by Vishvapani | Oct 4, 2012 | Articles, Audio & Video, Buddhism, Featured, Gautama Buddha
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...
by Vishvapani | Sep 15, 2012 | Buddha, Ethics, Featured
A vivid account in one of the earliest Buddhist texts describes how the Buddha guided his disciples in responding skilfully to both praise and blame. The story is full of his wisdom about how we can avoid harming ourselves or others through our speech and how we can...
by Vishvapani | Apr 6, 2012 | Buddhism in the West, Featured, Mindfulness
We’re in the middle of the Mindfulness Boom as Buddhist-derived meditation practices enter the cultural mainstream. But is this the Dharma touching and transforming western society, or is Buddhism being turned into a self-help technique and a consumer product? Its...
by Vishvapani | Mar 17, 2012 | Buddhism in the West, Buddhist World, Featured
It’s 50 years since Buddhist teachers started arriving in the west in the early 60s and Buddhism crash-landed into the counterculture. So what have we learned about western Buddhism? This piece appeared in The Guardian (Saturday 17 March 2012). These thoughts...
by Vishvapani | Mar 14, 2012 | Buddhist World, Featured
The young Kalu Rinpoche, the reborn ‘tulku’ of a respected Tibetan Buddhist teacher, has posted a video detailing his sexual abuse at the hands of Buddhist monks, his tutor’s attempt to murder him and his descent into drug addiction and alcoholism....
by Vishvapani | Feb 21, 2012 | Buddhism in the West, Buddhist World, Featured
A few years ago I wrote on my previous blog an article called ‘NKT: Succession & Question of Authority regarding difficulties in the New Kadampa Tradition in managing the succession from Geshe Kelsang Gyatso to a new generation. Much has changed in the subsequent...
