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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Roderick Whitfield Discusses Buddhist Cave Art
As reported by the American Museum of Natural History, As goods and people traveled along the Silk Road, many passed through the oasis city of Dunhuang, China, home to incredible caves that contain a treasure trove of Buddhist art. Roderick Whitfield, professor of Chinese and East Asian art and head of the Percival David Foundation of Chinese Art at the University of London, will discuss some of these fascinating cave murals on March 31 at the Museum. He recently answered a few questions on the subject. Why are the caves near Dunhuang so important today? What can we learn from them? The seven hundred cave-shrines at Mogao near Dunhuang constitute the most extensive array of Buddhist wall paintings and sculptures at a single site, not only in China but anywhere in the world. More » -
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The self exists, it's just not as real as you think.
If a basic principle in Buddhism is non-self (anatta), is it incompatible with psychotherapy, which seems to be all about finding and understanding the self? The question is a little misguided, and in an ABC News NOW segment Buddhist psychiatrist Mark Epstein explains why: The self exists, it's just not as real as you think it is. You can watch the interview here. More » -
Daily Dharma: Does Compassion Come Naturally?
Q: Doesn’t it come to us naturally that it’s in our self-interest to extend compassion to those beyond our local groups? A: No, it doesn't. Because to worry about what some disenchanted Muslim teenager in Pakistan is feeling right now does not come naturally in the sense of visceral response. It does, however, make intellectual sense; the world is moving to a point where, if only out of self-interest, we need to think about that person. One virtue of some of the religious traditions is that they have well-worked-out procedures for assisting this intellectual process. In other words, it's one thing to realize logically that my fate is intertwined with the fate of Muslims around the world: If they're unhappy, they'll eventually make me unhappy. But it's another to feel it, to look at someone and get a deep sense of fraternity with them. That's where religious practice plays an important role. More » -
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Exclusive interview with Nati Baratz, director of "Unmistaken Child"
The Fall issue of Tricycle—coming to a newsstand or mailbox near you soon—features a review of the film Unmistaken Child and a short interview with the filmmaker. Below is a lightly longer version of the same conversation, and here's a list of showimes for the film. The film has garnered attention for its unsparing account of the wonders as well as the difficulties of the tulku system. A young monk searches for the reincarnation of his deceased master and finds him in a small boy. The boy is then removed from his family and entered into a life of devotion to the dharma. More » -
Jesus, the Buddha, beautiful weeds and why happiness is so fleeting
Interesting—and brief: Watch Andrew Sullivan interview science writer Robert Wright. The two "blur the lines between Buddhism and Christianity." In 2003, Tricycle interviewed Bob Wright, who uses natural selection to explain, among other things, why happiness is so fleeting: Considering the many thousands of years of evolution that have shaped us, if spiritual practice is designed to counter what comes “naturally,” we face quite a challenge. Yes, and I think the scale of that challenge is something that Buddhism implicitly recognizes. Evolution designed us to pursue self-interest and get our genes into the next generation. But it did not design us to be happy. In fact, happiness is something that is designed by natural selection to evaporate. More »
