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    After the Quake, Fingers Point at Beijing Paid Member

    Posted by Philip Ryan on 28 May 2008
    An estimated 10,000 children died in the earthquake in Sichuan province in China, and aftershocks are still echoing through the region. In one school with 900 children near the epicenter, only 13 students emerged alive. Parents have become angry at the shoddy construction used in China's school and in the government's reaction in general. And now rivers that have been dammed by debris from the quake and turned into growing lakes threaten many more people. The Burmese government and their media is softening their stance toward allowing aid donors into affected areas. More »
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    The Biological Boon Behind Incense Paid Member

    Posted by admin on 20 May 2008
    A new study reveals one reason why incense and spiritualism go together like zendos and zafus. Beyond the symbolic tradition of burning incense lies a biological benefit: it can help ease anxiety and depression. When scientists administered incensole acetate, a compound found in incense, to mice, the compound affected them in "brain areas known to be involved in emotions as well as in nerve circuits that are affected by current anxiety and depression drugs." Adds Gerald Weissmann, M.D., Editor-in-Chief of The FASEB Journal, "This study also provides a biological explanation for millennia-old spiritual practices that have persisted across time, distance, culture, language, and religion--burning incense really does make you feel warm and tingly all over!" Read all about it over in Science Daily. More »
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    "The still point of the turning world" Paid Member

    Posted by Philip Ryan on 22 Apr 2008
    Meditation and art. More »
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    A 3-Year Retreat Paid Member

    Posted by Philip Ryan on 11 Apr 2008
    Back in the old days when there were fewer distractions, you wouldn't miss as much spending a few years in a mountaintop cave. But these days... but 28 people did just that in Australia recently (except for the cave and mountaintop parts.) From the Buddhist Channel. Plus, new treatments for Parkinson's disease at Taiwan's Tzu Chi Hospital. More »
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    8 killed in Kardze Paid Member

    Posted by Philip Ryan on 05 Apr 2008
    Police fired on monks and civilians in Kardze in eastern Tibet, killing eight. Radio Free Asia has a lot of info on this. The monks objected to a re-education program they were forced to undergo, and the government objected to their objections. Some sources say as many as fifteen were killed, and there are also reports of at least two monks in Sichuan province committing suicide: On Saturday, the Tibetan Center for Human Rights and Democracy, based in India, said two monks committed suicide last month in Sichuan's Aba County following government oppression. More »
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    Meditation and reducing depression; MBCT Paid Member

    Posted by Philip Ryan on 02 Apr 2008
    Scientists in Britain study meditation and its effects on the brain. (The government funds this?) The popular Mindfulness Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT) is discussed. MBCT is recommended for people who are not currently depressed, but who have had three or more bouts of depression in their lives. Trials suggest that the course reduces the likelihood of another attack of depression by over 50%. The National Health Service pays for MBCT. More »