Articles, Audios, and More . . .CAN BUDDHISM SURVIVE AMERICA?Take an incisive look at Buddhism's past, present, and future.Can this venerable Eastern religion meet our contemporary need for religious and spiritual renewal? Find out how Buddhism in the West has negotiated the sometimes high—and sometimes low—ground between its roots as a traditional Eastern religion and its current status as popular new Western religion. Can Buddhism's fundamental depth and spiritual integrity survive the transition to our materialistic and therapy-obsessed Western culture? Find out the answers to these and other critical questions in our articles and audios featuring the Buddhist world's leading authorities and practitioners, including H.H. Dalai Lama, Joseph Goldstein, Penor Rinpoche, Roshi Bernie Glassman, and many others. (See listing below.)
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 What Is Enlightenment? offers excellent articles on topics relevant to genuine spiritual seekers—authentic, uncompromising, the articles challenge readers to clarify their attitudes and understanding about spiritual life.
Jeff Cox |
Is Buddhism the new religion of the West?
Zen. Mahayana. Tibeta. Theravadan. Over the past thirty years Buddhist traditions and practices have been eagerly assimilated into modern Western culture. The question is, how can we make sure its heart and soul aren't getting lost in the translation?
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The editor of Tricycle, America's most popular Buddhist review, discusses the secularization of Buddhism in a culture “aggressively antagonistic to the pursuit of the unknown.” |
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America's foremost transpersonal theorist points beyond conventional religious pursuit to the revolutionary possibility of authentic spiritual transformation. |
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America's largest Buddhist publisher discusses the myth of millennialism and the challenges of spiritual publishing in the New Age. |
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An American Zen teacher and world-renowned social activist speaks about the compassionate action that arises out of emptiness. |
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A penetrating dharma debate about the nature of enlightenment between the renowned author of Buddhism Without Beliefs and What Is Enlightenment? founder Andrew Cohen. |
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The Dalai Lama explains why we need to create a new form of ethics based on the reality of our interdependence. |
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A distinguished Pali scholar asserts that the Buddha's transmission of “right view” was nothing less than a transcendent revelation. |
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It's a bird, it's a plane, it's . . . Buddha! Join Buddhist scholar and professor Robert Thurman as he spins amazing tales of the otherworldly capacities of cosmic Buddhahood. |
Sex and Spirituality: Gender, Tantra, and Celibacy
Enlightenment is reached through the renunciation of all desires—according to Theravada Buddhism—while Tantric Buddhism tends to favor their unfettered fulfillment. Which view is correct? The experts weigh in...
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The fascinating and informative discoveries of a pioneering scholar and author who journeyed to the Himalayas in search of the truth about Buddhist sexual tantra. |
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The first Western woman to be recognized as a reincarnated Tibetan tulku discusses gender, enlightenment, and being a female teacher in a male-dominated tradition. |
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Do gay people have a special path to enlightenment? A Buddhist scholar and gay rights activist disputes many common convictions about gay spirituality. |
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We asked a renowned Buddhist abbot, ordained a celibate monk at the age of twelve, what the Buddha himself would have to say about the relevance of celibacy in these sexually “liberated” times. |
Monasticism, Renunciation, and Enlightenment
The Buddha famously renounced the world in his quest for enlightenment, and the monastic life still figures prominently in most of Buddhism's varied expressions. Find out how this ancient tradition still thrives in today's material world.
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The Dalai Lama speaks about the nature of emptiness and the meaning of enlightenment. |
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Cheri Huber, Zen teacher and founder of the Mountain View Zen Center, speaks with WIE’s Jessica Roemischer about monastic practice and the liberating power of renunciation. |
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Joining the monastic world at the age of four, tulku Penor Rinpoche eventually became the presiding abbot of over 400 monasteries in Tibet and was named the Supreme Head of the Nyingma Buddhist Lineage. In this rare interview, he speaks about the unique advantages of the monastic path for the seeker of liberation. |
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What was the life of the monks really like in the Buddha's time? Buddhist scholar Peter Masefield presents an unembellished picture of the radical and austere life lived by those who ordained under the “Awakened One.” |
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One of the founding fathers of American Buddhism speaks about why he never became a monk, and insists that transcendence of the world is strictly an inner matter. |
