On depression and “Buddhist science”
Not depressed: HHDL’s call for “Buddhist science” may make sense. Image source: buddhachannel.tv Several years ago I went on antidepressants. It was one of the most difficult, drawn-out, painful decisions I have ever made. When I finally did, though, there was very little pain and a lot of relief. Several days before my first prescription [...]
Buddha’s back
Image source: introductionbuddhism.info Pray allow me me a little self-disclosure. I am Christian in faith and practice. Nine hundred ninety-nine days out of a thousand, I don’t give serious thought to religions outside my own. I have had several opportunities to learn about Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, etc., some of them firsthand, but my understanding of [...]
The only way out is through
Madelene Purdie, Stations of the Cross. Purdie, an Australian aboriginal artist, follows the minority convention of placing a resurrected Christ in a 15th panel When in seminary I had a New Testament professor who said something I will always remember. He said that of all the world’s religions he preferred Buddhism and Christianity because these [...]
Meet good interatheist Chris Stedman
An inverted Chris Stedman and his “awful giraffe,” which I find rather endearing. Stedman is a humanist interfaith activist. Yes, you read that correctly. Image taken from NonProphet Status, Stedman’s blog Read Stedman’s shirt (in a mirror). It says “Good (Without God).” This particular atheist cliché always makes my head hurt. On one hand, as [...]
Negative theology and the foolishness of progressive postmodern Christians
The Tetragrammaton in Paleo-Hebrew, which today is often written YHWH or Yahweh. Its origin is thought by many to be Exodus 3, in which Moses is instructed to tell the people that “I Am” sent him. In Christian scripture it is translated “The Lord,” written in small caps. Observant Jews write but do not speak [...]
On Hanukkah and the miraculous
Anonymous, Hanukkah, 18th century. Source: Wikimedia Commons Sometimes I wish all the miracles in the Bible would just go away. Except maybe the Incarnation and Resurrection. The bigger and flashier the miracle the more I wish it would disappear. But there they all are, from Noah to Daniel to the loaves and fishes. So I [...]
Jesus and Buddha are alive and well in suburban Tokyo
Buddha and Jesus wait for the train during rush hour in suburban Tokyo. The two spiritual masters leave Paradise to spend some time in the 21st century in Nakamura Hikaru‘s manga Seinto oniisan, which, roughly translated, is Saint Young Men. In Japanese the title carries overtones of brotherliness. You can download a number of episodes [...]
A Christian considers the Hajj
Mamoun Sakkal, Hajj, 2000. Arabic, Diwani script. Used by permission of the artist On Friday I watched a documentary on the Hajj. For those of you who do not know, the Hajj is the annual (in a lunar calendar kind of way) pilgrimage to Mecca that is a formal requirement of every able-bodied Muslim who [...]
Buddhadharma and the vision thing
Detail of a Tibetan Buddhist mandala. Source: Wikimedia Commons This article first appeared at Religion Dispatches Two or three small pieces of this article have appeared in previous posts, so if you begin to feel some déjà vu, that’s why. A few weeks ago I spent an hour listening to His Holiness the 14th Dalai [...]
HHDL on Buddhadharma and science
HHDL speaking during his 2007 visit to Emory University. Photo by Brett Weinstein For an hour on Monday I sat within about 3 meters of greatness. I’m hoping some of it rubbed off. It was thrilling to be with Tenzin Gyatso, known also as His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama, and listen to him talk [...]
