Tricycle | Awake in the World

The jury is still out on whether it's acceptable for Buddhists to enjoy a glass of wine now and again. While we wait for the verdict, some of us are in the mood for a little moonshine. This week on tricycle.com, Noa Jones shares a Bhutanese recipe for rice wine. She writes, "I’m not sure what Shakyamuni would have to say about all of this. In the sutras he recommended that one train in abstinence from substances that cause intoxication and heedlessness. This precept can be interpreted as a ban on alcohol, but upon close inspection, it does not actually state that alcohol as a substance is impure but rather our behavior, our indulgence, our attachment to it." We will also feature a fun video of Jones learning how to make ara, Bhutanese rice wine.

You will probably have noticed the Shinran Shonin statue on the cover of the Summer issue of Tricycle. In addition to the statue having a wonderful history, we chose Shinran Shonin for the cover because the current issue features an interview with Reverend Patricia Kanaya Usuki, a Shin minister. Shinran founded the Shin tradition of Pure Land Buddhism in the 13th century, and Shin is the oldest Buddhist tradition in America. In "The Great Compassion," contributing editor Jeff Wilson speaks with Reverend Usuki about the Shin teaching of the Primal Vow and the prominent role of women in Shin Buddhism.

Tricycle Book Club for June: The Heart of the Revolution
The Tricycle Book Club has chosen Noah Levine's The Heart of the Revolution for our June selection. Read more about Noah here, and pick up a copy of the book here.

“The Heart of the Revolution is a passionate and timely appeal to overcome self-centredness through love and compassion, combined with eminently practical meditations to help you do so.” - Stephen Batchelor, author of Buddhism Without Beliefs and Confession of a Buddhist Atheist

Stop by the Book Club at the Tricycle Community tomorrow!