Buddhism

Notes from the Global Church

Jesus meets the Buddha

Aug 30, 2012 by Philip Jenkins

Ever since Westerners discovered Asian cultures they have been intrigued by possible relationships between Christianity and Buddhism.

Impressions

The angelic taxi

Oct 06, 1999 by James M. Wall

Cuban film director Fernando Pérez was inspired to make Life Is to Whistle by the work of modernist painter René Magritte, in whose work "reality does not stop being reality, but is, at once, another reality." Magritte's paintings have been described as "elaborate fantasies constructed around commonplace situations." Life Is to Whistle is an energetic look at commonplace situa

Books

Ethics for the New Millennium, by the Dalai Lama

Nov 03, 1999 reviewed by Leo D. Lefebure

St. Augustine told Christian pastors that their most eloquent instruction would lie not in their words but in their lives. The Dalai Lama's new book is an example of that principle still at work. Tenzin Gyatso, the 14th Dalai Lama, offers his wisdom for handling the problems of life, ranging from personal discontent to global conflicts.

Books

Christology ‘from below’

Nov 17, 1999 by Leo D. Lefebure

Jesus: Symbol of God, by Roger Haight, S.J.

Books

Going Home, by Thich Nhat Hanh

Jan 19, 2000 reviewed by Leo D. Lefebure

Since the Vietnam War era, Thich Nhat Hanh has been known to North Americans as an activist for peace and justice and an interpreter of Vietnamese Buddhism and culture. Martin Luther King Jr. and Thomas Merton were his friends.

Books

Buddhism in America, by Richard Hughes Seager

Jul 05, 2000 reviewed by Leo D. Lefebure

Buddhism has entered North America in ways that are transforming both the Buddhist tradition and North American culture. Images of Buddhism have inundated advertising, sports, movies and politics. The Nobel Prize laureate Dalai Lama has become one of the icons of the age. Metropolitan areas such as Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York have significant Buddhist populations.

On the Shelf

Buddhist Warfare

by Michael K. Jerryson and Mark Juergensmeyer, eds.

If you meet the Buddha

Oct 15, 2010 by David Heim

Generalizing about a religion is a dangerous thing. A generalization that had seemed safe was that Buddhism is a peaceful religion. It's all about compassion, isn't it—about renouncing desire and learning to empty yourself?

News

China claims right to select next Dalai Lama

Present Dalai Lama may find successor in India
Sep 04, 2007
Against the backdrop of celebrations to mark the countdown to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, the Chinese government has angered religious- freedom activists by attempting to assert greater influence over the choice of a successor to the Dalai Lama.
Features

Karmic event

Buddhists and the tsunami
Feb 22, 2005 by Terry C. Muck
When disaster strikes, people turn to religion to help them answer two questions: Why did this happen? and What should we do about it? Call the first the meaning question and the second the action question.
Books

The Unexpected Way: On Converting from Buddhism to Catholicism

Paul Williams

The Unexpected Way

Oct 19, 2004 reviewed by Irving Hexham
Anyone who teaches at a secular university knows that today’s students are far more likely to know the name of a Hindu god or to practice some form of Buddhist meditation than to recognize the name of the mother of Jesus or to pray in an explicitly Christian way.