More than 1 in 100 Americans are Behind Bars
Filed Under Human Rights, Commentary | Posted on February 29, 2008
Another report from the Pew Center, this one more disturbing than than that described in my last post.
For the first time in history more than one in every 100 adults in America are in jail or prison—a fact that significantly impacts state budgets without delivering a clear return on public safety. According to […]
U.S. Religious Landscape Survey Released
Filed Under Religion | Posted on February 26, 2008
The Pew Forum on Religious and Public Life has released its U.S. Religious Landscape Survey.
According to the survey, 0.7% of the U.S. population claims affiliation with a Buddhist tradition. Buddhists are tied with Jehovah’s Witnesses, and slightly outnumber Orthodox, Muslim, and Hindu adherents. Evangelical Protestants (26.3%), Catholics (23.9%), Mainline Protestants (18.1%), and […]
Recalling the Kindness of Others: Beating the Blame Game
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on February 23, 2008
In Lama {en:Je Tsongkhapa}’s meditative technique for generating compassion for all sentient beings, the meditator begins by recalling the selfless and unconditional love received from his or her mother. Recalling that love, the
meditator naturally develops the wish to repay that kindness. Because all sentient beings have been trapped in the cycle of […]
Dalai Lama: Situation in Tibet is “Certainly Worse” after China Awarded Olympics
Filed Under Tibet, Human Rights, China, Commentary | Posted on February 16, 2008
The Dalai Lama has called on Tibetans and their supporters to protest peacefully during this yea’s Beijing Olympics against China’s worsening human rights abuses in Tibet. His comments came in an exclusive interview given to British broadcaster, ITV News, on Thursday 17 January.
The remarks on protests were not included on screen and were reported […]
Yesterday’s You
Filed Under Buddhadharma | Posted on February 15, 2008
Yesterday I had the privelege of accompanying venerable Tibetan monks Geshe Thupten Dorjee and Rinzin Dorjee to the local Northwest Arkansas Community College for a sand mandala presentation. Hanging around with the monks is always a unique and marvelous experience, but throw in a public sand mandala demonstration, and especially wonderful experiences will […]
Pressure Increases on China
Filed Under Tibet, Human Rights, China, Commentary | Posted on February 15, 2008
Steven Spielberg’s withdrawal as artistic advisor for the Beijing 2008 Olympics — protesting China’s role in perpetuating the genocide in Darfur — seems to have started something. Yesteday, dozens of “Nobel laureates, Olympic athletes, current and former government officials, business leaders, human rights activists and public advocates” published an open letter in the […]
Tom Lantos: Loss of a Voice of Peace and Reason
Filed Under Commentary | Posted on February 12, 2008
Back in May, 2007, I expressed my admiration for California Representative Tom Lantos. Sadly, Representative Lantos died yesterday of esophageal cancer at Bethesda Naval Medical Center.
Lantos was a tireless champion of human rights, an outspoken ally of the Tibetan people in their struggle against Chinese oppression, and a friend and supporter of His […]
Anglican Bishop Sets the Record Straight on “Heaven”
Filed Under Commentary | Posted on February 8, 2008
Many Buddhist writers, most notably His Holiness the Dalai Lama, often stress that Buddhadharma can be practeced by members of any religion; conversion to Buddhism is not necessary — in fact, it is often discouraged. That makes sense to me up to a point; but it also seems that, at some point, a […]
Like this …
Filed Under Uncategorized | Posted on February 6, 2008
I’m shamelessly stealing this from James Ford’s Monkey Mind blog. According to James, it’s a poem by {en:Rumi}, translated by Coleman Barks. James thinks it explains how to answer Zen koans. Not being Zen, I don’t care about answering koans. I just think it’s a lovely little poem, and it […]
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