The Importance of Understanding the Sociology of Religion

http://hds.harvard.edu/news/2016/01/20/importance-understanding-sociology-religion#

The Importance of Understanding the Sociology of Religion

Warren Goldstein is a sociologist of religion teaching at HDS. While his research aims to develop a critical sociology of religion as a "new paradigm" in the sociology of religion, he is more broadly interested in the development of a critical paradigm in the study of religion as a whole.

Social Media Dharma

http://www.tricycle.com/blog/social-media-dharma


by Chris Towery, January 21, 2016

Social Media Dharma

Rather than viewing Facebook as a meaningless distraction, why not observe how we get caught up in and controlled by our mental and physical sensations online?


Related: Mindful Tech: How to Bring Balance to Our Digital Lives

Buddha Weekly on the treatment of animals

http://buddhaweekly.com/prominent-scientists-declare-all-non-human-animals-are-conscious-beings-the-dalai-lama-protests-chicken-slaughter-an-orangutan-won-non-human-rights-over-zoo-keeper-what-do-the-teachers-say-ab/

Buddha Weekly  on the treatment of animals

Prominent Scientists Declare “All Non Human Animals… Are Conscious Beings.” The Dalai Lama Protests Chicken Slaughter. An Orangutan Won Non-Human Rights Over Zoo Keeper. What Do the Teachers Say About Non-Human Compassion?

Can Buddhism Save the World?

http://www.counterpunch.org/2016/01/15/can-buddhism-save-the-world/

JANUARY 15, 2016

Can Buddhism Save the World?

by MICHAEL WELTON

The Four Noble Truths of intimate relationships

http://www.wildmind.org/blogs/on-practice/the-four-noble-truths-of-intimate-relationships

The Four Noble Truths of intimate relationships

December 21, 2015 

 Bodhipaksa

Because the Buddha was a celibate monk, there can be a tendency for us to see intimate relationships as a distraction or hindrance to the spiritual life. But the Buddha himself described marriage as potentially a source of great happiness.

UPAYA: Rohatsu 2015 Talks 1-6 : Miracle of Each Moment

http://us9.campaign-archive2.com/?u=6b52ef25342e3408ae4f12d65&id=87a9996565&e=16ce74c530

UPAYA: Rohatsu 2015 Talks 1-6 : Miracle of Each Moment

A new Settlement : religion and Belief in Schools

http://faithdebates.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/A-New-Settlement-for-Religion-and-Belief-in-schools.pdf

A new Settlement : religion and Belief in Schools

by Charles Clarke and Linda Woodhead 

Living with Difference: Community, Diversity and the Common Good

http://www.corab.org.uk/

Living with Difference: Community, Diversity and the Common Good

The report of the Commission on Religion and Belief in British Public Life, convened by the Woolf Institute and chaired by Baroness Butler-Sloss.
It is titled "Living with Difference: Community, Diversity and the Common Good".

RE for REal report and Recommendations

http://www.gold.ac.uk/faithsunit/reforreal/

In a context of deep religious illiteracy in the UK, RE for REal explores the role of schools in equipping young people with the knowledge and skills to engage effectively with religion and belief diversity, in schools, in their communities, in future workplaces and in wider social contexts.

The project analyses the views of pupils, parents and teachers in secondary education and of employers, on what school leavers need to know about religion and belief in relation to the current religion and belief landscape, as evidenced in research and current educational policy.

It builds on the Religious Education Council’s A Review of Religious Education in England (2013) by providing a new evidence-base to support and facilitate continuing national discussions. By engaging protagonists in the field in a cycle of reflective analysis, it will further stimulate and facilitate wider debate around the future role and shape of RE in schools.

Below, you will find supporting documents to accompany our recent study:

Full report (PDF download)

Executive summary (PDF download)

Recommendations (PDF download)

RE for REal brings together views on what children need to know and understand about religion with research evidence on the real religious landscape and explores the gaps between the two. It is unique in that it will bring together key groups of influence to create a forum in which to discuss how to align these two in future policy and planning for schools.

Secular Buddhist Association : Basic Meditation Instructions

http://secularbuddhism.org/meditation-support/basic-meditation-instructions/

Secular Buddhist Association : Basic Meditation Instructions

Mindfulness: Helping Youth Learn to Feel Emotions and Choose Their Behavior

http://youthtoday.org/2015/11/mindfulness-helping-youth-learn-to-feel-emotions-and-choose-their-behavior/

Mindfulness: Helping Youth Learn to Feel Emotions and Choose Their Behavior

By Lynne Anderson

Holistic Life Foundation instructors Michelle Lee (left) and Jazmine Blackwell lead students through an exercise during an after-school yoga and meditation program at Lillie May Carroll Jackson Charter School. The instructors told the girls to pull the "weight of the room" toward them and push it back away from them.

Tricycle : Ma Moune blog by Pamela Gayle White

http://www.tricycle.com/blog/ma-moune

Ma Moune : 

How a writer met her faithful companion

Pamela Gayle White, October 06, 2015

http://www.tricycle.com/blog/special-bond

A Special Bond: 

I'm grateful for my eye-catching dog, even when I'm not. 

http://www.tricycle.com/blog/aware-assumption

Aware of Assumption

It takes a conscious effort to recognize the extent we project our motives, weaknesses, and qualities on to our selves—and our pets. 

5 Common Myths About Meditation

http://imprific.com/blog/@budkowski/5-common-myths-about-meditation/

5 Common Myths About Meditation

by Maciej Budkowski

IFN Interfaith Bulletin Oct-Nov 2015

http://www.interfaith.org.uk/publications/ifn-e-bulletin/146-ifn-e-bulletin-october-november-2015/file

IFN Interfaith Bulletin Oct-Nov 2015

e.Bayda: The three things we fear most

The Three Things we Fear Most

http://www.zencentersandiego.org/files/articles/tricycle2009spring_fear.pdf

Nuns' stories from around the world

http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/world/wisdom-from-the-female-faces-of-zen/story-e6frg6so-1227544252211

Nuns' stories from around the world

Reports from the Sakyadhita International Conference Yogyakarta, Indonesia

http://americanbuddhistwomen.com/?utm_source=SUMMER+2015+Issue+7%2C+American+Buddhist+Women&utm_campaign=Summer+2015+Issue+ABW&utm_medium=email

Reports from the Sakyadhita International Conference Yogyakarta, Indonesia

June 23-30, 2015

Invented Religions

http://www.religiousstudiesproject.com/podcast/podcast-carole-cusack-on-invented-religions/

Invented Religions

What is an “Invented Religion”? Why should scholars take these religions seriously? What makes these “inventions” different from the revelations in other religions? What happens when an author does not want their story to become a religious text?

War Remembrance in Japan's Buddhist Cemeteries

1. http://japanfocus.org/-Brian-Victoria/4353/article.html
2. http://japanfocus.org/-Brian-Victoria/4367/article.html

War Remembrance in Japan's Buddhist Cemeteries (1-2)

War Remembrance in Japan’s Buddhist Cemeteries, Part I: Kannon Hears the Cries of War The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 13, Issue. 31, No. 3, August 03, 2015 Brian Victoria Abstract While the role of Yasukuni Shrine in both commemorating and eulogizing Japan’s wartime aggression is well known (and controversial), little to no attention has been paid to a similar role played by a number of Buddhist temples in contemporary Japan. For example, Kōa Kannon (Kannon for a Prosperous Asia) temple (興亜観音寺), located in Atami, a hot-springs resort south of Tokyo, is one such war-eulogizing Buddhist temple. This temple was initially established in the late 1930s at the initiative of Imperial Army General Matsui Iwane, supreme commander of the Japanese attack on Nanjing in December 1937, better known as the "Rape of Nanjing." In the postwar era, Kannon Bodhisattva, the Buddhist personification of compassion enshrined at Kōa Kannon, has gone on to become one of the main Buddhist figures employed throughout the country to comfort the “heroic spirits” (eirei) of all Japanese soldiers who died in the war while, at the same time, valorizing and eulogizing the war they fought in. In addition to Kannon-centric temples, the major Shingon sect-affiliated monastic complex on Mt. Kōya now plays a major role in the remembrance of the war dead, including an effort to transform convicted "war criminals" into national “martyrs” (junnan-sha), an effort backed by the current Japanese government. http://japanfocus.org/-Brian-Victoria/4367/article.html War Remembrance in Japan’s Buddhist Cemeteries, Part II:  Transforming War Criminals into Martyrs: “True Words” on Mt. Kōya The Asia-Pacific Journal, Vol. 13, Issue. 34, No. 3, August 24, 2015 Brian Victoria

HuffPost: Is There Anything Spiritual About Mindfulness?

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-mayya/is-there-anything-spiritu_b_8021384.html

Is There Anything Spiritual About Mindfulness?

These days mindfulness is the buzzword. Celebrities such as Goldie Hawn, Richard Gere and Tina Turner have been some of it's strongest proponents. Mindfulness seems to be embraced in the west, more as a practice and discipline rather than as a religion, although its origin is in Buddhism. But does mindfulness have a spiritual and transformational quality to it?