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Dzongsar Khyentse Rinpoche: Buddhism In a Nutshell: The Four Seals of Dharma "People often ask me: “What is Buddhism in a nutshell?” Or they ask, “What is the
particular view or philosophy of Buddhism?” Rinpoche answers this with reference to the four seals of the dharma.
David Loy: Letter on the September 11, 2001 attacks on America. Loy looks at the attacks and the reactions from a Buddhist viewpoint. from Journal of Religious Ethics
On the Nonduality of Good and Evil: Buddhist Reflections on the New Holy War Loy discusses how the duality of good vs evil leads to an endless cycle of violence and offers a Buddhist way out. (This is a longer version of his letter above.) from the Buddhist Peace Fellowship
Transcendence East and West: East and West may have met but what about East and East? Loy explores the differences between India, China and Japan to show how they differ. The West gets a look in at the end. from: Man and World, Vol.26, Issue 4, 1993
Scott A. Mitchell: "Christianity is for rubes; Buddhism is for actors": U.S. media representations of Buddhism in the wake of the Tiger Woods' scandal In light of the sexual scandal surrounding golfer Tiger Woods, a self-professed Buddhist, Mitchell looks at how the U.S. media reported on Buddhism. "I argue that during the Woods affair, Buddhism was deployed in the service of a pre-existing narrative of conflict between conservatives and liberals that permeates the current U.S. media landscape. "
John R. MacRae: Soto Zen in America MacRae looks at some Soto Zen centers and discusses the practice and influence these centers have on students. A short essay as part of a longer study by Professor MacRae.
Charles Muller: Zen Buddhism and Western Scholarship: Will the Twain Ever Meet? Muller discusses what he percieves as a gap between scholarship in Zen and it's relevance to the practioners. Bemoaning the fact that most scholars do not actually practice Zen, Muller feels that there is a disconnect (and in some cases a misunderstanding) between the practice and scholarly research. An interesting and timely essay. from Journal of Buddhist Studies, Vol. 9, Dec. 2004. pp. 261-285
Paul David Numrich: Two Buddhisms Further Considered Numrich looks at two Buddhist groups, ethnic Asian Buddhists and non-Asian converts. "This essay presents an analytical history and critical assessment of the two Buddhisms notion. I will recommend that advocates and critics alike acknowledge the value of the notion, and that they direct their energies toward advancing the field in creative ways, both within and outside the two Buddhisms paradigm." from Contemporary Buddhism, Vol. 4, No. 1, 2003
Gregory K. Ornatowski: Continuity and Change in the Economic Ethics of Buddhism: Evidence from the History of Buddhism in India, China and Japan Buddhist economic ethics for monks and laity historically shared a common
principle of nonattachment to wealth. At the same time, while lay
economic ethics have consistently stressed merchant-type values and
the importance of giving to the sangha (dàna), monastic ethics underwent
major changes....an analysis of Buddhist
soteriologies and major concepts such as anàtman, karma, pratãtyasamutpàda, dàna and karuõà, reveals that issues of economic equality
and justice in Buddhism are dealt with less by attempting to change the
existing distribution of wealth than by cultivating the proper ethical attitudes
toward wealth and giving. from Journal of Buddhist Ethics, Volume 3 1996:198-240
Andrew Rawlinson: Western Buddhist Teachers Rawlinson argues that the West has far more varieties of Buddhism than the East ever could. This short research article gives a thumb-nail sketch of Buddhism and Western Buddhist teachers in the West. It is, however, heavily American and barely mentions Europe or Australia.
Amy Samy: Why Did Bodhidharma Come From the West? An excerpt from Amy Samy's book.
Sangharakshita: Great Buddhists of the Twentieth Century Taken from a lecture, Sangharakishita outlines briefly 5 influential Buddhists of the 20th Century. None are Zen masters. However, this serves as an introduction to some significant Buddhist figures of the last century.
James Sellman: A belated response to Hu Shih and D.T. Suzuki. (debate on Ch'an and Zen Buddhism in Philosophy East and West, vol. 3, p. 3 an p. 25, April 1953) This is an ancient debate between Suzuki and Hu Shih and I add it here just for historical reasons.
Shauna L. Shapiro,
Linda E. Carlson,
John A. Astin,
Benedict Freedman: Mechanisms of Mindfulness A psychological look at the Buddhist practice of 'mindfulness'. This is a technical psychological article from Journal of Clinical Psychology, Vol 62 (3), 2006, pp373-386
Matsumoto Shiro: The Meaning of "Zen" Shiro explains what he sees as what the term 'Zen' means.
Michelle Spuler: Characteristics of Buddhism in Australia This essay looks at Buddhism's growth and characteristics in Australia. A little dated now but of interest. from Journal of Contemporary Religion, Vol. 15, No. 1, 2000
D. T. Suzuki: Manual of Zen Buddhism This 84-page pdf document was first published in 1935 as the final in a tryptych. It covers areas such as Gathas and Prayers, Dharanis, Sutras, selections from Chinese and Japanese masters and ends with discussion of Buddhist statues and paintings that might be found in a Zen monastery. Each area is much better covered in other writings but I include this here for historical purposes.
John Tarrant: Robert Aitken's Amazing Life Tarrant writes an obituary for the Shambhala Sun of his teacher and reveals doubts about Aitken's enlightenment, much to the chagrin of Nelson Foster & Jack Shoemaker.
Mark T Unno: Questions in the Making: A Review Essay on Zen Buddhist Ethics in the Context of Buddhist and Comparative Ethics Unno reviews four books on Buddhist ethics and examines Buddhist ethics in the light of comparative ethics. from Journal of Religious Ethics
Unwritten Haiku and other travel sketches: this collection of CGI art is the website of Pat Hinchcliffe. Drop in for a visit to some lovely sites.
Martin J Verhoeven: Science Through Buddhist Eyes Verhoeven looks critically at the view that science and Buddhism are in simple harmony. "...we might better advance the discussion not by highlighting where Buddhism and science see eye-to-eye, but precisely where they do not, perhaps forcing each to confront its own contradictions and shortcomings."
Brian Daizen Victoria: Engaged Buddhism: A Skeleton in the Closet? Victoria continues his critique of nationalism in Japanese Buddhism... "it should be clear that the skeleton in the closet of today's Engaged Buddhism movement is simply this: nationalism. And Engaged Buddhism's ongoing challenge is how to deal with nationalism in the context of the teachings of the Buddha Dharma." Highly recommended. See also reviews of Victoria's books: Zen at War and Zen War Stories from: Journal of Global Buddhism
Gordon Waitt: A Place for Buddha in Wollongong, New South Wales? Territorial rules in the
place-making of sacred spaces Nan Tien Temple, built in Wollongong, 80 km south of Sydney is the Southern Hemisphere's largest Buddhist temple. Waitt discusses how it came to be and argues "that the variables influencing the decision making ...resulted from a locally specific set of reciprocal relationships between the symbolic and material worlds." from: Australian Geographer, Vol. 34, No. 2, pp. 223–238, July 2003
Alan Watts: Beat Zen, square Zen, and Zen. (Zen Buddhism as practiced in China, Japan and the US) An early essay by Watts that looks at Zen in the West, especially in the context of the "beat" movement.
John Wright: Language and emptiness: An interview with Norman Fischer Wright and Fischer discuss the use of language in Zen and poetry. from:
Chicago Review Vol. 39 No. 3-4, 1993 Pp.67-73
Yamaguchi Zuiho: The Core Elements of Indian Buddhism Introduced into Tibet:
A Contrast with Japanese Buddhism Zuiho questions "the widespread assumption...that Buddhism is something more or less like what Mo-ho-yen taught" and he takes a look at "the chief marks of what is taken to be 'proper' or 'correct' Buddhism in the Tibetan tradition, with particular attention to the distinction between 'bodhi-wisdom' and'liberation.'"
