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    Trust With an Open Heart Paid Member

    Posted by Monty McKeever on 19 Jul 2010
    Today's Daily Dharma, When we trust with our open heart, whatever occurs, “at that very moment that it occurs,” can be perceived as fresh and unstained by the clouds of hope and fear. Chogyam Trungpa Rinpoche used the phrase “first thought, best thought” to refer to that first moment of fresh perception, before the colorful and coloring clouds of judgment and personal interpretation take over. “First thought” is “best thought” because it has not yet got covered over by all our opinions and interpretations, our hopes and fears, our likes and dislikes. More »
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    Hey Gibson, go meditate! Paid Member

    Posted by Sam Mowe on 16 Jul 2010
    David Brooks’ column in today’s New York Times, “The Gospel of Mel Gibson,” uses Gibson as an example to highlight the pervasiveness of narcissism in our culture today. Towards the end of his piece he cites recent studies that show that self-love is on the rise. And the sad fact is that Gibson is not alone. There can’t be many people at once who live in a celebrity environment so perfectly designed to inflate self-love. Even so, a surprising number of people share the trait. A study conducted at the National Institutes of Health suggested that 6.2 percent of Americans had suffered from Narcissistic Personality Disorder, along with 9.4 percent of people in their 20s. My thoughts? More »
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    Listen to Japanese Buddhist temple bells Paid Member

    Posted by Rachel on 16 Jul 2010
    Each week BBC features a half-hour audio program entitled "Heart and Soul" that explores spirituality in different parts of the world. This week's installment is Japan's Buddhist temple bells. From BBC: This week's Heart and Soul captures the physical and symbolic power of these bells, and they are awesome, some weighing more than 30 tons. They are struck on the side by a suspended tree trunk, swung by teams of up to 20 monks. More »
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    Dinosaurs in Thailand Paid Member

    Posted by Rachel on 15 Jul 2010
    On Monday the Science section of the New York Times published "Old Bones Yield a New Age of Dinosaurs in Thailand," an article that reveals Thailand’s rich prehistoric past. According to the Times, Thailand was “teeming” with dinosaurs starting around 200 million years ago. Now, during periods of heavy rain, giant dinosaur bones wash ashore in the remote region of Baan Na Kum. For many years, residents were unsure of what to do with the ancient bones. So where did the prehistoric bones end up? Some were kept in local Buddhist temples: For years, farmers did not know what they were or what to do with them. The superstitious buried them. More »
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    Soka Gakkai International returns Ponzi scheme donations Paid Member

    Posted by Monty McKeever on 14 Jul 2010
    VIA The Globe and Mail, A Buddhist organization is giving back more than $300,000 in donations it received from a Toronto businessman who was accused of running an elaborate Ponzi scheme. “In the circumstances, it was clear to us that it’s our moral duty to return these donations,” said Tony Meers, director-general of the Canadian chapter of Soka Gakkai International, or SGI, a Buddhist charitable organization founded in Japan. “We don’t want to keep this money. Our members wouldn’t want us to, it’s pretty obvious.” Robert Mander died at his home in Flamborough, Ont., in March leaving investors scrambling to find out what happened to the $43-million they had entrusted to him. Investors won a court order putting Mr. More »