First Thoughts – Winter 2012

Excerpts of Buddhadharma's favorite writings and teachings from Winter 2012, featuring Thich Nhat Hanh, Ven. David Xi-Ken Astor, and more.

Let’s Talk: It’s Time to Open Our Doors

Joshua Eaton asks: “Why is it that Buddhists are always talking about compas­sion but aren't providing shelter for those in need?”

The Tibetan Leonardo

Kongtrul’s works have deeply influenced modern Kagyu and Nyingma thought and practice, and The Treasury of Knowledge is the most influential of all.

Buddhadharma - Winter '12 Honolulu Lantern Ceremony Shingon Shinnyo-en

Shinnyo-en’s floating lanterns

40,000 people gathered for Shinnyo-en's annual lantern-floating ceremony in Honolulu on Memorial Day 2012.

Journeys: “I Think I’m a Buddhist”

Bonnie Ryan-Fisher recalls her moment of realization – a quiet lunch with her family, and a sudden declaration.

wheel of dharma

Journeys: Found in Translation

Danny Fisher reflects on how important learning scriptural languages like Pali has been for engaging his Buddhist practice.

kobun chino, lion's roar, buddhism, buddhadharma

Kobun Chino’s Legacy

Kobun Chino came to America in 1967 at the request of Suzuki Roshi and spent the next thirty-five years helping spread the dharma in the West.

David Chadwick Diversity Forum Gender Mary Morgan Modernization Monasticism Norman Fischer San Francisco Zen Center Steve Stücky Tradition Zen Zenkei Blanche Hartman

Forum: San Francisco Zen Center at Fifty

Members of the San Francisco Zen Center, in its fiftieth year, join a forum on how it approaches issues important to those practicing Buddhism in the west.

The Koan in the Refrigerator

All he wanted was an egg. Instead Sam Guthrie got a close-up look at his compulsive need for order.

Commentary: Three Levels of Transmission

"When you spend a week immersing yourself in lineage," says Lewis Richmond, "It becomes deeper than an idea."