They deem me mad because I will not sell my days for gold; and I deem them mad because they think my days have a price. — Kahlil Gibran How would you describe a Buddhist Philosopher? Or would you? Simon Critchley, of the famously leftist New School, wrote an excellent article thie seek, “What is a Philosopher?” Discussing Plato’s Theaetetus, he determines that the “philosopher is the person who has time or who takes time.” I love the definition, and Critchley’s discussion,... Read more

It’s been busy ’round these parts of late. Added to the demanding life of this lazy academic and enthusiastic amateur photographer this week was the news that I will be heading to India in late August to teach Buddhist Philosophy in the Antioch Education Abroad program. I’m a bit speechless about the whole thing, so I’m not sure if it’s quite sunk in. But I have begun studying Hindi and plan a full Bollywood immersion at some point in the... Read more

I stumbled across this today and highly recommend it. Buddhist Karma in 10 minutes or less. Nice. For the full length version, visit OpenSourceBuddhism.org. Read more

A friend of mine is in Thailand now on an 8 week B. Alan Wallace retreat and forwarded this my way. Free teachings are a many splendid thing 🙂 Live from Phuket! Podcast Series direct from 8-Week Shamatha Retreat We are pleased to announce that students from the 8-week Shamatha retreat, now taking place in Phuket, Thailand, have created an ongoing podcast series directly from B. Alan Wallace’s daily talks. By clicking on the above link, you may find out... Read more

A view of Helena from Mount Helena. Big clouds from my parents’ front yard (that’s Mount Helena on the right). Train tracks and yet more big clouds on the road back to Missoula, near Garrison, MT. Read more

This is the final line in a story about Parvez Ahmed, whose recent appointment to the Jacksonville, Florida Human Rights Commission brought out some fairly ugly anti-Islamic sentiment amongst some members of the City Council. It’s amazing that he kept his composer so well through it all, but terribly sad that he had to go through it in the first place. And it reflects well upon Buddhist today that his show of composure would be linked to Buddhism, but there may... Read more

Elk mount with traditional Tibetan scarf, or khata, from a recent retreat in Wyoming. Very Western (in more ways than one) and very Buddhist. Several folks recently have brought up the question of authenticity in Western or American Buddhist practice. First, a friend of mine in the UK, Dr. Dave Webster, sent me a prezi he made on Western Buddhism and Authenticity. (If you’re unfamiliar with prezi, click on the ‘more’ tab on the lower right and then click ‘autoplay’)... Read more

Via Bhikkhu Samahita: Contemplation of the Ten Perfecting Qualities (Dasa Parami): 1: May I be generous and always helpfully giving service (Dāna parami). 2: May I be morally pure, virtuous and well-disciplined (Sīla parami). 3: May I be modest and withdrawing into simple living (Nekkhamma parami). 4: May I be wise by understanding what should be known (Paññā parami). 5: May I be enthusiastic, energetic, & never giving up the good (Viriya parami). 6: May I be patient, tolerant, and forgive other’s wrongs (Khanti parami). 7: May... Read more

While enjoying the philosophical thought and discussion of the last post, I also cherish returning to this world of cat paws and sunshine (what precious little we have in Missoula at the moment). I’ll get back to all of that soon, but for now I’m off to the U for the last class of Tibetan Buddhism for the semester (I’m sitting in), then some shopping, hoping my new shoes arrive so I can play tennis or go for a nice... Read more

(5/4/10) Note: this is indeed a bit of an academic exercise (a thought experiment), meant to spur some contemplation and discussion of ethics in Buddhism. Be sure to check the thoughtful comments here as well as those at Progressive Buddhism, and let me know what you think. Thanks! Or “Don’t kick the baby!” I found myself very happily re-submerged in philosophy today thanks to the excellent and argumentative work of Charles Goodman‘s Consequences of Compassion, a book on Buddhist Ethics.... Read more