Burma’s struggle isn’t between Buddhists and their opponents but between different kinds of Buddhists. The monastic establishment’s complicity in the generals’ Buddhist dictatorship shows the need to reform Buddhism, freeing it from practices that...
Mindfulness based approaches use Buddhist methods to address psychological difficulties. But how do they interpret Buddhist practice and how do they adapt it to the needs and problems of modern society? In the last post I described some tendencies in our culture that...
Buddhists are often wary of secular mindfulness training. But Mindfulness Based Approaches are a meeting ground between meditation and modern psychology and we can learn about the psychological issues people face. (1 of two posts) In my last post I said why I think...
We’re in the middle of the Mindfulness Boom as Buddhist-derived meditation practices enter the cultural mainstream. But is this the Dharma touching and transforming western society, or is Buddhism being turned into a self-help technique and a consumer product? Its...
Tibetan Buddhist monk, Palden Gyatso, spent 33 years imprisoned by the Chinese and drew deep on his Buddhist practice to survive his brutal treatment. He escaped to the West to tell his story and I met him in London to discuss his experiences his searing memoir, Fire...
Many Buddhist traditions claim that they are reliable and authoritative because they inherit a lineage of realised masters dating back to prestigious teachers of the ancient past. That sounds impressive and appealing but the Buddha advised us to check out the truth of...
