There he is!

In the meantime, here's what's going on in the Buddhist world (and beyond) this week:

- The 50th anniversary of Vietnamese monk Thich Quang Duc's self-immolation

Himalayan Buddhist Art 101: Controversial Art, Part 3 - Ithyphallic Deities

Alex Caring-Lobel — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 21:51:28 +0000

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Buddhist practice and Buddhist art have been inseparable in the Himalayas ever since Buddhism arrived to the region in the eighth century. But for the casual observer it can be difficult to make sense of the complex iconography. Not to worry—Himalayan art scholar Jeff Watt is here to help. In this "Himalayan Buddhist Art 101" series, Jeff is making sense of this rich artistic tradition by presenting weekly images from the Himalayan Art Resources archives and explaining their roles in the Buddhist tradition.

Part 1: Dorje Shugden
Part 2: The Svastika

Controversial Art, Part 3: Ithyphallic Deities

Consider the Source: Why Did Tea Come to Symbolize Enlightenment?

Emma Varvaloucas — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 21:08:37 +0000

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Consider the Source: Why Did Tea Come to Symbolize Enlightenment?

The great Zen master Zhaozhou (Joshu)’s advice to seekers of the Way was “Go drink tea.” Zhaozhou’s contemporary, Zen Master Jiashan Shanhui, famously uttered, “Tea, Zen: one taste,” a phrase that adorns countless tea houses in China. What’s the story behind Chinese Zen and tea culture’s intimate relationship?

Treasury of Lives: Nyingma Founders Part 5, Dzogchen

Alex Caring-Lobel — Tue, 11 Jun 2013 15:54:44 +0000

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Consider the Source: Why is the Yellow River yellow (and what does it have to do with Buddhism)?

Emma Varvaloucas — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 19:39:56 +0000

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Consider the Source: Why is the Yellow River yellow (and what does it have to do with Buddhism)?

The Yellow River is an iconic symbol of Chinese civilization. Its yellowness comes from the immense amount of silt it carries from the desert regions in the northwest, where Buddhism entered China via the Silk Road. The sand blown off from those deserts has blanketed the region for millenia, leaving soil that is both fertile and easy to dig. The main result was the civilization’s early farming communities. The easily dug soil from the desert also helped create a great number of caves, which house thirty million Chinese people to this day.

Second Week of Chodo and Koshin's Retreat: Serenity and Meticulous Effort

Andrew Gladstone — Mon, 10 Jun 2013 04:00:00 +0000

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In this second week of Zen teachers Chodo and Koshin's retreat, "Serenity and Meticulous Effort," they develop the ideas from the previous week by exploring the third and fourth awarenesses from the Mahaparinirvana Sutra: serenity and meticulous effort.

As Koshin says, serenity is not just about bliss, but about about finding presence and grace in the moment-to-moment chaos of daily life. This part of the practice demands rigor and constant effort; it is the ability to turn outward and open to life, however terrifying or difficult it may seem to be. Serenity, then, is not an escape from the stresses of the moment, but is instead being satisfied with not knowing what will arise next.

Buddha Buzz: Steven Seagal and Vladimir Putin

Alex Caring-Lobel — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 21:33:40 +0000

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Action film star, orientalist, martial arts expert, and recognized Tibetan Buddhist tulku Steven Seagal reemerged in the media this week after aiding a congressional delegation to Russia. Seagal has long been well connected in Russia, where he’s known to get all buddy-buddy with President Vladimir Putin, an avid martial arts enthusiast.

Himalayan Buddhist Art 101: Fakes, Part 1 - An Introduction

Alex Caring-Lobel — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 21:41:14 +0000

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Himalayan Buddhist Art 101: Fakes, Part 1 - An Introduction

Tintin discovers Edward Said.

Alex Caring-Lobel — Thu, 06 Jun 2013 16:21:04 +0000

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Consider the Source: Why Was Maitreya Too Fat to Sit in Full Lotus?

Emma Varvaloucas — Wed, 05 Jun 2013 15:57:37 +0000

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Consider the Source: Why Was Maitreya Too Fat to Sit in Full Lotus?

In the great Buddhist grottos at Dunhuang, the unequalled repository of Buddhist statues and art in China’s far west, certain Buddha figures do not sit in full lotus as one might expect. Nor do they stand erect, another common posture. Instead, they sit with their legs crossed at their ankles, a puzzling, rather uncomfortable looking position. The Chinese scholar Gu Zhengmei argues that this posture is a sure sign that these statues represent Maitreya Buddha, the “Buddha to Come” who is said to appear in the world when all have forgotten the dharma. He claims that it is consistent with discoveries of Maitreya images not just at Dunhuang, but also in Greek-influenced Gandhara, where the first icons of the Buddha were found.

Treasury of Lives: Dorje Shugden

Alex Caring-Lobel — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 17:27:31 +0000

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Treasury of Lives: Dorje Shugden

New Online Retreat: Caring in the World: The Eight Awarenesses

Andrew Gladstone — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 04:00:00 +0000

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In our new online retreat "Caring for the World: The Eight Awarenesses," with Robert Paley Ellison and Robert Chodo Campbell, co-founders of the New York Zen Center for Contemplative Care, the dynamic teacher-duo explores one of the Buddha's final teachings, the Eight Awarenesses, as a guide to practice and study of intimacy and care. Each week the two will address two new awarenesses, supplementing their reflections with their own stories from their work in clinical care.

Consider the Source: Why Bodhidharma was a rebel, not a myth

Emma Varvaloucas — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 04:00:00 +0000

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Consider the Source: Why Bodhidharma was a rebel, not a myth

Revered as the father of Zen Buddhism, some scholars have still denied or raised doubts as to whether Bodhidharma actually existed.

He did. In fact, new evidence from Chinese scholarship suggests that he was a critically important historical figure, one far more fascinating than previously imagined. But if this is true, why doesn’t he appear in any official imperial records that were created while he lived?

The earliest and most reliable account we have concerning Bodhidharma’s life, written by the great monk-historian Dao Xuan around the year 650 AD, clearly suggests that Bodhidharma did not like emperors and made a point to avoid them. The famous story of Bodhidharma meeting and rejecting the “Bodhisattva Emperor Wu” of the Liang Dynasty is only the most famous bit of information that supports this thesis.

Tricycle | BuddhaFest Online Film Festival Preview: Happiness for No Reason with Tsoknyi Rinpoche

Emma Varvaloucas — Mon, 03 Jun 2013 04:00:00 +0000

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The Tricycle | BuddhaFest Online Film Festival is back!

WHEN: June 17 - July 28 (ticket sales begin June 3)

WHAT: The Best in Buddhist Film

WHERE: Wherever you are!

Starting on Monday, June 17, Tricycle will be home to the third annual Tricycle | BuddhaFest Online Film Festival. This year's festivities will include six new Buddhist films, six interviews with the films' directors, and six dharma talks with leading Buddhist teachers! We'll also be showing footage from the live BuddhaFest event, June 20-23 in Washington, D.C., and a special encore of past BuddhaFest dharma talks and discussions.

Buddha Buzz: Radical Strains of Buddhism

Alex Caring-Lobel — Fri, 31 May 2013 21:37:45 +0000

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Virulent anti-Muslim violence has once again enveloped a Burmese town—this time Lashio in the northeastern Shan State. What was once perceived as an isolated outbreak of murderous rioting in the western Rakhine state against Rohingya Muslims last year has now become a common occurrence in locales across the country, where not only Rohingya but all Muslims have become viable targets.

Reacting to a quarrel between a Buddhist woman and an older Muslim male customer, Buddhist mobs—with monks in their ranks—armed with rocks, sticks, and machetes took to setting fire to the city’s largest mosque, a Muslim school, Muslim orphanage, and scores of Muslim-owned shops.

Preeminent World Religions Professor Huston Smith Turns 94

Emma Varvaloucas — Fri, 31 May 2013 21:22:03 +0000

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Happy birthday to Huston Smith, who turns 94 today! Smith, widely recognized as the West’s preeminent teacher of world religions, has made a career of building cross-cultural bridges. For decades he has taught his readers about Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and many other traditions.

Raised in China, the son of Christian missionaries, Smith has had a long and illustrious career as an academic, TV interviewer, and author, along the way dropping acid with Timothy Leary and Richard Alpert (Ram Dass) and hobnobbing with a Who’s Who of 20th-century truth-seekers, from Thomas Merton to Joseph Campbell, Martin Luther King, Jr., Noam Chomsky, and Saul Bellow.

Himalayan Buddhist Art 101: Controversial Art, Part 2 - The Svastika

Alex Caring-Lobel — Fri, 31 May 2013 15:10:25 +0000

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Read Part 1: Dorje Shugden

Controversial Art, Part 2: The Svastika