Following on something I mentioned in my last post, that the American people (all societies, really) are growing in morality, there is a new study supporting this presupposition that is worth examining. There I pointed back to a 2012 post featuring the work of Steven Pinker, who has influenced me greatly in this matter. In the recent study, published in the journal Nature and reported by the AP: As a group, mammals average a lethal violence rate against their own of about... Read more
In this current political season, in which both major candidates have given rise to unprecedented levels of distrust – much deserved though some certainly not – it is all the more important to call to mind the fundamental goodness and growing morality of the American populous. Both of those – fundamental goodness and growing morality – are subject to debate, I know. But I am an optimist, and a fan of evidence. I know that my own situation is far... Read more
With just over a month to go, this will be the second to last of our reader surveys on Buddhist political preferences. This poll will take in possible responses from the first Presidential debate, held Monday, September 27. It also follows a number of major newspaper endorsements for Hillary Clinton and none (that I know of) so far for Donald Trump. One recent Clinton endorsement comes from the Arizona Republic, which has previously “never endorsed a Democrat over a Republican for president.” Another... Read more
That, at least, is the claim of late night host Steven Colbert, who cited it after a long fact-check of Trump’s recent “ending” of the birther controversy. Colbert also takes shots at Trump’s failure to prove past charitable giving, which he has made numerous claims about, as well as his close ties to Russian strongman Vladimir Putin. Watch and see: This doesn’t even touch on the recent exposure of his use of charitable money to pay his own personal/business bills.... Read more
The Journal of the International Association of Buddhist Universities (IABS), based in Bangkok, has issued a call for papers today examining the role of intellectualism in Buddhist studies. The key questions posed for the upcoming edition of the journal are: In your Buddhist University or Buddhist Studies Program, what is the role of intellectualism within your program? How is intellectualism promoted or prohibited? Some professors promote critical thinking skills within their studies, some professors ensure their students are better prepared for... Read more
Addressing the European Parliament last week, the Dalai Lama said: “Buddhist terrorist, Muslim terrorist. That wording is wrong.” “Any person,” the Dalai Lama continued, “who wants to indulge in violence is no longer a genuine Buddhist or a genuine Muslim.” The Dalai Lama, who is teaching on ethics beyond religion at the moment in Strasbourg, has been making this point for some time already. He continued by saying that all religions teach, “love, compassion, forgiveness, tolerance, contentment, and self-discipline.” This, he... Read more
In the following video, one of my wonderful teachers, Ven. Yifa, discusses the Buddha’s teaching on the effect of meditation on the mind. The mind is like a pool of water. Quite often it is filled with mud that is constantly stirred up. If we look at the reflection of the moon in such water, the image is distorted. So too when we look out at the world with a muddied mind. Similarly, the pond might have surface ripples and... Read more
This month our numbers are up a bit, with 178 (self-selected, online, non-randomized) respondents answering questions about their political preferences in the upcoming US Presidential race. Once again, they roughly matched demographically with previous months’ polls, so we’ll again jump right to the question of which candidate each respondent most supported: This marks a small down-turn for Clinton, who last month had nearly 55% support. This dip matches a number of polls that showed Clinton around 8% ahead of Trump in early August compared with just... Read more
A commonplace in the discussion of Buddhism as it is taken up by Americans and other Westerners is the flattening out and commodification of the practices. And indeed this is happening and will continue to happen. Zen and mindfulness have become buzzwords that are used to sell soft drinks, potato chips, jewelry, and stationary, among other things. And don’t get me started on tantra. Words like ‘Theravada’ and ‘vipassana’ are just a bit too difficult on the American tongue to... Read more
Jetsün Khandro Rinpoche is one of the few female Tibetan lamas (teachers) in the world today and a recognized reincarnation (tulku) of a past great female teacher. She has taught Buddhism across Europe, the US, and Asia. She will be conducting a long Vajrayana retreat in Virginia starting later this week and you can find her Mahamudra/Dzogchen teachings on DVD, and – better for beginners! – her complete guide to the Tibetan path to awakening in book form. Below she... Read more
American Buddhist Perspectives
Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In