June 11, 2014

The New York Times continues its streak of good reporting and editorializing about the situation in Burma — including Kenan Malik’s blistering op-ed about how the anti-Muslim violence perpetrated by Buddhists in Burma should burst idealized notions about Buddhism, and Nick Kristof’s recent series of columns and blog posts based on his recent visit to Burma — with a new op-ed by Min Zin entitled “The People Vs. The Monks”. Here’s a snippet: Intellectuals have sometimes criticized monks, but typically it was for falling... Read more

June 11, 2014

Waylon Lewis offers yet one more fun conversation through Elephant Journal, this one with Sean Feit, a Buddhism and Hatha Yoga teacher, and Jonathan McKeever, a digital marketing consultant who grew up in the Shambhala Buddhist community Elephant Journal describes the full Google Hangout this way: If Mindfulness is Separated from its Root is it Still Good for Us? Waylon chats with Sean Feit and Jonathan McKeever about the pros and cons of secular mindfulness. You can watch it all below. Ultimately, I think... Read more

June 11, 2014

As you may have heard, it has come to light, following reporting by Simon Marks for the Cambodia Daily and Newsweek, that Somaly Mam — founder of AFESIP (Agir pour les Femmes en Situation Precaire, or “Acting for Women in Distressing Situations”), a Cambodian NGO dedicated to “rescuing, housing and rehabilitating women and children in Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam who have been sexually exploited,” and the namesake of the Somaly Mam Foundation, a U.S. nonprofit “committed to ending modern slavery and empowering its survivors as part of the solution”... Read more

June 10, 2014

I’m honored to share the news with you that I will be one of the speakers at this year’s Myanmar Muslims Genocide Awareness Convention. I will be speaking alongside a variety of excellent and helpful folks, including Dr. Gregory H. Stanton (President of Genocide Watch), Matthew Smith (Executive Director of Fortify Rights), Dr. Wakar Uddin (General Director of the All Rohingya Union), Naama Haviv (Assistant Director of Jewish World Watch), Tom Andrews (President of United to End Genocide), and Rev.... Read more

June 5, 2014

Dahr Jamail, a Truthout staff reporter, has a remarkable new interview with engaged Buddhist icon Joanna Macy now appearing at Truthout. It is well worth your time. Do give it a read. You can find it right here. Here’s a snippet: Macy, during the interview I did with her for this article, warned of the consequences of not allowing ourselves to access the feelings elicited by our witnessing. “Refusing to feel pain, and becoming incapable of feeling the pain, which is actually... Read more

May 31, 2014

This from the Federation of Australian Buddhist Councils (FABC): Promoting Gender Equality and Empowering Women is No. 3 on the list of eight declared United Nations (UN) Millennium Development Goals, and is strongly supported by the FABC. One of Australia’s senior monks, Ajahn Brahm, was invited to deliver a speech on Gender Equality at the UN Day of Vesak Convention in Vietnam in May 2014. Unfortunately, Ajahn Brahm was prevented from delivering his speech by a ban imposed by conference organising... Read more

May 31, 2014

This via Climate Reality: This June 21st, the longest day of the year, a coalition of groups will come together in a National Day of Action to show support for switching to clean energy, fighting climate change, and the power of bringing solar power to communities all across the country. 2014 has been a breakout year for solar. Solar equipment costs continue to come down and installations continue to grow. More solar energy generation has been installed in the U.S.... Read more

May 29, 2014

Oh, you’re in for a treat… There’s an amazing new book out entitled Distant Neighbors: The Selected Letters of Wendell Berry & Gary Snyder, and, as if that isn’t exciting enough, Snyder (Buddhist Beat poet and environmentalist) and Berry (Christian poet and organic farmer) are “on the road” at various events to promote it. Most recently, they were in conversation as part of the 2014 Festival of Faiths: Sacred Earth Sacred Self in Louisville, KY. Their discussion, moderated by Jack Shoemaker, was held... Read more

May 29, 2014

Last week, Kenan Malik wrote a blistering op-ed for the New York Times about how the anti-Muslim violence perpetrated by Buddhists in Myanmar should burst idealized notions about Buddhism. “Myanmar’s Buddhist Bigots” is not easy reading, but it is necessary reading. Do take a look. I think Malik’s thesis is quite right, but it should also be noted that Buddhist scholars and practitioners (and scholar-practitioners) are and have been trying to help remove rose-colored glasses. Thomas Tweed, for example, has written astutely... Read more

May 29, 2014

This via Al Jazeera English: Protesters led by Buddhist monks from the right-wing Ravana Balaya group have occupied the Ministry of Buddha Sasana and Religious Affairs in the Sri Lankan capital, Colombo. The Sinhalese Buddhist nationalist group protested on Wednesday against the creation of a new religious police unit, which was created in April this year in the wake of rising number of religious conflicts in recent years. The general secretary of the group, Iththakande Saddhatissa Thero, said that they were protesting... Read more

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