Spirit Rock Meditation Center is dedicated to the teachings of the Buddha. We provide silent meditation retreats, as well as classes, trainings, and Dharma study.
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This week on tricycle.com
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. More » -
Building the Buddha's Birthplace
People around the world are celebrating Vesak this month (the exact date of the holiday varies according to different calendars used in different countries and traditions), which honors the life of the Buddha. Even though the holiday encompasses the birth, enlightenment, and death of Siddhartha Gautama, many people celebrate it as the Buddha's birthday. More » -
Angulimala and Tantric Buddhism
The British scholar of Buddhism Richard Gombrich has a seemingly endless supply of insightful readings of texts that we as Buddhists assume we know through and through. Take Angulimala (please). The standard story is one of the most famous in all of Buddhism. A fierce robber and murderer named Angulimala cuts off the fingers of unwary travelers in his forest. He wants to get 1,000 fingers and already has 999 sewn together in a monstrous necklace (hence his name: anga, finger + mala, garland/necklace). Along comes the Buddha. Angulimala chases him and though the Buddha simply walks at a slow and stately pace and Angulimala runs as fast as he can, the villain can't catch up. Amazed by this and by the Buddha's calm in the face of danger, Angulimala renounces his evil ways and becomes a devoted Buddhist. More » -
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I can't believe it's not Buddha: the Buddha Butter Dish
Image: Photo taken at the Beacon's Closet in Williamsburg, Brooklyn More » -
Where is the ethical dimension of Buddhist meditation in Zen?
In a recent edition of The Eastern Buddhist, Professor Brian Victoria continues his criticism of the writings of D. T. Suzuki. (The article is here, in PDF. The Eastern Buddhist is published in Kyoto and the original organization was founded by D. T. Suzuki in the 1920s. TEB's openness to debate on Suzuki's writing and record is to be commended.)More »
