Kurt Spellmeyer

black and white photo of buddha sculptures in a temple

Awakened by Beauty

A Zen priest and scholar considers the role of aesthetics in a renunciant tradition.

By Kurt Spellmeyer, Photographs by Michael Kenna

Fall 2019

Silhouette of a person looking down at their cell phone

Trike Daily Personal Reflections

Why You’re Addicted to Your Phone

The nonstop novelty of cell phones distracts us from the true root of our suffering, says Zen priest Kurt Spellmeyer.

By Kurt Spellmeyer

Dec 27, 2018

The Human Deity

Seeing the Buddha as both human and divine opens us to our own limitless nature.

By Kurt Spellmeyer

Winter 2018

Waking Up by Breaking Down Barriers

Meditation can be painful. Especially if it’s practiced for long hours in a Zen retreat. But that’s not why Rinzai Zen teacher Genki Roshi once described meditation to his student Kurt Spellmeyer as “dying on the cushion.” In this series, Spellmeyer, now a Zen priest, takes a closer look at what exactly “dies” on the cushion—our sense of self, the death of which allows us to exist in perpetual harmony with the surrounding world. When meditative insight rids the self of barriers, what remains is an open gate of awareness and communication.

By Kurt Spellmeyer

Sep 2018

Magazine History & Philosophy

The Wisdom of Uncertainty

The dharma’s true home is neither here nor there.

By Kurt Spellmeyer, Artwork by Bernadette Jiyong Frank

Fall 2018

vintage postage stamps for an article on globalism

Magazine History & Philosophy

Globalism 3.0

The secret to world harmony isn’t oneness. It’s multiplicity.

By Kurt Spellmeyer

Winter 2017

Muslim activist and a Buddhist priest sit together at a table, buddhism and islam

Magazine Society & Environment

Dialogue Across Difference

In a time of discordance and distrust, especially among religious communities, a Muslim activist and a Buddhist priest come together to discuss and resist the nativism that has surfaced all over the globe.

With Kurt Spellmeyer and Sofia Ali-Khan, Photography by Eric McNatt

Summer 2017

Magazine History & Philosophy

Is the Dharma Democratic?

The Buddha’s radical inclusivity suggests it is.

By Kurt Spellmeyer

Spring 2017

Trike Daily

Now What Do We Do?

Buddhist history to consider on Inauguration Day

By Kurt Spellmeyer

Jan 20, 2017

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Arts & Culture

The Bodhisattva Blues

Bluesman Reverend Freakchild discusses his music, sobriety, and why he’s pursuing a master’s degree in Buddhist studies.

By Jeff Goldberg

Nov 12, 2019

Magazine

The Buddhist Review

Arts & Culture

The Mandala Master

For more than two decades, Losang Samten has spread lessons of interdependence in the West through Tibetan Buddhist sand mandalas.

Interview with Losang Samten by Anne Doran and Frank Olinsky

Winter 2019

Dharma Talks

Video teachings and discussions with contemporary Buddhist teachers

narayan helen libenson teaching meditative inquiry

Meditation & Practice

Good Question! The Art of Meditative Inquiry

The Buddha encouraged us to investigate our experiences, but some ways of questioning mire us in confusion while others are liberating. Dharma and Insight Meditation teacher Narayan Helen Liebenson helps us distinguish skillful from unskillful types of inquiry and approach life’s deepest questions with a spirit of wholesome curiosity.

Narayan Helen Liebenson

Nov 2019

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