Tricycle | Awake in the World

Today we begin the second week of Vishvapani Blomfield's retreat on Right Speech. In "Communicating with Kindness," Vishvapani encourages us to engage in full, heartfelt communication by relating to others from a motivation of love. To walk the path of Right Speech, it is not enough to set out simply to tell the truth; we must also be able to communicate with love and affection. This involves following the Buddha's example of communicating with others not just in terms of their limitations but directly with their human potential. More »

It all started in a small phone repair shop in southeast Bangladesh last Saturday, when a Buddhist man in his twenties accidentally Facebook-tagged himself in a photo of a burned Koran. Others in the shop saw the photo, and the news spread around the Muslim community. By Sunday, a mob had gathered, converging on the Buddhist villages in the area of Cox's Bazar. Together they torched at least 10 Buddhist temples and burned and vandalized more than 100 Buddhist homes. The police had calmed the situation by dawn, but the damage had already been done. More »

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 paintings of cityscapes in the Himalayan Buddhist world. Himalayan Buddhist Art 101: Cityscapes More »

Tricycle now has a tumblr page! In addition to the familiar stuff, you'll find cartoons, little gems of wisdom, quotes from new books, and old favorites from the editors. Take a look at our new tumblr, "Ancient Wisdom for the Modern World," here.     More »

Mindfulness in the Garden: Zen Tools for Digging in the Dirt is a new book from Parallax Press by landscape architect and author Zachiah Murray, with a foreword by Thich Nhat Hanh. Predicated upon the Zen conviction that the garden is a perfect place to practice mindfulness, the book offers a series simple short verses, called gathas, to assist us in cultivating deep awareness through the practice of gardening. The following excerpt begins the book. Entering the Garden Entering the gardenI see my true nature.In its reflectionmy heart is at peace. We cross many thresholds in our lives. Some thresholds are monumental—being born, learning to walk, starting school, graduating, getting our first job, losing our first job, getting married, giving birth, and dying. Other thresholds are subtle—moving from one room to another, passing through a gate, or crossing an intersection. More »

Attention, New Yorkers! This Sunday, Dr. Reginald "Reggie" Ray, co-founder of the Dharma Ocean Foundation and senior teacher (Acharya) in the Shambhala tradition, will be giving teachings and leading a meditation on bodhicitta at Insight Meditation Center in New York City. Reggie will speak about the centrality of bodhicitta to the Mahayana and Vajrayana paths. For details, check out the flyer below. See you there!   More »

With the upcoming election just around the corner, Sharon Salzberg, Vipassana teacher and frequent Tricycle contributor, shares her thoughts on the importance of voting in the Huffington Post in her piece "Who to Vote For?" Don't worry, she won't acually tell you who to vote for. As a spiritual leader, I knew I'd be busted if I told anyone who to vote for from the "pulpit," so to speak. And anyway, I don't think it's right to equate enlightenment, freedom or salvation with a particular candidate. That seems different to me than discussing values (like compassion) worldview (like interdependence) or ethics (like generosity) -- and any real discussion, from my point of view, involves free thinking. Read the article in its entirety here. More »

Today, we conclude Shinzen's What Is Mindfulness? retreat with an exploration of the future of mindfulness and the possibility of what Shinzen considers a "Mindfulness Revolution." Framed as a non-doctrinal skill-set, mindfulness can continue to expand into new frameworks and disciplines. Shinzen takes a look at the factors that could hinder or faciliate and global mindfulness revolution. We invite all those who are participating in the retreat to comment and explore his ideas further in discussion. More »

Andy Puddicombe is a registered clinical mindfulness consultant and a former Buddhist monk. He is the author of Get Some Headspace and the founder of Headspace, a project that aims to make meditation accessible and easy-to-learn. Over the past 24 weeks, Andy has primed us for a life of mindfulness and kindly fielded all our meditation questions as Tricycle's resident meditation doctor. This week marks the last of Andy's "Introduction to Mindfulness," and your last chance to ask him all your burning meditation questions. As a farewell, we've collated some of his most popular posts from weeks past below. You can read Andy's latest post about dealing with our neuroses and ask him your questions here. More »