Buddhism

  • On Pilgrimage Paid Member

    The following poem was submitted by Steve Kohn, a participant in last year's "In the Footsteps of the Buddha" Tricycle pilgrimage to India. He was inspired to submit the poem upon reading Pico Iyer's piece in the pilgrimage special section in the Fall 2012 issue of Tricycle.   Pilgrimage Come be a pilgrim with me.There is a place of great poverty,        With here and there A cow patty of wealth. Come, take a journey and seeGreat hungers feeding ill healthWith invisible poisons in water and air. More »
  • Buddha Buzz: Buddha Porta Potties, Marine Mindfulness, and Tibetan Rap Paid Member

    I don't know what Dutch company Boels Rental was thinking when they green-lighted an advertising campaign that involved images of Shakyamuni Buddha printed on Porta Potties around the Netherlands, but it's safe to say they didn't expect a massive Facebook campaign, led by two Thai Buddhists, demanding that the images be taken down. The campaign gathered such support that only two days after it began, the company had apologized and promised to "withdraw the designs from the market." More »
  • Himalayan Buddhist Art 101: Stories of the Buddha Part 4, Avadāna Stories Quick Guide Paid Member

    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. More »
  • The Dangers of Spirituality: An Interview with David Webster Paid Member

    In recent decades, the decline of religious belief and affiliation in the West has been accompanied by a steady increase of interest in “spirituality” and the deployment of the term. The word has come a long way from its Christian roots to encompass alternative and mystic traditions from a number of religious traditions, and, more recently, to denote a kind of lifestyle most often characterized as “spiritual, but not religious.” As the authors of Selling Spirituality, Jeremy Carrette and Richard King observe, “There are perhaps few words in the modern English language as vague and wooly as the notion of ‘spirituality.’” More »
  • Treasury of Lives: Bhutan's Nyingma Treasure Revealers Paid Member

    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. Bhutan's Nyingma Treasure Revealers More »
  • Social Media Guidelines for Vajrayana Students Paid Member

    The following guidelines were posted on the Facebook page of Buddhist author and filmmaker Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche (via American Buddhist Perspective). Social Media Guidelines for So-called Vajrayana Students If you think or believe that you are a student of Vajrayana—whether or not that’s true is another matter—but as long as you think you are a Vajrayana practitioner, it becomes your responsibility to protect this profound tradition. More »