Tricycle | Awake in the World

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. This week Jeff explores the four ground colors of Himalayan art. Himalayan Buddhist Art 101: The Four Ground Colors More »

One of the most urgent tasks for contemporary practitioners of any spiritual tradition, including Buddhism, is to learn how to take traditional stories seriously without taking them literally. Religious texts employ symbol, metaphor, and allegory to weave narratives that reveal truths about meaning, value, and purpose in human affairs. Although traditions tend to see their stories as historically accurate, the value of these stories does not depend on whether or not they are literally true. But in the modern period, we have come to take science and instrumental reason as the only reliable means and the model for ascertaining truth. For many, this means that they must choose between rejecting the narratives of religious tradition (atheism) or embracing one narrative literally (fundamentalism). More »

Mindfulness isn't just for Buddhists anymore; you can find it in hospitals, schools, prisons, and in some of today’s largest corporations. It is being used to help people quell their cravings, find emotional balance, eat healthier, and even to fall asleep at night. All of these things are well and good, of course, but there's a question worth considering: Is anything lost when we remove mindfulness meditation from a Buddhist context? More »

July, it seems, is a very auspicious month for Tibetan Buddhists. Last Friday was the Dalai Lama's birthday, and tomorrow it's Pema Chodron's 76th. Happy Birthday, Pema! Although she is in retreat for the entirety of 2012, she's holding a virtual online retreat in honor of the occasion. If you register here (it's free), the Pema Chodron foundation will email you a pre-filmed video with advice, encouragement, and meditation instruction. In a culture in which a person expects to receive gifts on a birthday, not give them, many thanks to the Pema Chodron Foundation and, of course, Pema herself for their generosity. More »

If you've ever puttered around the Buddhist blogosphere, you know the Reverend Danny Fisher. He's the author of the Patheos blog Off the Cushion, maintains an official website, and writes for Shambhala Sun, Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly, and elephantjournal.com. More »

"Burma" has been quite the Western media buzzword lately. What with Aung San Suu Kyi's European tour, Rakhine's riots, and ongoing debates about which name—Burma or Myanmar—is appropriate to call the long-calamitous nation, the country's wins and woes have saturated the pages of many publications. More »

We are happy to announce Anam Thubten as the teacher for this month's online retreat. Starting today and continuing over the next three mondays, Anam Thubten invites us to explore awareness itself as simple means of exploring the unconditioned mind. His method is cheerful, straightforward and welcoming to a range of audiences by suggesting that simple practices such as Shamatha meditation can be universally beneficial. In this first week, Anam Thubten explains how the rhythm of the breath or attuning the mind to simple objects can tap into an inherent serenity that is the basis for tuning down our inner turbulence. Here's a preview of what's to come. This first week episode is open for all to view. Come participate and discuss this month's retreat! More »

Happy birthday to the Dalai Lama! His Holiness turns 77 today. Here he is greeting Ogyen Trinley Dorje, one of the two claimants to the Karmapa's throne, at his birthday party in Dharamsala. And here he is again with some excited birthday revelers. You can see more photographs of the festivities on his official website. More »

The letter below is one of many included in the book Letters from the Dhamma Brothers. In these letters, the prisoners who took part in the Vipassana program at a maximum security prison in Alabama reflect on their prison experience following their meditation course. The letters are all at once moving, insightful, and profound. These prisoners' introduction to the program was captured by director Jenny Phillips in the film The Dhamma Brothers, which Tricycle screened online in March. More »