Buddha

The historical Buddha, Siddhartha Gautama, was a prince who lived about 2,600 years ago. After leaving his palace and discovering the realities of sickness, old age, and death for the first time, he resolved to understand and transcend suffering. He awakened under the Bodhi tree in modern day Bodhgaya, India, and began to teach the four noble truths, and the path to liberation from samsara—the cycle of birth, suffering, and death.

Lumbini will never be a Buddhist Mecca

The BBC has an article today that asks: “What happened to the dream of a Buddhist Mecca?” The article is about development in Lumbini, Nepal, the birthplace of the Buddha. It’s a common question these days…

By Tricycle

This week on tricycle.com

Last week, Gene Smith was honored with the opening of the Gene Smith Library at the Minorities University in Chengdu, China. Smith had left the university his collection of Tibetan texts. In the Summer 2011 issue…

By Tricycle

This week on tricycle.com

The jury is still out on whether it’s acceptable for Buddhists to enjoy a glass of wine now and again. While we wait for the verdict, some of us are in the mood for a little…

By Tricycle

Teachings

Angulimala and Tantric Buddhism

The British scholar of Buddhism Richard Gombrich has a seemingly endless supply of insightful readings of texts that we as Buddhists assume we know through and through. Take Angulimala (please). The standard story is one of…

By Tricycle

Fake Monks and Buddha Thievery

Has anybody read the Bangkok Post lately? Seems like the paper is absolutely determined to expose all Buddhist fraud and thievery these days. First, in “Bogus Monks exploit Buddhism,” we learn of foreign monks immigrating to…

By Tricycle

A Sutra Noir: The Big Awakening

Nearly thirty years ago, Tricycle’s features editor, Andrew Cooper, wrote a fine piece of Buddhist humor that made the rounds in various Buddhist publications. It is an imagined Buddhist sutra told in the voice of a…

By Tricycle

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