Tricycle’s Highlights from the Week

Nothing is permanent, everything is precious. Here’s a selection of some happenings—fleeting or otherwise—at Tricycle and in the Buddhist world this week. 

Podcast: Remembering the Forgotten War with Marie Myung-Ok Lee

In the latest episode of Tricycle Talks, which went up on Wednesday, Tricycle editor-in-chief James Shaheen sits down with Buddhist writer Marie Myung-Ok Lee to discuss her new novel, The Evening Hero, and the generational impacts of wartime trauma. Listen now.

Interview: Zen Is Not a Democracy

Meditation teacher and writer Brad Warner came out with a new book this week: The Other Side of Nothing: The Zen Ethics of Time, Space, and Being. Read an interview with Warner by Tricycle executive editor Philip Ryan here.

Online Course: The Posture of Meditation

In this just-released mini-course, meditation teacher Will Johnson shares his methods for awakening the body to sit with ease, comfort, and mindfulness. Join here.

Dharma Talk: The Three Beautiful Roots: Cultivating Wholesome Qualities in Unwholesome Times

Meditation teacher Joshua Bee Alafia’s Dharma Talk this month focuses on dana (giving), sila (moral integrity), and bhavana (cultivation, meditation) as means for living as heart-centrically as we can. Watch this week’s talk, “The Vulnerability of Generosity,” here.

Short Guided Meditation: Integrating Body and Breath

This week marked the start of a four-part series of short audio practices by meditation teacher Lama Karma on Open Mindfulness, a framework that explores the yogic awareness practices of Tibetan Buddhism within the contemporary context of the mindfulness movement. Lama Karma is the spiritual director of the Milarepa Retreat Center in the Smoky Mountains of Tennessee, and in this five-minute meditation, he demonstrates the use of gentle touch to integrate body and breath, forming a bridge to open awareness. Listen here.

Feature: Leaving the Palace

In the latest issue of Tricycle magazine, writer Ann Tashi Slater writes about Buddhism, womanhood, and the problem of the self. Read the article here.

If we stifle our desire for selfhood, it may in time disappear. Then we, too, may vanish, falling into the schism between who we are and the self we present to the world. Or we may be consumed by the tension between the force of our desire for selfhood and the force of our exertion to hide it.

Live@Tricyle: Mindful Grieving: A Three-Part Workshop with Dr. Sameet Kumar

The second of three workshops with clinical psychologist Sameet Kumar, Ph.D. on integrating Buddhist teachings and practices for navigating grief took place on Wednesday. Join us for the final workshop on Wednesday, May 18 at 5pm EST. Register here.

From the Archives: Listen to an episode of Tricycle Talks with Dr. Sameet Kumar.

Yale University Returns Stolen Buddha Statue to Nepal

Following a growing movement to repatriate stolen artwork to Nepal and India, the Yale University Art Gallery announced plans to return a sculpture of Tara, said to be more than a millennium old, to Nepal.

Buddhist Monks Urged to Boycott Myanmar Junta Rice Offerings

The Mandalay authorities plan to provide rice, cash, and other offerings to 10,264 Buddhist monks on Saturday, the Irrawaddy reports, but the Sangha Union in Mandalay urges monks not to participate.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi Will Visit Lumbini on Sunday in Continued Effort to Promote Buddhist Tourism

The Indian government wants to create a “Buddhist circuit” of key historical sites to encourage global tourism.

Indonesian Buddhists Will Celebrate Vesak at Borobudur Temple

On May 14 and 15, Buddhists in Indonesia will celebrate Vesak—a holiday commemorating the Buddha’s birthday, death, and enlightenment—at Borobudur Temple, one of the largest Buddhist structures in the world.