Lion’s Roar

During the lifetime of the Buddha, there were those of the Brahmanical faith who hoped for eternal existence with Brahma, the creator God. A Brahman once asked the Buddha, “What can I do to ensure that I will be with Brahma after I die?” and the Buddha replied, “As Brahma is the source of love, to dwell with him you must practice the brahmaviharas —l...

For years I kept switching jobs because none of them made me happy. I would only stay in a job because my fear of not having anything else in hand was greater than my dissatisfaction.

“If only,” I whined to myself, “if only I could find the right job, with just the perfect conditions, I could be at peace. If only the world would bend itself to my will.”

My...

Two prominent Buddhist organizations have joined forces to deepen opportunities for practice in Canada. Gampo Abbey and the Dharmata Foundation have announced a new collaboration centered on a hermitage project called Kadak Dzong — “Fortress of Original Purity” — initiated by Anam Thubten Rinpoche, spiritual advisor of the Dharmata Foundation.

The project is part of...

In 1974, Philippe Petit walked a wire strung between the Twin Towers in New York City. For forty minutes, he walked, knelt, lay down, even danced—1,300 feet above the street.

What made this possible wasn’t just courage. It was training. Petit had practiced balance his entire life, then spent months preparing for this specific crossing—learning the tension of this pa...

Melvin McLeod: Tell us about writing your new book The Robe and the Sword: How Buddhist Extremism Is Shaping Modern Asia. 

Sonia Faleiro: It’s based on two years of research. I started out in India, where I was born, and which is, of course, the birthplace of Buddhism. I then traveled to Thailand, Sri Lanka, a...