For a quick recap: I am taking part in The Fasting Project, created by Dilshad D. Ali of MuslimiaNextDoor and supported by a host of other Muslim Bloggers here at Patheos (I’m paired up with the wonderful Hind Makki who writes at Hindtrospectives). Check out their blogs – and around the Muslim channel – to learn more about Islam, Ramadan, fasting, and more. This week I undertook my second day of fasting for Ramadan, meaning no food or water from the... Read more
The Irrawaddy Newspaper reports today that fighting has resumed in northern Shan State between government troops and ethnic militias. This fighting, and outbreaks of similar violence throughout the country should underscore the fractious nature of Burma today and the fragility of its movement toward democracy. The Shan are devout Buddhists* and currently spread mostly through northern Thailand and in the Shan State of Burma. The Bamar, the numerically largest ethnic group in Burma, are also devout Buddhists. Their fighting has... Read more
Friday I wrote about “Exploring discomfort: My first day of fasting for Ramadan,” ending at the evening prayers, which I chose to ‘sit out’ and observe from the side. In my experiences in Catholicism, this was the best thing to do when it came time to receive Communion if you weren’t a confirmed (and ‘in communion’) Catholic.* After the prayers concluded, everyone made their way back toward me and I was joined by Aleem, one of the two elders that... Read more
via WNET: Watch Bones of the Buddha – Preview on PBS. See more from Secrets of the Dead. If you haven’t seen PBS’s The Buddha, Tuesday the 23rd is a great chance to see it, and catch the first airing on PBS of Bones of the Buddha. This summer, PBS is dedicating a full evening to the Buddha, anchored by an intriguing new Secrets of the Dead episode, Bones of the Buddha. The film presents a convincing collection of evidence that suggests an amateur archaeologist discovered the... Read more
As I said in my last post, I will be fasting one day a week this Ramadan as part of The Fasting Project here at Patheos. Wednesday was my first day. It began at 2:45 am, when I rose for the pre-dawn meal, which I was told should be finished by 3:22 am, followed by salah (prayers) at 4:06 and 5:14am. I had a pretty large meal and then settled in for some work and periods of reflection during salah. Given the hour... Read more
As I mentioned in my last post, this Ramadan I will be joining in The Fasting Project, initiated by Dilshad Ali, the editor for the Muslim Channel here at Patheos and the writer of Muslimah Next Door. I have been paired up with (for support, advice, etc.) Hind Makki of Hindrospectives and she has kindly assembled a handful of informative links and resources to get me started: Last year, I blogged a “Ramadansies” version of my Linksies, with tips on staying healthy and... Read more
As fate would have it, I have been very busy lately, seemingly bombarded with duties, activities, images, ideas, and events from out there in the world. So much to process and so little time. However, of some importance and some joy (to me at least) I will be joining some fellow Patheos folks in fasting (for at least one day, hopefully several) along with Muslim friends for Ramadan, which is happening now through August 7th. In just my preliminary research... Read more
Anyone who knows me or has read this blog for long knows I am a great admirer of Thomas Merton. I remember his name being mentioned to me at a Buddhist retreat some time around 2002 or 3, and then, in a quiet week during my MA in Buddhist Studies, I picked up his Asian Journal where, upon seeing the great Buddha statues at Polonnaruwa, Ceylon (Sri Lanka) he wrote: “Looking at these figures I was suddenly, almost forcibly, jerked clean out... Read more
Though we still don’t know who carried out the attacks or why, the basic details seem pretty straight-forward: 8 or 9 small explosions took place early this morning in and around the Mahabodhi Temple today at least two foreign monks were injured (one Tibetan and one from Burma/Myanmar) no one was killed one person has been detained by police for questioning Immediate response from the Bauddh Commune International (local Buddhist group) was a peace vigil You can watch IBN’s latest coverage... Read more
This Sunday, July 7th, will see Serbian Novak Djokovic go racket-to-racket with local star Andy Murray at the Wimbledon finals (games start at 2pm GMT / 9am EST). It seems that when Djokovic isn’t on the court or otherwise being pretty all-around-awesome (see below), he spends at least some of his time meditating. When he was asked about his meditation practice at a Buddhist center in Wimbledon village, he responded: “It’s very calm and quiet, obviously. I stay in a... Read more
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