There has been an 82nd, an 83rd, an 84th and an 85th self-immolation inside occupied #Tibet. All today.

Last updated on: November 26, 2012 at 11:19 pm By Justin Whitaker

Such is the news from Joshua Eaton (website) today. Radio Free Asia states that “The burnings take place as Chinese authorities violently suppress a Tibetan student demonstration.” And As I wrote just over a week ago: The news regarding Tibetan self-immolations speaks for itself: British Buddhist monk self-immolates at French monastery (Nov 16) Tibetan boy, 14, dies in self-immolation (Nov 15) 2 Tibetans Dead After Self-Immolation Protests(Nov 15) China says 18-year-old Tibetan self-immolates: Teenager’s death latest of six self-immolations in the last week as China’s communist... Read more

American Buddhism: Some Big Names in Crisis (UPDATED)

Last updated on: November 24, 2012 at 11:16 pm By Justin Whitaker

UPDATE via Buddhadharma online (11/24/12): “the Board of Directors of Rinzai-ji Zen Center in Los Angeles has “convened for a meeting this weekend to discuss allegations of sexual abuse by their teacher, Joshu Sasaki roshi.” Read their full statement here. Crises and scandals are nothing new to American Buddhism, or to religion in general – the world around. But this week prominent members in the Zen community at large and one of America’s largest Tibetan Buddhist organizations, Shambhala Mandala, are voicing specific... Read more

Burma Redux: Global Justice and the Quest for Political Reform in Myanmar

Last updated on: November 23, 2012 at 2:37 pm By Justin Whitaker

Today H-Net posted a review of the book: Burma Redux: Global Justice and the Quest for Political Reform in Myanmar, Columbia University Press (2011). It’s quite timely given my last post. When I visited Burma in 2011, most of my research on the country consisted of the Lonely Planet guide to Burma. Simplified as Lonely Planet had to be, it was actually far deeper than what is often found in discussions of Burma today. As Ian Brown, author of the... Read more

Obama, Aung San Suu Kyi meet in Burma

Last updated on: November 22, 2012 at 2:23 pm By Justin Whitaker

President Obama and Secretary of State Clinton were in Burma (Myanmar) recently. This marked the first ever visit by a US President to the long-time “pariah” state of Burma. His full, 34-minute speech at the University of Yangon is available here (or click here for a 5-minute highlight clip): The speech is in many ways a basic civics lesson. He quotes Franklin D. Roosevelt’s “Four Freedoms” (1941): Freedom of Speech Freedom of Worship Freedom from Want, and Freedom from Fear... Read more

Finding Happiness, one photo at a time

Last updated on: November 20, 2012 at 12:21 am By Justin Whitaker

There is an old zen story that I’ll happily pass on (albeit perhaps in a disfigured form) for you: A monk is wandering in China and comes across a royal caravan. The king, seeing the monk, stops the caravan in order to question him. “Who is your teacher?” asks the king from his carriage. “My teacher is Gautama, the Awakened One,” replies the monk without looking up. “What is his teaching?” asks the king. “Cease to do evil. Cultivate good. Purify... Read more

Tibetan Buddhists aflame and protests, Gangnam Style

Last updated on: November 17, 2012 at 2:24 am By Justin Whitaker

The news regarding Tibetan self-immolations speaks for itself: British Buddhist monk self-immolates at French monastery (Nov 16) Tibetan boy, 14, dies in self-immolation (Nov 15) 2 Tibetans Dead After Self-Immolation Protests (Nov 15) China says 18-year-old Tibetan self-immolates: Teenager’s death latest of six self-immolations in the last week as China’s communist leadership undergoes transfer of power (Nov 11) Slowly but surely these deaths are making their way into the mainstream media. But these aren’t the fifth or sixth or even tenth or eleventh... Read more

Save the Buddhas of Mes Aynak

Last updated on: November 13, 2012 at 3:34 am By Justin Whitaker

Click the link above to go directly to the “The Buddhas of Mes Aynak” Kickstarter page. News is spreading around the world about this important project (both the film and the necessity of saving the site for archaeologists). Here you can listen to a wonderful audio interview of Brent Huffman on PRI (public radio international): Many more are found on the kickstarter page. This is from the Afghans for Peace facebook page: Worldwide Protests to Save the Ancient Buddhist City of Mes Aynak:... Read more

Buddhism in pop-culture? Namaste. Portlandia’s Meditation Crush.

Last updated on: February 13, 2014 at 12:09 am By Justin Whitaker

The popular sitcom Portlandia has released a sneak-peek into next season, including this humorous clip showing characters portrayed by Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein at what is presumably their first time at Vipassana meditation. (if this doesn’t work, click here: http://www.hulu.com/watch/442586) Of course it’s funny because it’s true. But like many things, that truth is only partial. Much of meditation is what you bring to it. If you come neurotic, whiny, and selfish, then your meditations are often going to be spent dealing with these things. If you’re dealing... Read more

Toward a (Good) Buddhist Fundamentalism

Last updated on: November 11, 2012 at 1:11 am By Justin Whitaker

I thought about calling this post “Is Buddhist Fundamentalism like Christian Fundamentalism?” But after seeing that the bulk of the discussion was clearly on Buddhism, and in fact supporting a sort of “Buddhist Fundamentalism” I thought I’d change the title. I have, on some occasions, been accused of being a “Buddhist Fundamentalist” over the past few years; usually for suggesting such things as the need to get back to the texts and exact meanings of key terms in order to... Read more

Montana: Where Nate Silver got it wrong in Election 2012

Last updated on: November 8, 2012 at 12:29 am By Justin Whitaker

I almost minored in Political Science in my university days. I was president of my Philosophy Society for a while, and my local Golden Key International Honour Society. But other than that, I am, like most of you, a novice in the strange world of politics. Yet, again like many of you, I watched this year’s election coverage with a certain level of neurosis and/or addiction. Early on, thankfully, I discovered Nate Silver’s prophetic blog fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com. Soon I was checking it twice a... Read more