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How to practice right speech
It's not enough to simply resolve to speak only what is "truthful, helpful, kind and timely." After all, we scarcely know which of the hundreds of voices in our head is going to "grab the mic" next. Vajrayana teacher Ken McLeod suggests we begin with a pretty straightforward method in his discussion of verse 34 of the 37 Practices of the Bodhisattva. Here's how it works: When you speak, listen to the sound of your own voice as if you are listening to another person talk. When you do this you hear immediately when what you are saying or how you are saying it is out of sync with the situation. If you are angry but aren't unaware of it, you hear the edge in your voice...you also hear when there's fear...or when you are trying to sell someone an idea, or when you are trying to seduce someone against their will.... There will be a little insistence or insincere charm in your voice. You may be surprised to hear your mother or father speaking..." More » -
Hunger Strikers for Tibet: Photo Essay
Since the 1950 Chinese invasion that ended with the forced integration of Tibet into the People’s Republic of China, Tibet has been simmering. It has boiled over more than once, most notably for the first time in 1959, when uprisings swept through the Tibetan plateau and the current Dalai Lama fled to exile in India, as well as in 2008, when the unrest spread to the Tibetan diaspora. More » -
Wrathful Deities film excerpt by John Bush
A unique aspect of Vajrayana Buddhism is how it actively works with darkness and negativity to transform them into luminous wisdom. My first experience with Tibetan Buddhism’s wrathful deities was in Bodhgaya, India in 1971. After completing two months of intensive meditation with S. N. Goenka, I climbed to a legendary charnel ground outside of town used for sky burial. The monks there welcomed me into a very small temple with a large statue of Maha Kala, The Fierce Dark One. More » -
Himalayan Art 101: Meditational Deities
Buddhist practice and Buddhist art have been inseparable in the Himalayas ever since Buddhism arrived to the region in the eighth century. But for the casual observer it can be difficult to make sense of the complex iconography. Not to worry—Himalayan art scholar Jeff Watt is here to help. In this "Himalayan Buddhist Art 101" series, Jeff is making sense of this rich artistic tradition by presenting weekly images from the Himalayan Art Resources archives and explaining their roles in the Buddhist tradition. This week Jeff explores two images found in the newest Tricycle Gallery, "Wrathful Deities." Visit the gallery and send images to your friends. Meditational Deities More » -
Tricycle Talk: Interview with Mark Elliott, Director of Bodhisattva
The Tricycle | Buddhafest Online Film Festival is still going strong. Our new film this week, which started Monday, is Mark Elliott's Bodhisattva—The Journey of the Seventeenth Gyalwa Karmapa. The film documents Ogyen Trinley Dorje, one of the two claimants to the title of the 17th Karmapa, as he visits the United States for the first time. In this Tricycle Talk, Elliott was kind enough to exchange his usual position behind the camera for one in front of it. Click here to watch Bodhisattva and buy an online film festival pass. More » -
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 »
