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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 » -
Buddha Buzz: More Monks in Trouble
Mainstream media has done it again. I'm sure you've heard already, but neuroscience and meditation are the new "It" couple. This week the NY Times joins the fray in an article that is essentially a roundup of the different benefits that meditation can have on the brain. In addition to citing a few studies at various universities around the country, they trot out 63-year-old Buddhist practitioner Katherine Splain, who claims that her long meditation practice helped her finish an 80-page master's thesis—when she was 60. More » -
Tragedy strikes an American Buddhist Community
On April 22nd, Ian Thorson, a 38-year-old Buddhist practitioner, died in a cave near Geshe Michael Roach’s Diamond Mountain University and Retreat Center in Arizona. Thorson's body was found attended by his wife, Christie McNally, Roach's former student and partner, known to the Diamond Mountain Community, and globally, as “Lama Christie.” While there hasn't yet been any major media coverage of Thorson's death and the circumstances surrounding it, the Buddhist blogosphere is commenting on it extensively. More » -
Snow Lion Acquired By Shambhala Publications
As of yesterday, Snow Lion is now part of Shambhala Publications. Over the years, Snow Lion has been at the forefront of Tibetan Buddhist publishing, giving a home to books by modern authors in the Tibetan lineage along with translations and commentaries of ancient texts. Though their operations in Ithaca will be shut down, Snow Lion's editors are staying through the transition and its books have been incorporated into the Shambhala Publications website. Snow Lion president Jeff Cox and co-founder Sidney Piburn have left an announcement on the old Snow Lion site: Dear Friends, More » -
Buddha Buzz: Penises, Praycations, and the Death of Beastie Boys' Adam Yauch
I'm not trying to wax philosophical here, but writing Buddha Buzz is somewhat of a metaphor for life. Sometimes it's great, sometimes it's difficult, and sometimes you're thrown situations that you're not quite sure what to do with. Case in point: there are some strange Buddhist articles out there. Last week's highlight, for instance, was the story "Wizard arrested for raping Buddhist," which turned out to be a (poorly translated) bizarre and upsetting account of a Chinese self-proclaimed exorcist who would exorcise demons in exchange for sex. And now there's this article from i09: "In Bhutan, friendly phalluses painted on houses scare off evil spirits." What? More » -
Buddha Buzz: Mobs, Politics, and...Lemurs
Buddhist monks were all over the international news this week, and most of it was not good. Last weekend thousands of Sri Lankans, led by Buddhist monks, stormed a mosque in Dambulla, Sri Lanka, destroying furniture and exposing themselves. The day before, the mosque had been firebombed by an unknown person. Sri Lankan officials have now promised to demolish and relocate the mosque, which the monks alleged had been built illegally on sacred Buddhist ground. Mosque board members responded that the mosque had been there for 50 years—30 years before the area was declared a Buddhist sacred zone. More »
