Barbara's Buddhism Blog March 2008 Archive

While we may despair that we are living in terrible times, it is true also that we are living in wonderful times. Buddhism has spread far outside Asia, and once-remote ... Read More

Some of you have expressed frustration about the crisis in Tibet in your comments and emails. Why isn't more being done? you ask. There's a good background article on China and ... Read More

A carefully orchestrated reception for foreign journalists in Lhasa today was disrupted by shouting Buddhist monks. Charles Hutzler reports for the Associated Press that "The outburst by a group of ... Read More

The Pennsylvania Senate is considering an amendment to the state constitution that would ban same-sex marriage. In response, the Rev. Kyoki Roberts, head priest of the Zen Center of Pittsburgh, ... Read More

Spring blossoms remind me of this great dharma talk by John Daido Loori, abbot of Zen Mountain Monastery in Mount Tremper, NY. Daido Roshi's text is based on "Baika," or "Plum ... Read More

The government of China continues to blame His Holiness the Dalai Lama for the unrest in Tibet. State-run newspapers are calling His Holiness "a terrorist." I have a new essay ... Read More

[Click "Read more" below for an update.] Many Buddhists today are preparing to observe Magha Puja Day, also called Sangha Day or Fourfold Assembly Day. Most schools of Buddhism celebrate ... Read More

Rebecca Novick writes at the Huffington Post about conversations with Tibetan monks in Dharamsala. It was Sunday, March 16, and the monks were receiving cell phone calls from friends in ... Read More

At the Guardian, Jonathan Watts shows us something about what's at stake for Tibetan Buddhism in Tibet. Kumbun Monastery is on the outskirts of Xining, the capital of Qinghai province, Tibet. ... Read More

[This post has been updated. Please click "Read more" below to read the updates.] Jeremy Page reports from Kathmandu for the Times of London that His Holiness the Dalai Lama ... Read More

As I write this it is about 8 pm in Tibet. Authorities have threatened a "harsh" response to protesters who do not surrender themselves by midnight. (Lhasa is 12 hours ... Read More

[Update: The Dalai Lama says he will not stop the protests; click "Read more" below for details.] CNN reports that His Holiness the Dalai Lama is calling for an international ... Read More

[Update: New protests in China; click Read more below for details.] The streets of Lhasa have been empty today except for baton-wielding police, say several news reports. And as fires ... Read More

[Please note: Click the "Read more" link below for updates to this article.] Chinese troops sealed off three of Lhasa's largest monasteries after protests in the Tibetan capital grew violent. ... Read More

The Guardian reports that the government of China may bulldoze an ancient village on a mountain sacred to Buddhism to enhance a potential world heritage site. The town is Taihuai, which ... Read More

March is Women's History Month, and here's a dazzling jewel of a find to go along with it. In the “Raihai Tokuzui” fascicle of Shobogenzo -- I'm serious! Check this out! ... Read More

The 49th anniversary of His Holiness the Dalai Lama's escape from Tibet has been observed with marches and demonstrations around the world. Hundreds of exiled Tibetans have been stopped by ... Read More

Nancy-Amelia Collins reports for Voice of America that a Buddhist monk involved in the September protests in Myanmar (Burma) has asked the world community to stop supporting, recognizing and selling ... Read More

Christian Caryl writes in the March 10 issue of Newsweek that Buddhism is playing an increasingly political, and sometimes militant, role throughout Asia. Some Buddhist organizations seem to be modeling ... Read More

Neurologist Robert Burton, M.D., says that certainty -- the sensation of "knowing" -- does not arise from our knowledge. Instead, certainty is an involuntary brain function that has nothing to ... Read More