One City

B-B-B-Buddha of the week! A lovely wheatpaste piece up on Bogart Street, inBushwick, part ofBrooklyn, it’sBuddha! Thanks to IDP member Patrick Groneman for this photo. Would be great if the wheatpaste artist came forth too — spread it around!

Since the last quote provoked a surprising discussion, here’s another from Economist Jared Bernstein, Chief Economic Adviser to  Vice President Joseph Biden, and apparently, a fan of Buddhism. His book was given to me by Senator Eric Schneiderman, recently honored as the Greenest Senator in the New York State Government (who also practices yoga and…

Music has a lot of power.  It can make you laugh, it can make you cry, it can bring back memories long forgotten and it can help you create new ones.  I love music and my tastes are about as eclectic as they come.  Music of any type or genre can be enjoyed if it…

What would Sid do? Before Siddhartha Gautama attained enlightenment at age 35 he was a confused twenty and thirty-something looking to learn how to live a spiritual life. He had an overbearing dad, expectations for what he was supposed to do with his life, drinks were flowing, lutes were playing, and the women were all…

I am sitting here thumbing through Robert Creeley’s Selected Poems, 1945-2005.  There is much song and delight in these lines.  And love.  Creeley’s an old crooner.  Because of my dharma poetry series, I am also, of course, searching–rather narrowly, I might add–for any specifically dharmic content in these poems.  Creeley does speak often and well…

“There is another issue that has important implications for how Buddhism will adapt to a more global role in the future. Karma has been used to rationalize racism, caste, economic oppression, birth handicaps and everything else. Taken literally, karma justifies the authority of political elites, who therefore must deserve their wealth and power, and the…

In today’s post I’m going to continue explaining why Buddhism, despite there being religious organizations called Buddhism, is not inherently a religion and is a technique and way of living that is applicable to anyone, EVEN IF they choose to continue identifying with a religion.  I cannot think of a more important use of my…

One City Bloggers Ethan Nichtern and Julia May Jonas recently teamed up with Buddhist Geeks Vince Horn and Ryan Oelke to discuss the state of the Dharma in the 21st Century.   Some of you may remember Vince’s guest post on this blog Secularizing Buddhism–Making it Accessible or Stripping its Roots stirred up a strong response.…

If you have not yet read the article on America’s Toxic Waters published by the New York Times this week, may I suggest you check it out. While I have been reading about concerns with our water supply more and more this year, this article really hit it home for me. I was outraged. This…

Time magazine, along with a number of other news outlets, ran a profile recently about a program called “Warrior Mind Training” being used by the U.S. Army to “train its 1.1 million soldiers in the art of mental toughness.” The Defense Department hopes that giving soldiers tools to fend off mental stress will toughen its troops…

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