This month, Buddhistdoor Global and the broader Buddhistdoor family celebrate 30 years of sharing the Dharma through accurate reporting and insightful commentary on the stories that shape the diffusion of the Buddha’s dispensation around the world. The recent conference, hosted by Tung Lin Kok Yuen, Canada Society (TLKYCS) in Vancouver, featuring talks from columnists across the globe, provided what the editorial team hoped would be a forward-looking conference exploring the big picture and future of Buddhism and Buddhistdoor’s place as a platform of and fo the Dharma.
In 1995, Robert. H. N. Ho initiated and supervised the launch of Buddhistdoor as an online monthly English-language magazine promoting the Buddhist teachings. Produced and edited by TLKYCS, it transitioned to a bi-monthly format in 2001. In 2006, Buddhistdoor quickly took on a sophisticated and urbane tone thanks to its association with Mingkok and Bodhi Journal—Buddhist journals respectively launched by Hong Kong-based newspaper Ming Pao and The University of Hong Kong’s Centre of Buddhist Studies.
This expectation among readers and editorial staff for quality journalism from Buddhistdoor rose as the decades passed, thanks to the hope of the publication’s directors and counselors, and to growing contact with a range of interest groups that transcended sectarian and purely religious concerns. This included centers of Buddhist studies at numerous universities and their associated professorial staff, along with an increasing number of other secular cultural institutions such as art galleries and museums.
Image by BDG
This expansive editorial scope, which includes a continued interest in the activities made by impactful Buddhist leaders and organizations, renders Buddhistdoor’s mission of Dharma-sharing a broad and inclusive one.
There were many other milestones, including the designation of Tung Lin Kok Yuen’s temple in Hong Kong, Wang Fat Ching She, as the physical office of Buddhistdoor’s staff. Other changes were editorial in nature, such as the launch of social media platforms and YouTube channels, which form key and inevitable components of online strategy for audiences and exposure. Into the 2000s, the Chinese-language editorial department of Buddhistdoor embarked on various physical publications and an online radio show.
Buddhistdoor’s Chinese-language team has launched multiple projects that have made it an indispensable institution for the Chinese-speaking Buddhist community in Hong Kong and East Asia, and among the Chinese-speaking international diaspora. Meanwhile, Buddhistdoor International became the first official iteration of the English-language edition in 2011. In 2015, Buddhistdoor International was renamed Buddhistdoor Global (BDG) as the journal further expanded its reach and connected with a wider audience.
Four years later, in 2019, Buddhistdoor en Español (BDE), curated and edited by Dr. Daniel Millet Gil, was launched, forming a “tripod” of the world’s three most spoken languages for the website and organization. BDE has grown in readership and editorial influence since the pandemic, rapidly and unequivocally becoming the largest and most reliable Buddhist resource for seekers and practicing Buddhists alike in the Hispanophone world. From Central and South America to Spain and other bastions of the Spanish-language, BDE has been one of Buddhistdoor’s most ambitious initiatives.
Image by BDG
One of Buddhistdoor’s core strengths is its collaborative nature. The organizations that Buddhistdoor has worked with includes, but is not limited to, groups such as: Sakyadhita International, the Central Monastic Body of Bhutan, Jungto Society (South Korea), the International network of Engaged Buddhists, Buddha’s Light Mountain and Dharma Drum Mountain (Taiwan), the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, International Buddhist Confederation (India), the Victoria & Albert Museum (UK), the Musée Guimet (Paris), and university departments and centers of Buddhist studies around the world. Buddhistdoor’s open character has extended to other faith traditions, with interreligious or interfaith reporting being a core editorial offering.
Buddhistdoor has also endeavored to live up to Robert H. N. Ho’s original vision of a non-sectarian journal covering issues that involve and influence Buddhists of the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana expressions. Buddhists, like everyone else, are shaped by what happens in our world, but people are not passive agents and have the potential to shape immediate and long-term circumstances for the benefit of all beings. Our commentaries, including these Buddhistdoor Views, have attempted to address subjects affecting the future of sentient beings, from ecological crises, international relations, and AI. Our editorial team and contributors constitute a truly diverse community that offers unique perspectives on mindful living, practice and texts, technology, and art.
Looking ahead into the future, Buddhistdoor will continue to nurture its roots in Hong Kong, which grow from strength to strength. Its present focus on vegetarian cuisine, preserving the heritage of Hong Kong Buddhist monasteries and temples, and more represent our long-term belief in Buddhism as a critical contributor in the spiritual significance and wellbeing of people in Hong Kong.
On the global scale, Buddhistdoor Global embraces an open and progressive vision of reporting, embracing all traditions that preach the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and dependent origination. It strives to report with wisdom and compassion, adopting ideals of constructive journalism that resonate with a hurting, sometimes cynical world that hungers for quality news, free from tabloidism and clickbait. To seek to inform and inspire through restorative journalism is the privilege of our time.
Symposium signatures from the TLKYCS directors and staff and Buddhistdoor directors, columnists, and staff. Photo by BDG
As Buddhistdoor Global celebrates its past and present, and looks ahead to the future, perhaps a synthesis between the theological notion of hope with the current model of religious journalism is on the horizon. In these times of great trial for the planet, hope is not to be underestimated. In the grand wisdom of the Buddhadharma, hope for others and all beings can be without attachment, and in so being ever the more powerful: in the words of Bhikkhuni Dhammadinna: “Remaining faithfully present to what is,” with “fundamental insight into the commonality of the embodied predicament.”
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Buddhistdoor View: Buddhistdoor as a Dharma-sharing Platform Three Decades on, and into the Future
This month, Buddhistdoor Global and the broader Buddhistdoor family celebrate 30 years of sharing the Dharma through accurate reporting and insightful commentary on the stories that shape the diffusion of the Buddha’s dispensation around the world. The recent conference, hosted by Tung Lin Kok Yuen, Canada Society (TLKYCS) in Vancouver, featuring talks from columnists across the globe, provided what the editorial team hoped would be a forward-looking conference exploring the big picture and future of Buddhism and Buddhistdoor’s place as a platform of and fo the Dharma.
In 1995, Robert. H. N. Ho initiated and supervised the launch of Buddhistdoor as an online monthly English-language magazine promoting the Buddhist teachings. Produced and edited by TLKYCS, it transitioned to a bi-monthly format in 2001. In 2006, Buddhistdoor quickly took on a sophisticated and urbane tone thanks to its association with Mingkok and Bodhi Journal—Buddhist journals respectively launched by Hong Kong-based newspaper Ming Pao and The University of Hong Kong’s Centre of Buddhist Studies.
This expectation among readers and editorial staff for quality journalism from Buddhistdoor rose as the decades passed, thanks to the hope of the publication’s directors and counselors, and to growing contact with a range of interest groups that transcended sectarian and purely religious concerns. This included centers of Buddhist studies at numerous universities and their associated professorial staff, along with an increasing number of other secular cultural institutions such as art galleries and museums.
This expansive editorial scope, which includes a continued interest in the activities made by impactful Buddhist leaders and organizations, renders Buddhistdoor’s mission of Dharma-sharing a broad and inclusive one.
There were many other milestones, including the designation of Tung Lin Kok Yuen’s temple in Hong Kong, Wang Fat Ching She, as the physical office of Buddhistdoor’s staff. Other changes were editorial in nature, such as the launch of social media platforms and YouTube channels, which form key and inevitable components of online strategy for audiences and exposure. Into the 2000s, the Chinese-language editorial department of Buddhistdoor embarked on various physical publications and an online radio show.
Buddhistdoor’s Chinese-language team has launched multiple projects that have made it an indispensable institution for the Chinese-speaking Buddhist community in Hong Kong and East Asia, and among the Chinese-speaking international diaspora. Meanwhile, Buddhistdoor International became the first official iteration of the English-language edition in 2011. In 2015, Buddhistdoor International was renamed Buddhistdoor Global (BDG) as the journal further expanded its reach and connected with a wider audience.
Four years later, in 2019, Buddhistdoor en Español (BDE), curated and edited by Dr. Daniel Millet Gil, was launched, forming a “tripod” of the world’s three most spoken languages for the website and organization. BDE has grown in readership and editorial influence since the pandemic, rapidly and unequivocally becoming the largest and most reliable Buddhist resource for seekers and practicing Buddhists alike in the Hispanophone world. From Central and South America to Spain and other bastions of the Spanish-language, BDE has been one of Buddhistdoor’s most ambitious initiatives.
One of Buddhistdoor’s core strengths is its collaborative nature. The organizations that Buddhistdoor has worked with includes, but is not limited to, groups such as: Sakyadhita International, the Central Monastic Body of Bhutan, Jungto Society (South Korea), the International network of Engaged Buddhists, Buddha’s Light Mountain and Dharma Drum Mountain (Taiwan), the Hong Kong Buddhist Association, International Buddhist Confederation (India), the Victoria & Albert Museum (UK), the Musée Guimet (Paris), and university departments and centers of Buddhist studies around the world. Buddhistdoor’s open character has extended to other faith traditions, with interreligious or interfaith reporting being a core editorial offering.
Buddhistdoor has also endeavored to live up to Robert H. N. Ho’s original vision of a non-sectarian journal covering issues that involve and influence Buddhists of the Theravada, Mahayana, and Vajrayana expressions. Buddhists, like everyone else, are shaped by what happens in our world, but people are not passive agents and have the potential to shape immediate and long-term circumstances for the benefit of all beings. Our commentaries, including these Buddhistdoor Views, have attempted to address subjects affecting the future of sentient beings, from ecological crises, international relations, and AI. Our editorial team and contributors constitute a truly diverse community that offers unique perspectives on mindful living, practice and texts, technology, and art.
Looking ahead into the future, Buddhistdoor will continue to nurture its roots in Hong Kong, which grow from strength to strength. Its present focus on vegetarian cuisine, preserving the heritage of Hong Kong Buddhist monasteries and temples, and more represent our long-term belief in Buddhism as a critical contributor in the spiritual significance and wellbeing of people in Hong Kong.
On the global scale, Buddhistdoor Global embraces an open and progressive vision of reporting, embracing all traditions that preach the Four Noble Truths, the Noble Eightfold Path, and dependent origination. It strives to report with wisdom and compassion, adopting ideals of constructive journalism that resonate with a hurting, sometimes cynical world that hungers for quality news, free from tabloidism and clickbait. To seek to inform and inspire through restorative journalism is the privilege of our time.
As Buddhistdoor Global celebrates its past and present, and looks ahead to the future, perhaps a synthesis between the theological notion of hope with the current model of religious journalism is on the horizon. In these times of great trial for the planet, hope is not to be underestimated. In the grand wisdom of the Buddhadharma, hope for others and all beings can be without attachment, and in so being ever the more powerful: in the words of Bhikkhuni Dhammadinna: “Remaining faithfully present to what is,” with “fundamental insight into the commonality of the embodied predicament.”
Related content from BDG
BDG 30th Anniversary Messages (YouTube)
Buddhistdoor 30th Anniversary Celebration Page (Buddhistdoor)
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