Understanding Buddhist Death

Last updated on: July 4, 2013 at 4:38 pm By Justin Whitaker

My friends and colleagues at the University of Bristol Department of Religion and Theology have launched a project aimed at creating resources for chaplains, teachers and students for understanding the meanings and practices around death in Buddhism. Here is a video introducing the project: The project creators request your feedback on the project. Click here: “Understanding Buddhist Death” and check out the pages or click on some of the chants or check out our galleries and flickr pages. Once you have finished having a look if you could fill in... Read more

A short message from Kermit the Frog and the Dalai Lama

Last updated on: July 3, 2013 at 7:20 pm By Justin Whitaker

That is all. If you’d like further reading, try: Kraft, Kenneth. Inner Peace, World Peace: Essays on Buddhism and Non-violence. Albany: State University of New York, 1992. Read more

LA Police Officer Kills a Dog – VIDEO (warning GRAPHIC)

Last updated on: July 4, 2013 at 12:54 pm By Justin Whitaker

A friend of mine just posted this on facebook. I was hesitant to watch it – the title says enough. It’s not something I wanted to see. But I watched. And now I cannot help but share it. Warning. It. Is. Graphic. If you love animals and are not prepared to see one give its life protecting its owner, just skip the video and see the information below. If you are triggered by cases of racial profiling and police abuse... Read more

What does Buddhism in America Mean to You?

Last updated on: July 4, 2013 at 5:19 pm By Justin Whitaker

The story of Buddhism has always been one of adaptation and transformation. This month I am inviting a discussion about how Buddhism has adapted to and transformed America (that is, the Americas) with optional special attention to climate and climate change. Given the ongoing heatwave in the southwestern United States and the tragic consequences of a fire in Arizona yesterday, it only seems appropriate that as we reflect on our nations and Buddhism here, that we also consider how Buddhist principles and practices can... Read more

Meditation is having its moment in the West, or was that mediation?

Last updated on: June 28, 2013 at 3:08 pm By Justin Whitaker

The Atlantic has an article out this week called “How Meditation Works.” It’s very good in terms of an overview and well worth a read. One tiny caveat, though, is all-too-common typo (replacing ‘meditation’ with ‘mediation’): There are different forms of mediation practice — among them Transcendental Meditation or “TM” (a Hollywood-approved technique heralded by David Lynch), Qigoing (a Chinese form of “energy healing”), and even yoga — all of which carry their own array of benefits; however mindfulness meditation is one... Read more

Is Facebook becoming a little more Buddhist?

Last updated on: June 26, 2013 at 11:27 pm By Justin Whitaker

That is the story out on BusinessInsider today, with the headline: Facebook Is Injecting Buddhism Into Its Core Business So It Can Be More Compassionate. The idea is to combat the rise of bullying and other issues on the world’s largest social networking site. According to BI: back in 2010, Facebook Engineering Director Arturo Bejar decided to do something about it, Noah Shachtman of Wired reports. After attending a talk about kindness at the Wisdom 2.0 conference, Bejar felt inspired to implement compassion... Read more

Sensual Pleasure Versus Spiritual Pleasure in Buddhism

Last updated on: June 24, 2013 at 1:15 am By Justin Whitaker

This is Ajahn Brahmali, talking at the Buddhist Society of Western Australia about much of the same territory that I covered in two recent posts: Beyond Happiness: Buddhism and Human Flourishing Happiness, Kant, and Buddhism It has been a theme in my work in the past and is developing into a somewhat major theme in my academic work currently – that we need to get clear about the kind of pleasure we are after – I prefer the word ‘happiness’,... Read more

Buddhism’s Dalai Lama nods to Secular Ethics

Last updated on: June 22, 2013 at 12:55 pm By Justin Whitaker

While murder, bullying, exploitation and scandal regularly make news, when thousands of children receive their mother’s care and affection every day it isn’t reported because we take it for granted. We may be subject to negative emotions, but it’s possible to keep them under control, to cultivate a sense of emotional hygiene, on the basis of human values that are rooted in that affection – what I call secular ethics. – H.H. the Dalai Lama Patheos is currently inviting writers to submit... Read more

Beyond Happiness: Buddhism and Human Flourishing

Last updated on: June 18, 2013 at 11:49 pm By Justin Whitaker

It seems only about 10 years ago that Happiness was all the rage. Martin Seligman, a founder of the Positive Psychology movement had been elected President of the American Psychological Association, everyone was learning how to pronounce Mihály Csíkszentmihályi (author of the book Flow: the Psychology of Optimal Experience), and I even got to take a senior-level philosophy class called something like “Philosophy of Happiness.” We read Seligman’s book, Authentic Happiness: Using the New Positive Psychology to Realize Your Potential for Lasting Fulfillment,... Read more

Buddhism has the Rope and the Snake, Christianity has Jesus and the Pug

Last updated on: June 14, 2013 at 5:09 pm By Justin Whitaker

Well, they’re not exactly equivalent, but bear with me. Who… or what, do you see in the image above? Yes! Wow! Oh, wait?! Ewwww. Really? Here’s the whole image: As much as I love Jesus, I’m just as happy to see that its a pug! (And I’m sure my pug-loving girlfriend will agree.) Ahhh, just look at that face. A bit blurry, but anyhow…. That is just one of (apparently many) photos of dog’s rear quarters that amazingly resemble what some... Read more