Secular mindfulness requires an ideology of white conquest that makes invisible the enduring efforts of Asian and Asian-American Buddhists in maintaining the legacy of mindfulness practices.
]]>Leaders of New Thought were first exposed to Buddhism and Vedanta philosophy through the publications of European Orientalists and the Theosophical Society and, later, though personal contacts with Asian Buddhist and Hindu missionaries. In addition to D. T. Suzuki, who helped to spark American interest in Japanese Zen, other important early missionaries were Anagarika Dharmapāla, a Sri Lankan Buddhist and Theosophist, and Swami Vivekenanda, an Indian monk of the Ramakrishna Order who launched the Vedanta Society in North America. New Thought leaders, Theosophists, and Asian missionaries met in person at the 1893 World’s Parliament of Religions and continued to develop relationships for more than a decade, particularly at the Greenacre conferences in Eliot, Maine. This chapter reveals the transnational nature of New Thought, which is typically considered to be an American metaphysical religious movement.
]]>..accepting gold and money, it’s hard for you to know who is perfected or on the path to perfection.
How to judge another person’s spiritual character.
]]>The eight eligible studies comprised two mindfulness studies, four vipassana meditation studies, and two studies utilizing other Buddhist-Derived Interventions. Intervention participants demonstrated significant improvements across five key criminogenic variables: (i) negative affect, (ii) substance use (and related attitudes), (iii) anger and hostility, (iv) relaxation capacity, and (v) self-esteem and optimism. There were, however, a number of major quality issues. It is concluded that BDIs may be feasible and effective rehabilitative interventions for incarcerated populations. However, if the potential suitability and efficacy of BDIs for prisoner populations is to be evaluated in earnest, it is essential that methodological rigor is substantially improved.
]]>… samādhi power was, among other uses, employed to enhance the meditator’s ability to kill others. This article focuses on the abuse of samādhi power within Imperial Japan (1868-1945) with the express hope that once exposed and understood, its abuse will never be repeated.
]]>… expecting mindfulness teachers to stimulate political activism is not in keeping with relevant Buddhist antecedents
A response to Ron Purser.
]]>David had a hunch about what had caused his panic attack: his meditation practice.
Without a foundation in view and ethics, many Westerners are finding themselves unable to handle the arising of meditative insight.
What advice would you give the meditators in this article?
]]>… how the art world’s hunger for ancient artifacts is destroying a culture
]]>… anything that offers success in our unjust society without trying to change it is not revolutionary—it just helps people cope.
]]>You can find all the interviews on SoundCloud at the following links:
]]>Paying money to this teacher I came to an understanding of the values of “This World.”
]]>… wealth and power did not seem to ease disruptive conflict
The fascinating details of monastic life in medieval Dunhuang as told by their cave-preserved legal documents.
That Buddhism became so ritualistic, excessive, and subservient to the state even along the Silk Road demonstrates how common and impactful state intervention has been to the history of Buddhism.
]]>Meditation is not a pill.
Meditation is uncovering deeper and deeper messes in the mind, and progressively “letting the dirt out.”
]]>Psychopaths are more likely to be attracted to singing, dancing, love, light, miracles, and channeling. Usually psychopaths have a great deal of trouble sitting quiet and still. I appreciate the boring facade of Buddhism, as it is a great protection.
A new age mystic gives his advice on how to identify psychopaths on the spiritual journey.
Despite Bill’s many painful experiences, he never lost his faith in the transformative, human potential to awaken. His lifetime of spiritual stumbling is a rich source of warnings and advice, especially for Westerners still struggling to get a foothold in a tradition.
That said, however, the book’s interpretation of “enlightenment” should be taken cautiously, as his understanding seems to come from ecumenical assumptions that the various “contemplative traditions” (never defined) all describe the same goal. A bit of a black sheep even within the heterodox, secular “Insight” community, Bill Hamilton is best read with his own warning in mind, that “monks and nuns make safer teachers than laypeople, especially if they are actively associated with their tradition.”
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