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American Buddhism in the New York Times
Have you read the New York Times' opinion article from last weekend called "Buddhists' Delight"? It was written by James Atlas, a large figure in the publishing and editing world. Atlas was an editor at the New York Times magazine for many years and is also the author of several acclaimed books. But that's not all. Apparently, Atlas is also—to use the term he coins in the article—the newest "Newddhist" of the Western Buddhist world. ("Newddhist" is a term that I might like if it weren't phonetically indistinguishable from "nudist.") His overall point, which may be the understatement of the year, is this: Buddhism is growing in popularity in the Western world. More » -
Buddha Buzz: Mindfulness and Being a Buddhist Woman
As mindfulness has spread into the corporate world, there have been some who have expressed their reservations about it. Is mindfulness being appropriated to serve ends of corporate greed? Is it promoting good business ethics or, as some suspect, merely teaching people to concentrate better on making money? If we take this article—"Corporate Buddhism Training Helps Employees Understand that Job Dissatisfaction and Malaise Are Actually Nirvana"—the answers to these questions are a very frightening yes. From the article: More » -
Buddha Buzz: To Hell in a Handbasket
I suppose it was only a matter of time until the news of Ian Thorson's death and the circumstances surrounding it were picked up by mainstream media. It's the sort of story that editors love, engrossing in both its tragedy and its bizarreness. After being broken by Elephant Journal, the story appeared on the Huffington Post Weird News blog in late May. More » -
Chinese Mining Company Might Destroy Ancient Buddhist Ruins in Mes Aynak
More than 2,500 years ago, Buddhists established a sprawling monastery complex in the barren desert just 25 miles southeast of present-day Kabul, Afghanistan, attracted to the remote location because of its rich copper deposits. Mes Aynak, the once vibrant home to hundreds of Buddha statues and Bronze Age treasures, fell into ruin for centuries.The former spiritual center rose again to prevalence thousands of years later when the disregarded ruins became an Al-Qaeda training ground, playing host to high-ranking members of the terrorist organization beginning in 1999. Eight years later, in 2007, the red-brown metal that first caught the Buddhists’ eyes brought an international giant onto the scene. More » -
Buddha Buzz: The Passing of a Beloved Zen Master
My thanks to everyone and anyone who has been reading Buddha Buzz these past few weeks. Because, as we all know, it's been a bit depressing. Murder, rape, theft, deception—a smorgasbord of horrible activities seems to have hit the Buddhist international community as of late, and I feel somewhat responsible for relaying the information onward to you. I'm making amends this week. So if you can get through the first story about the perversion of Buddhist teachings and the second story about the passing of a beloved South Korean teacher, I promise you'll be rewarded with some lovely (and pertinent) photos of puppies. More » -
Buddha Buzz: Buddhist Humanity
In last week's Buddha Buzz about the South Korean monks who were caught on film drinking and gambling after another monk's memorial service, I wrote that the sordid affair was another case of "Buddhists behaving badly." In response, Tricycle commenter buddahbear01 wrote, "Buddhists behaving 'badly?' Perhaps they are human?" I think buddahbear01 has got a point here. We cannot forget that putting on Buddhist robes doesn't automatically elevate you to an ethical superhuman status—monks and nuns and religious leaders of all types, more often than not, are just like the rest of us in all of our flawed and imperfect glory. More »
