Buddhism: religion or philosophy?

Last updated on: March 17, 2014 at 8:19 pm By Justin Whitaker

This is the question again, raised by the renowned philosopher Michael McGhee for the UK’s Guardian newspaper. The short article is set to be the start of a series on the topic, so we can look forward to further installments in the days to come. Today’s article rehearses some of the issues we’ve seen raised in the news and among bloggers lately, namely the decontextualization of Buddhist practices, rebranded as “mindfulness” and sold to people free of “religion.” However, McGhee does... Read more

Zen in America, a Documentary – an interview with Adam Kō Shin Tebbe

Last updated on: October 6, 2013 at 3:20 pm By Justin Whitaker

Adam Kō Shin Tebbe is creating the documentary film Zen in America. My friend and fellow Patheos Blogger Danny Fisher discussed the documentary in a recent post at the start of Adam’s fundraising campaign on Kickstarter. Now over 90% funded, I recently took the opportunity to ask some questions of my own. Have a look at Danny and Adam’s conversation (here) to read more about Adam’s work, past and future. And with that, we’ll dive in… JW: So you are making... Read more

Happy World Teacher’s Day

Last updated on: October 6, 2013 at 1:56 am By Justin Whitaker

It is hard to know where to begin when I think of all of the teachers who have made a positive impact on my life. I can still remember the names of all of my grade-school teachers: Ms. Sharp, Ms. Briggs, Mr. Rodriquez, Ms. Biggs, and Mr. Hanson, along with my music/windsurfing (windsurfing in Montana on a literal pond… not exotic. plus I got an ear infection that took me out for several days) teacher Darcy Schultz (I remember her... Read more

Growing up in India and My Kolhapuri Chappal

Last updated on: October 2, 2013 at 7:34 pm By Justin Whitaker

Today would have been the 144th birthday of Mohandas Karamchand (Mahatma) Gandhi. His principled stand for nonviolent solutions to injustice continue to inspire and instruct. I hope all of you can spend some time reading and pondering Gandhi’s words and actions. In addition to celebrating the life of the Great Soul, I am again sharing some of the work of Naga R Dhoopati, whom you may remember from her article Femicide published here in March. In addition to two of her... Read more

Threats to Mes Aynak as all foreign archeologists leave site

Last updated on: October 2, 2013 at 1:20 pm By Justin Whitaker

First, a bit of good news. Despite previous threats to shut down archeological work and begin the mass destruction of this ancient site, a planned Chinese copper mine has not begun its work. In February of this year archeologists were given just six months to complete their work, work that could go on for decades if allowed to properly excavate what appears to be an ancient city upon a city upon a city, layers of history made rich in part... Read more

Vipassana Meditation teacher and populariser S.N. Goenka passes away

Last updated on: October 1, 2013 at 5:16 pm By Justin Whitaker

The well-known global populariser of Vipassana meditation, S.N. (Satya Narayan) Goenka passed away last night in his home in Mumbai at the age of 89. I had the great fortune of seeing him speak in Montana around ten years ago and ever since then, his voice has been the one I hear when reading meditation instructions to myself. Originally of Indian descent, Goenka was born and raised in Burma, where he became a successful businessman. The story he told about his journey to... Read more

Buddhists of the World Unite

Last updated on: September 27, 2013 at 1:19 pm By Justin Whitaker

The Voice of America reported Wednesday that Buddhists recently met in New Delhi, India with the goal of forming an umbrella organization or voice for Buddhists around the world. In an interview with VOA Wednesday, Lama Lobzang said: “The main responsibility of our organization is the preservation of Buddhist heritage sites including over 100 Buddhist meditative caves in Indian states such as Gujarat, Maharashtra, and Madhya Pradesh. These ancient Buddhist sites that were previously neglected need to be protected and preserved.” Earlier... Read more

Journal of Buddhist Ethics turns 20

Last updated on: September 25, 2013 at 12:23 am By Justin Whitaker

This week the Journal of Buddhist Ethics announced its 20th anniversary edition, available for the very affordable price of: free. As Keown and Prebish write in their introduction to the issue, “It was always our intention that the journal should be a free and open resource serving the interests of the discipline rather than a privately managed concern…. the JBE has been a contribution to a new model of academic publication, one in which academic authors share their work with their peers without... Read more

Are Mormons Christians? Defining Religious Identity

Last updated on: September 24, 2013 at 11:21 pm By Justin Whitaker

“Violence is fomented by the imposition of singular and belligerent identities on gullible people, championed by proficient artisans of terror.” – Amartya Sen, Identity and Violence Chris Henderson over at Approaching Justice is hosting a round-table of sorts to discuss the question: Are Mormons Christians? It is an interesting question, even for those on the outside. As we saw last week, some people in prominent positions in Buddhism were quick to claim that Aaron Alexis couldn’t really be a Buddhist:... Read more

Guns, Race, and the Military: further Buddhist responses to the Navy Yard Shooting

Last updated on: January 27, 2017 at 4:13 pm By Justin Whitaker

This will most likely be the last I write on this topic. Discussions on my previous post are ongoing (here, here, and here), and appear to be getting increasingly thoughtful. And folks in Washington DC are beginning to lament the fact that the news cycle has passed this by, The mass shooting America barely noticed and Not all mass shootings are equal in the eyes of the media or the public. But before moving on completely, I did want to note... Read more