Nothing is permanent, everything is precious. Here’s a selection of some happenings—fleeting or otherwise—at Tricycle and in the Buddhist world this week.
A Podcast Interview on the Radical Power of Just Showing Up with Shelly Tygielski
In the latest episode of Life As It Is, meditation teacher and activist Shelly Tygielski discusses her work supporting refugees displaced by the war in Ukraine. Listen here.
A Dharma Talk on School Shootings and the Sense of Separation
On Tuesday, May 23, hours after the school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that killed nineteen children and two adults, bhikkhuni Ayya Dhammadipa, founder of Dassanaya Buddhist Community in Alexandria, Virginia, gave a dharma talk that confronts the horror of this massacre and the 27 school shootings that have happened in the United States so far this year. Watch here.
A Feature Titled, “In the Cabin of the Crazy One”
Poet and essayist Diana Goetsch writes about her late-in-life gender transition while on a 12-day solo meditation retreat in a remote cabin. Read the article, adapted from her new memoir This Body I Wore, here.
On a final evening walk I looked up at the mountain, determined to state out loud: “I want to be a woman.” My heart was in my throat, I could barely speak above a whisper. “I want to be a woman,” I finally said, and the mountain said, “Fine by me.” A tree said, “OK.” “Like I care?” a chipmunk weighed in.
A Short Guided Meditation on Opening Through the Outbreath
In the third of four short audio practices on Open Mindfulness, a series of practices that explores Tibetan Buddhist awareness practices in the context of the modern mindfulness movement, meditation teacher Lama Karma demonstrates awareness of the outbreath as a path to open and relaxed presence. Try it here.
In Other News…
The Rubin Museum of Art Launches Project Himalayan Art
The three-part initiative, launching in the beginning of 2023, aims to broaden understanding of Himalayan art through a new publication, traveling exhibition, and digital platform.
Four Buddhist Monks Killed in an Artillery Strike in Myanmar
The abbot of Mya Thein Tan Monastery and three novice monks were killed in the Sagaing Region’s Pale Township on May 13.
Buddhist Scholar Brian Daizen Victoria Writes on the Relationship of Buddhism to War
In an article published by Buddhistdoor Global, Brian Daizen Victoria analyzes Buddhism’s historical and doctrinal connection to war. He argues that, despite the peaceful tenets of Buddhism, the religion does indeed hold instincts for war.
Scholar Jay Garfield’s Latest Book, Losing Ourselves: Learning to Live Without a Self, Comes Out
On May 24, Jay Garfield came out with a new book that takes an approachable view on the well-known but often-misunderstood Buddhist principle of no-self. Read some quotes from Garfield’s recent appearance on Tricycle Talks here.