said the friend sitting next to me at Christmas Eve dinner, with a vague look of disgust on her face, like I’d just admitted to enjoying self-flagellation. I was in the company of a number of people who had escaped Western religion (all some form of Christianity) and landed firmly in Eastern religion (all some [...]

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“Hypermiling” has become all the rage in the media sources I frequent (in order of its appearance: Wired, NPR, and GroovyGreen), but it’s always seemed too dangerous and requiring too much thought. I learned to drive on the Autobahn, where there is no speed limit, only a minimum, and a posted “recommendation” of 120kph (about [...]

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Darn you, Steve Jobs, darn you and your cheap 3G iPhone to heck: How can you say that you are Buddhist when you are so good at spawning desire and attachment in this world? Our only hope is that you will be crushed on stage by a giant iPhone. xJane, I may have to stop [...]

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You’d never think that the Beastie Boys, of all groups, could produce thoughtful, meditative/religious tunes.  This one is god-free, but does pitch some supernatural Buddhist ideas: [wp_youtube]KtKhakSmwhA[/wp_youtube] I love to blast this and focus exclusively on the deep bass chanting. The following song is all about doubt and searching.  The imagery is pretty generic, so [...]

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When my husband went to Tibet with his father for his (the father’s) 60th birthday, they each brought me back a priceless gift. My husband brought a jewelry set that is precious to me because it signifies the moment that we both knew we would get married. My father-in-law brought back a Buddhist mala made [...]

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Here’s a fun headline: Japanese Buddhist monks try to lure believers with fashion, rap music A Google search for “rapping Buddhist” led me to these Dharma Rap Masters. Their site also has the lyrics to the Heart Sutra Rap, which begins: Avora… master of compassion His mind no longer thrashin’ Did some hard time lookin’ [...]

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Originally uploaded by MatthewBradley From AP (via BeliefNet): “The Tibetan people would not support a successor selected by China after my death,” the Dalai Lama was quoted as saying on a trip to Japan by the Sankei Shimbun, a national daily. “If the Tibetan people wish to uphold the Dalai Lama system, one possibility would [...]

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There wisdom in the following quote from the Buddhist monk, Matthieu Ricard, but I’m a bit disturbed by it as well: We want the world to allow the unconditional fulfillment of all our aspirations. And since this does not happen, we fall prey to suffering. Our search for happiness is more often founded on our [...]

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This post is continued from this one. My thoughts were interrupted by Christiansen, who was running up the hill towards me. “The cremation’s done,” he said between breaths. “They’re ready for you.” I hurried back to the crematorium. A large stainless steel tray the size of a coffin had been wheeled into a private room [...]

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In Part One, a Mormon missionary finds himself with his contrary companion at his Buddhist grandfather’s wake. In Part Two, he is tempted to worship idols. Part Three follows. As his grandpa’s body is consumed in the crematorium, Elder Degraw puzzles over strange past manifestations of the Spirit. This section is almost entirely autobiographical. On [...]

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