Waste and Contentment: What Landfills Teach Us
Mei Ling Fok
29 May 2014
The scene opens with what looks like the largest and dirtiest rubbish dump on the face of the earth. It is huge, with rubbish piled
The Familiar Oddities of Ikkyū Sōjun
Andrew Whitehead
27 May 2014
Dr. Andrew K. Whitehead is Assistant Professor of Philosophy in the Department of History and Philosophy at Kennesaw State University in Atlanta USA. He specializes
Discrepancies and Dilemmas: Rebirth and Recitation in the two Pure Land sutras (Part I)
Alan Kwan
26 May 2014
In the last three articles in my column, we’ve been discussing a lot about Amitabha-recitation “by ten times”. There are actually two “discrepancies” between the
The Urgency of Recognition: Female Buddhist monastics in Bangladesh
BD Dipananda
23 May 2014
After a long interlude in which the Theravada Bhikkhuni Sangha was presumed extinct, the Sri Lankan lineage was re-established in 1998 at Bodhgaya with the help of
One Hundred Million Blessings: Happy Saka Dawa!
Tinley Fynn
21 May 2014
To the uninitiated, Vajrayana’s ritualistic and esoteric appearance can make some observances seem heavy and difficult to comprehend. Tantric texts are laden with difficult religious
How Mindfulness Works: What does the Field of Science have to Offer?
Caitlin Dwyer
20 May 2014
We all know that life is suffering – but why do we suffer? And when we spend ten minutes sniffing, examining, chewing, and finally mindfully eating a
The Buddha Image: Branding, Commercialization, Denigration?
Raymond Lam
19 May 2014
There is a lounge bistro bar in downtown Brisbane called Jade Buddha. I was studying theology at university when I first went there. We were
Dipa Ma – An extraordinary female Buddhist master in the twentieth century
BD Dipananda
14 May 2014
Rarely does a story about another person contain so much heart. After reading Dipa Ma, you feel you have actually met her – and you
Tenfold Recitation in Pure Land: Rebirth on the Lowest Level of the Lowest Grade
Alan Kwan
9 May 2014
Rebirth by Amitabha-recitation in 10 times Master Tanluan (476??542 CE), a prominent patriarch in Pure Land Buddhism, interpreted ‘reciting Amitabha ten times’ with an analytical set
Reducing plastic pollution in the place of Buddha’s Enlightenment
Lillian Sum
9 May 2014
Lillian Sum is the founding director of Sacred Earth Trust and is based in India. I first arrived in Bodhgaya in 2006. My first feelings
Did the Buddha go to Myanmar? On the Trail of Old Folk Tales
BD Dipananda
8 May 2014
Weaving the Buddha into the Burmese identity Legends are what fill the uncertain space between history and fiction. Some of the most popular legends tell
Nine-Story Mountain Film Crew Interview: Journalism, Pilgrimage, and Preservation
Raymond Lam
7 May 2014
Pilgrimage is not technically done for personal enjoyment. The fun comes as a corollary to rigor (few to no holy sites are located in comfortable