Quiet Up! A guest post by Robert M Ellis

Last updated on: March 3, 2013 at 9:24 pm By Justin Whitaker

I’ve just finished reading Susan Cain’s book Quiet, which is deservedly popular, personally engaging, and full of interesting links to Middle Way Philosophy. It is a book about introversion which points out the way that Western (especially American) culture is especially dominated by extroversion. It also points out the value of introverted traits, and the ways that introverts and extroverts are mutually dependent. As an introvert myself, I found the book a rich source of greater understanding of the psychological processes I have gone... Read more

Buddha’s Middle Way on Technology

Last updated on: February 28, 2013 at 12:01 am By Justin Whitaker

On Monday I had a wonderful evening at an event bringing academia and the community together, featuring none other than my wonderful girlfriend, Ms. Emily Rhodes (and four other speakers). The event was called “Whose street is it, anyway?” and it brought together the Bristol Faculty of Arts and the People’s Republic of Stokes Croft (PRSC, check out their blog), a local neighborhood group fighting to bring control of their area back to the people. In terms of starting a much needed... Read more

The Buddha on God, Part 1

Last updated on: February 23, 2013 at 3:40 pm By Justin Whitaker

Today’s post will follow up from one last week: Would a Buddhist Affirm that belief in God is a Delusion? It also relates to a great post last year by a University of the West student at a blog set up for a course on Buddhism in America: I STILL DON’T KNOW: BUDDHISM AND GOD. My sense is that a scholarly study of God/gods in the Pali Canon will find a sort of ambivalence on the part of the Buddha. Call it skillful... Read more

Two Videos you MUST see today

Last updated on: February 23, 2013 at 4:19 pm By Justin Whitaker

From the video: We are traversing a terrain, which we as a species and as a planet overall have not seen before. We are facing an ecological crisis that has the capacity to tremendously alter life on earth. Today we have not only an ecological crisis. We also have a kind of story crisis. That is to say there is something very wrong with how we understand who we are and our relationship with the earth. Where are you? Where... Read more

The Future of Tibet

Last updated on: March 22, 2013 at 4:07 pm By Justin Whitaker

The Tibetan Center in Kingston, New York has announced an upcoming discussion of the six decades of human rights abuses in Tibet under Chinese occupation, the recent rise in protests (especially self-immolations), and the possibilities concerning the future of Tibet. Update (watch a recording of the event here): Upcoming Event! Live Internet Stream Link: https://new.livestream.com/accounts/734998/events/1895115 The Future of Tibet Saturday, February 23, 2-4 pm Bertelsmann Campus Center, Bard College In 2012, there was an intensification of protests and a sharp increase... Read more

Overview: Astronauts talk about Cognitive Shift

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

What happens to the mind when you leave earth? It might not be so different from what happens when you meditate. Divisions melt away. And, in case you didn’t know, it reduces suffering, or – as some would say – leads to happiness. Read more

Compassion, the world over

Last updated on: February 19, 2013 at 6:21 pm By Justin Whitaker

Compassion, empathy, and care for others seems to be a hot topic of late, at least in my little corner of the universe. For today’s post I am simply borrowing some of that and bringing it together. First, from the wonderful Denis Wallez (you can find him, this post, and much more on G+), is a collection of traditional sources on loving-kindness in Buddhism: In Theravāda’s Pāli Canon, mettā (love [without clinging or possessiveness], loving-kindness, amity or benevolence) is one of the four... Read more

Would a Buddhist Affirm that belief in God is a Delusion?

Last updated on: February 17, 2013 at 8:53 pm By Justin Whitaker

Last month a handful of great minds met in Cambridge, England, for a debate. The motion for this debate was, “This House Believes that God is not a Delusion.” In the video shared below are some of the best arguments both for and against the belief in God: The result: Ayes: 243, Noes, 229: Abstentions: 129. So, according to the students and others in Cambridge last month, God indeed, is not a Delusion. What do you think? I have come across several... Read more

Better than Zizek: a critique of Contemporary Spirituality (and many Buddhists) worth investigating

Last updated on: February 14, 2013 at 3:52 pm By Justin Whitaker

I just finished listening to a podcast interview of my friend David Webster on CBC (Canadian Broadcasting). Knowing Dave, I know that he is a bit (at least) of an admirer of the Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Žižek. My own view of Žižek is not a secret. One of my most popular blog posts last year was a discussion of Žižek, who had recently given a lecture that was, in title at least, about Western Buddhism: “Zizek waxes on about Zionism, Sex, Gangnam Style,... Read more

The Buddha’s Social Action Sutra

Last updated on: February 13, 2013 at 2:10 am By Justin Whitaker

Get up! Sit up! What’s your need for sleep? And what sleep is there for the afflicted, pierced by the arrow, oppressed? Get up! Sit up! Train firmly for the sake of peace, Don’t let the king of death, — seeing you heedless — deceive you, bring you under his sway. That is the translation, with some formatting adjustments, from Thannisaro Bhikkhu via Access to Insight (click the link for the last two verses). The original looks like this: Uṭṭhahatha nasīdatha... Read more