Wise Attention Blog
Wise Attention includes 20 years of writing exploring what it means to practice Buddhism, mindfulness and ethics in the modern world. You’ll find reviews, talks, interviews, broadcasts and reflection on the arts as well as reflections on the Buddha and Buddhist teachings
Bradley Manning & the Ethics of Communication
Imagine you are Bradley Manning in 2009: a low-ranking US intelligence officer stationed in Iraq with access to vast amounts of diplomatic and military data. You discover much that you consider unethical. So do you keep quiet, or do you leak the information, risking the prospect of decades in military prison?
Buddhism and Abortion
Buddhism has traditionally opposed abortion, while tolerating its practice. Exploring this difficult territory means looking at ethics from a Buddhist perspective and considering how we balance compassion for the unborn child and for the mother
Richard III and the Buddha
The discovery of the skeleton of Richard III in a Leicester car park has sparked worldwide interest. What does it tell us about our relationship with the figures that shape our sense of history or with the Buddha
Mindful Weight Loss: Fasting and Eating Habits
Why is it so hard to maintain weight-loss diets? Fasting is a time-honoured practice that brings more awareness to eating and helps us shift long-standing habits
Books on the Karmapa Controversy
Two rival candidates currently claim the position of Karmapa, leader of the Karma Kagyu school of Tibetan Buddhism. The controversy has split the school and prompted a flurry of books describing the conflict. But what is really going on in this dispute, and why have westerners been caught up in it? Here’s a review of three of those books and another exploring western responses to Tibetan Buddhism
UK Parliament Debates Mindfulness
Chris Ruane, the MP for the Vale of Clwyd in North Wales initiated a debate in the UK House of Commons on mindfulness, especially focusing on how it can help the unemployed.
Pilgrimage to Auschwitz
Some years ago I attended a Bearing Witness Retreat at Auschwitz concentration camp. It as a sobering, but deeply stirring experience.
Marketing wants your attention: choose wisely where you pay it
Advertising, marketing and retail promotions all want something from us: time, attention and money. How can Buddhism help us notice and withstand their effect?
How The Buddha Discovered Nature
In the Buddha’s world, nature and the wilderness were frightening threats. The early Buddhist texts show how he forged a new relationship with nature, opening the way for the beautiful nature poetry of his followers
We’re Vulnerable, So We Should Care for the World
We’re Vulnerable, as bad weather shows. Buddhism teaches that we suffer if we don’t acknowledge that. And as the UK debates it’s future energy supplies, that means we should consider deeply how our actions will affect the planet. Thought for the Day 24/12/2012
Reading Emptiness: Reflecting on Buddhism and Literature
There’s a tantalising affinity between Buddhist views of the insubstantial nature of the self and sophisticated ideas about the illusions created by literary texts. But there are also profound differences between Buddhist spiritual practice and nihilistic deconstruction
Prajnaparamita Puja
These verses are devoted to Prajnaparamita: the female Wisdom Buddha. They are written for recitation as a puja, a ritual intended to inspire faith in the possibility of gaining the deepest Wisdom and devotion to the path that leads to it
Gateways to the Imaginal: an Interview With Harold Bloom
Literary Critic Harold Bloom believes that art, literature and religious traditions can all offer ways in to a realm of intensified meaning and beauty. Vishvapani met him to discuss his ideas and explore affinities with Buddhism.
Secular Mindfulness & Buddhism (2) A Wider View of Mindfulness
Buddhism offers an expanded view of mindfulness which places it in a coherent vision of human life, while many Buddhists themselves can offer the example of lived based around committed practice
Secular Mindfulness & Buddhism (1) Mining Buddhism
Buddhist mindfulness practices are being used in settings from healthcare to corporate stress management and military training. This is the secular Mindfulness Movement. But can what else can mainstream society learn from Buddhism, and what does a Buddhist context add to the view of mindfulness itself?
Right Speech: new online talk for Tricycle
My online retreat on Tricycle.com is in its third week with a talk on Communicating with Meaning. This talk and last week's are only for Tricycle members, but the first talk – Communicating with Truthfulness – is available to all. Next week's talk is on Harmonious...
Ten Tips for Skilful Communication
Communication is a huge part of our lives. All our relationships depend on it, but it often seems to go wrong and we can react or lose patience, even with people we’re close to. Here are some suggestions for developing our communication with the help of mindfulness.
Seeking the Buddha in History
The Buddha of history is not the same as the archetypal Buddha, but we can come close to him through the words he left behind and though imagination. This article was a keynote talk at the 2011 Triratna Buddhist Order Convention and reveals the Buddha to be a man of humour and intelligence with an uncanny gift for communication as well … and something more as well