Wisdom Publications is dedicated to making available authentic Buddhist works for all. We publish classic and contemporary works from all major traditions.
Random Notes |
-
2 comments
Meet the doctor who wants to measure your consciousness
Dr. Giulio Tononi has devoted his life's work to developing a theory of consciousness. A distinguished chair in consciousness science at the University of Wisconsin, Dr. Tononi's interest in consciousness began when he was a teenager. According to a recent profile published in the New York Times, Dr. Tononi was "initially interested in ethics, but he decided that questions of personal responsibility depended on our consciousness of our own actions. So he would have to figure out consciousness first. 'I’ve been stuck with this thing for most of my life,' he said." Now, after years of research (sometimes even using himself as the test subject), Dr. More » -
4 comments
Beautiful photographs by photographer who shoot iconic cover for National Geographic
The work of the photographer who once captured the face of an Afghan girl for the iconic cover of National Geographic is now on display at the Birmingham Museum in Birmingham, England. Steve McCurry's photographs will be on display through mid-October in an exhibit titled Steve McCurry---Retrospective. More » -
3 comments
Japanese pop art Buddha sculpture causes stir at Versailles
A recent art installation at the Versailles Palace is causing a stir among the French. Pieces of sculpture Takashi Murakami's modern artwork---including the 18-foot "Oval Buddha"---are set to appear in a two-month exhibition entitled Murakami Versailles that will fill the rooms of the World Heritage site. The exhibit, which opened this week, has protesters who don't believe that Japanese Pop Art has a place on the palace grounds. More » -
0 comments
Take a virtual tour of Coyote Man's home
If you've ever picked up a copy of Tricycle you've probably seen Coyote Man, artist Neal Crosbie's recurring coyote cartoon. Over the years we've followed Coyote Man past pine trees, up Mt. Fuji, over land on horseback and on foot, and even onto the face of a dollar bill. Now we can track him from the moment of creation---in Crosbie's California studio. The ink painter's website now offers a virtual tour of Coyote Man's home, check out the video here here. As for Coyote Man's creator, here's the news from his neck of the woods: Lately besides painting pictures of clouds and pine trees, I've been singing songs which are unsteady and short. More » -
9 comments
The Ethics of Farming Animals
The way I see it, there are two ways to think about the ethics of meat eating. One is to look at the suffering of each individual animal that is killed for consumption. The other way is to take a global approach, where one is concerned with negative environmental/human consequences caused by the meat industry. Of course, you don't have to choose one over the other, it just seems worthwhile to make a distinction. With this distinction in mind I'd like to call attention to a recent piece by George Monbiot in The Guardian that argues that much of the human malnutrition connected to the meat industry could be alleviated most effectively by changing the system in which animals are farmed. The author, a longtime proponent of veganism, had some of his assumptions challenged by the book Meat: A Benign Extravagance by Simon Fairlie. From "I was wrong about veganism. More »
