Category: Buddhist Wisdom
The Vinaya Pitaka
The Vinaya is more than just the monastic rule book, says Amy Paris Langenberg. It’s a treasure trove of stories shedding light on ethical dilemmas, community tensions, and human foibles.
Up-to-Date Dharma
From Silicon Valley and Afrofuturism to healing trauma and gender transition, here is a selection of new books offering a Buddhist take on today’s issues.
“I Take Refuge in Amida Buddha”
The Pure Land is right here, right now, says Sensei Alex Kakuyo. Chanting the nembutsu can help you see that.
Transforming Self-Comparison Through No-Self
Eda Ocak reflects on how meditation practice and the Buddha’s message of no-self transformed her habit of self-comparison.
Crying in the Bathroom: A Q&A with Author Erika L. Sanchez
Lion's Roar associate editor Mariana Restrepo talks to award-winning novelist, poet, and essayist Erika L. Sánchez about her new memoir, "Crying in the Bathroom."
Only Genuine Compassion Will Do
It's not enough to simply to believe compassion is important. We must transform our thoughts and behaviour on a daily basis to cultivate compassion.
Living the Compassionate Life
The Dalai Lama explains how the Buddhist teachings of mindfulness and compassion lead inevitably to feelings of self-confidence and kindness.
Zen Priest and Author Ruth Ozeki wins Women’s Prize for Fiction for latest novel
Ozeki wins the Women’s Prize for Fiction for her fourth book, The Book of Form and Emptiness.
How Do We Make Sense of Rebirth?
Questions around rebirth—from how it works to whether it’s even real—have energized and divided Buddhists for millennia. In this excerpt from his book "Rebirth," Roger R. Jackson unpacks the complexity of it all and offers four basic approaches to incorporating it (or not) into our own practice.
Buddhism, Nonviolence, and the Moral Quandary of Ukraine
How does Buddhism make sense of war? In the abstract, the teachings are straightforward. But according to Bhikkhu Bodhi, if we find ourselves supporting those who are fighting back in Ukraine, then we have to ask some hard questions—and maybe accept some uncomfortable truths.
Zen in Vietnam: The Making of a Tradition
A century ago, Buddhists in Vietnam—and in much of Asia—started rewriting their traditions, and in some cases even their history. Alec Soucy explains how what we think we know of Vietnamese Buddhism points to a much more complex reality.
Wisdom Seeks for Wisdom
In this teaching from 1965—taken from the oldest extant recording of his talks—Shunryu Suzuki Roshi explains what it means to understand your true nature.
Buddhadharma Book Briefs for Summer 2022
Joie Szu-Chiao Chen reviews Through the Forests of Every Color by Joan Sutherland, Renunciation and Longing by Annabella Pitkin, The Dharma in DNA by Dee Denver, and more.
We Cannot Ignore Buddhist Extremism
If we don’t allow our practice to include the political, asks Brenna Artinger, then how can we stand up to those who do?
Listen, Contemplate, Meditate
These instructions, which appear across traditions, sound so simple that we may imagine they’re self-explanatory. Lama Karma Yeshe Chödrön invites us to look deeper.
Is Buddhism about ethics or enlightenment?
Bhante Sumano, Jisho Sara Siebert, and Gaylon Ferguson explore the meaning of ethics and enlightenment on the Buddhist path.
Black Buddhists, Black Buddhisms
Rhonda Magee reviews "Black Buddhists and the Black Radical Tradition," by Rima Vesely-Flad.
Forum: BIPOC Buddhism
La Sarmiento, Margarita Loinaz, and Carol Iwata discuss the experiences of BIPOC Buddhist practitioners—the obstacles they face, and the contributions they are making. Moderated and with an introduction by Mariana Restrepo.
Grandmother Mind
Grandmothers care about others and shed tears for their suffering. That’s why Dogen said having Grandmother Mind is the most important thing of all. Zen teacher Susan Moon contemplates her own journey as a grandmother and her responsibility as an ancestor-to-be.