Link Banana

I’ve been (rather passively) looking for a book like this for the last few years. And here I have found it as a simple, unassuming webpage. There are some (to me) strange transliterations — kamma and Nibbana for karma and nirvana — but it’s an admirable introduction for anyone striving to be a good Buddhist or just curious about what that would entail.

A sample of its wisdom:

The best remedy for a lapse or transgression already committed is to decide never to repeat it; the best remedy for neglecting to do good is to do it without delay.

(via Dan Benjamin, I think)

I’m sure this isn’t the best David Brooks column in recent weeks, but its another good and interesting one. His contention: the Bible — all dogmatism — is going to have a hard time in the next century.

In unexpected ways, science and mysticism are joining hands and reinforcing each other. That’s bound to lead to new movements that emphasize self-transcendence but put little stock in divine law or revelation. Orthodox believers are going to have to defend particular doctrines and particular biblical teachings. They’re going to have to defend the idea of a personal God, and explain why specific theologies are true guides for behavior day to day. I’m not qualified to take sides, believe me. I’m just trying to anticipate which way the debate is headed. We’re in the middle of a scientific revolution. It’s going to have big cultural effects.

Current has a pretty interesting video about Bhutan. Though it focuses on the problems that the country faces in the wake of the recent transition from a (generally benign) monarchy into a democracy, there are some interesting tidbits, like the prevalence of penises painted on walls — which are surprisingly not graffiti.

(via Passport)

While the Dalai Lama has gotten a lot of flack for urging moderation and nonviolence, another Buddhist monk embraces violence as necessary to defend the people against Sri Lanka’s rebels.

“Am I an extremist? Sometimes I am. Sometimes I am not,” Rathana said over green tea, when asked about reports from foreign human rights groups that accuse his party of hindering peace talks. “The point is that we need to end this war. And we are forced into a military solution.”

(via Passport)

Here’s a worthy idea for a Sunday:

A Zen master lived a simple life in a little hut at the foot of a mountain. One evening a thief visited the hut only to discover there was nothing to steal.

The master returned and caught him. “You have come a long way to visit me,” he told the prowler, “and you should not return empty-handed. Please take my clothes as a gift.”

The thief was bewildered. He took the clothes and slunk away.

Ryokan sat naked, watching the moon. “Poor fellow,” he mused, “I wish I could give him this beautiful moon.”

I confess I also liked it because it reminded me of something I wrote.