Very old history has a way of keeping its grip on current events. Now some very old history has thrust an eight-year-old boy into an international conflict of global concern. The boy is known as A. Altannar, and he has been identified as the tenth tulku, or rebirth, of the Bogd, the spiritual leader of Mongolia. This puts the child at the center of long contention among China, Mongolia, Tibet, and leaders of Tibetan Buddhism. It could have implications regarding... Read more
Mes Aynak is a desolate place located about 25 miles, or 40 kilometers, southeast of Kabul, Afghanistan. In photographs much of the area around Mes Aynak appears to be nothing but sand. But beneath the sand are treasures — one mineral, one archeological. And one treasure may be destroyed to aquire the other. Beneath the sands of Mes Aynak is a fortune of copper, one of the largest deposits of copper in the world. Copper is essential to renewable energy... Read more
Nalanda was the first residential university in human history. It also was one of the greatest centers of learning in the ancient world. This Nalanda university was a vast complex in which as many as ten thousand students could live and study under fifteen hundred teachers. Its legendary library was said to hold nine million books, although more sober sources suggest is was only hundreds of thousands. This remarkable place flourished for several centuries, but eventually it was destroyed and... Read more
What’s the deal with prayers before football games? I don’t know when it became the norm for someone to lead players and spectators in prayer before high school football games in the U.S. I don’t remember such prayers before high school football games when I was in high school in the 1960s, but perhaps we said them and I’ve forgotten. And I don’t know how widespread the practice is, or was. But in at least some parts of the country... Read more
On Friday night, September 1, 2023, an event happened that will be a footnote in the history of church-state relations in the United States: Coach Joe Kennedy once again knelt and prayed on the Bremerton High School football field after a game. Coach Kennedy and his prayers were the subject of a 2022 U.S. Supreme Court case, Kennedy v. Bremerton School District, that has critically impacted church-state relations in the U.S. Joseph Kennedy was an assistant football coach at a public... Read more
The discovery of a long-hidden library in a cave near Dunhuang, China, was one of the great archaeological finds of all time. And if you’ve never heard of it, you aren’t alone. The discovery of the Dunhuang cave library was “on par with Tutankhamun’s tomb and the Dead Sea Scrolls,” wrote Jacob Mikanowski in the New Yorker (October 9, 2013). The library held more than 45,000 manuscripts and printed documents that had been hidden for 900 years. The texts were... Read more
Last month, the state of Oklahoma approved the first religious charter school in the nation. Oklahoma is now facing lawsuits as well as pushback from the charter school movement. St. Isidore of Seville Catholic Virtual School, an online school proposed for rural students, will receive tax money and also provide Catholic instruction. Until very recently, this would have been considered a clear and obvious violation of the Estabishment Clause of the First Amendment to the Constitution. But recent U.S. Supreme... Read more
Sri Lanka’s Festival of the Tooth is possibly the oldest Buddhist festival in Asia. Indeed, elements of the festival, called Esala Perahera, probably pre-date Buddhism’s arrival in Sri Lanka in the 3rd century BCE. Esala Perahera roughly translates into “procession of the eighth lunar month,” and following a lunar calendar the festival usually happens in July or August. In 2023 it will be held from August 21 to August 31. In 2024 it will be from July 10 to July... Read more
What is the meaning of faith? In particular, what is the meaning of the word faith in a religious sense? This is important, because “faith” often is used as a synonym for “religion.” Religious people are said to be “people of faith” who are following a “faith tradition.” Because religion is a hard word to define, understanding the meaning of religious faith would be a big help in understanding it. The 20th century Christian theologian Paul Tillich said, “There is... Read more
What does the word religion mean? I often hear that Buddhism is not a religion, but many Buddhists disagree and say it depends on how religion is defined. Many dictionary definitions make religion out to be something connected to the belief in and worship of God or gods, which leaves Buddhism out. How else is religion defined? I direct you to an essay in the online Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy on “The Concept of Religion.” It makes the point that... Read more
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