New insights into gods and men

Sunday Times, Nov 8, 2009

Book facts: Gods in Buddhism – Origin, Function and Relevance by Professor M.M.J. Marasinghe.
Published by Sarasavi Publishers Ltd. Price: Rs 1,200

Buddhha's wife

By John Malkin, Interview with Gabriel Constans, Source: Free Radio Santa Cruz, July 29, 2009, Published on the Buddhist Channel, Nov 5, 2009

Buddha’s Wife by Gabriel Constans
Robert D. Reed Publishers
Bandon, Oregon
ISBN:978-1-934759-29-5
Category: Fiction
Soft cover, 192 pages, $14.94
Publication Date: August 24, 2009

"This book is an awesome read, insightful, woman loving - a challenge to all spiritual seekers to rethink, re-vise, and dream anew". -  Bell Hooks, author

When quantum physics meets Buddhism

The Bangkok Post, Oct 12, 2009

A comprehensive discussion between scientist-turned-monk Matthieu Ricard and Vietnamese scientist Trinh Xuan Thuan

Bangkok, Thailand -- The Quantum and the Lotus: A Journey to the Frontiers Where Science and Buddhism Meet is a colourful exploration of existing knowledge on the mind and the universe that seeks to stretch its boundary by another notch.

Buddha as blueprint for the perfect leader

Book Review by HARVEY SCHACHTER, The Globe and Mail, Sep. 24, 2009

The Leader's Way
By the Dalai Lama
and Laurens van den Muyzenberg
Broadway, 218 pages, $29.95

Toronto, Canada -- The Dalai Lama is not someone most Canadian business people would turn to for leadership advice. Buddhism does not seem a natural fit with today's business world. Purple-and-yellow robes don't fit for most business occasions.

Book Highlights Essence of Korean Temples

By Chung Ah-young, The Korea Times, Sep 11, 2009

Seoul, South Korea -- By studying the deep-rooted influences of Buddhism, alongside Confucianism, one can discover their lasting imprint on Korea's culture and arts, as well as its contemporary society. Korean Buddhist temples are in many ways like ``living museums'' because of their historical, cultural and architectural values.

'Novice' is memoir about young Englishman becoming Buddhist monk, then quitting

By Michael Hill, The Canadian Press, Sep 4, 2009

Toronto, Canada -- Far from home and strung out on morphine, Stephen Schettini was saved from his skid when a friend showed up at his hovel in Pakistan to force him to clean up and move on.

San Francisco Mission district's Zen oasis: Forest Books teaches for peace

by Aubrey Winkler, Literature Examiner, August 18, 2009

San Francisco, CA (USA) -- Forest Books, located at 3080 16th Street at Valencia and serving the Mission community with used, out of print and hard-to-find books daily from noon until 9pm, is more than meets the eye.

FREE NIRVANA!

Buddhist Wisdom for Uncertain Times by Gary Gach, The Buddhist Channel, Aug 17, 2009

San Francisco, CA (USA) -- Ancient wisdom traditions have deep resonance in these uncertain times — not that there’s more suffering than ever before but that more people are aware of suffering.

Dalai Lama says capitalism can learn from Buddhism

By Ellen Wulfhorst, Reuters, Jul 29, 2009

NEW YORK, USA -- The Dalai Lama may not be the first person who comes to mind for business advice but, as the Buddhist monk wrote in his new book, capitalism can profit from Buddhism's principles and values.

Do You Just 'Eat Sleep Sit'?

by Zweiya, The Buddhist Channel, July 22, 2009

Singapore -- I came across the book ‘Eat Sleep Sit’ at Bugis Junctions’ Books Kinokuniy. Am not ashamed to say I was first attracted to the book by it’s Zennish design. With its title, it was enough to make me turn the hardcover book around to read its blurb.

Bits and pieces of teaching Buddhism

by CHRIS BAKER, The Bangkok Post, July 13, 2009

New research on Sukhothai's most intriguing monument

Bangkok, Thailand -- Histories of Buddhism in Southeast Asia have imagined a clear break between premodern and modern practices. In the past, they claim, each wat (temple) and abbot was very independent.

Turtle Feet: The Making and Unmaking of a Buddhist Monk

Book Review by Kathryn Perry, CSMonitor, June 23, 2009

A music student renounces all to become a Buddhist monk – and then has second thoughts

New York, USA -- Nikolai Grozni was a piano prodigy studying jazz performance and composition at Berklee College of Music in Boston when he had an epiphany. It was nothing dramatic; he simply woke up one morning, went to the bathroom to brush his teeth, and then, “somewhere between the bathroom and the living room,” he lost all sense of purpose.

Don't just do something, sit there

By ANN ALLEN, McClatchy Newspapers, June 18, 2009

Hardest part of meditation is in the starting

CHARLOTTE, N.C. (USA) -- The hardest part of meditation isn't quieting the mind or tolerating sore knees or explaining to your family what the heck you're doing.

Book Review: Living Well with Pain and Illness

by Chris Vaughan, Metapsychology Online, Jun 16 2009 (Volume 13, Issue 25)

Birmingham, UK -- This book is part biography, part philosophical treatise and part workbook. It is designed to run parallel with the courses that Burch runs but it also stands alone in its own right. It is a distillation of the lessons Burch has learned over the years of living and dealing with chronic pain and should be respected for that reason alone. But it is also to be commended for the clarity of its writing, its realism and its wisdom.

Book on Nepalese Buddhist Master released

by Binju Sitaula, Xinhua, June 7, 2009

KATHMANDU, Nepal -- A book on Nepalese Buddhist Master Buddhabhadra was released here on Saturday amid a program to mark the 1,600 anniversary of Buddhist Mission to China.

Ex-envoy pens book on Buddha

By YIP YOKE TENG, The Star, May 30, 2009

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- DIPLOMATS are individuals appointed for peace missions and a book on peace penned by an ambassador who was in the profession for close to 30 years certainly carries weight.

Gurus for Hire, Enlightenment for Sale

Book review by Jamie Khoo, The Buddhist Channel, May 9, 2009

An insider’s guide into the relationship between students, Gurus and centres.
Author: Tsem Tulku Rinpoche

Petaling Jaya, Malaysia -- It can get a bit tricky, navigating this spiritual path - there’s the politics and people problems, our doubts and egos, outward rituals and inward confusion that all get in the way and cloud what it really means to just practice.

'The Face on Your Plate: The Truth About Food,' by Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson

By Susan Salter Reynolds, Los Angeles Times, March 16, 2009

Los Angeles, CA (USA) -- Jeffrey Moussaieff Masson wants to help all meat eaters wake up from the dream of denial they are experiencing.

Translating the Words of the Buddha

by Pawo Choyning Dorji, Khyentse Foundation, March 11, 2009

Landmark translation conference aims to make Buddha’s teachings accessible to millions

Nalanda, India -- Many of the world’s leading Tibetan-English translators are gathering next week in the tiny Indian village of Bir in northern India to map the future of Dharma translation for generations to come. What they decide could help make the Buddha’s core teachings available to millions worldwide.

Book Review: From Buddha To Jesus, An Insider's View of Buddhism and Christianity

by Venerable Shravasti Dhammika, The Buddhist Channel, Feb 20, 2009

Singapore -- A book on Buddhism has just been published that has apparently created some interest within evangelical Christian circles. The book is called From Buddha to Jesus and the author, Steve Cioccolanti, is of Thai-Western extraction and pastor of a church in Melbourne, Australia. Both in his website and once in his book (p.13) Cioccolanti says he was a Buddhist and thus his book has the subtitle 'An Insiders View of Buddhism and Christianity'.

Book released on spread of Buddhism in China

ANI, February 13, 2009

New Delhi, India -- Vice President Hamid Ansari released a book entitled ”China: a search for its soul, leaves from a Beijing diary” authored by Poonam Suri here on Friday.

The Way of Zen-Masterpiece of Ideas

by Mary Kay McBrayer, The West georgian, Feb 11, 2009

Carrollton, Georgia (USA) -- To be or not to be is not the question according to Alan Watts' "Way of Zen," because to "be" and to "not be" are opposites, which rely on the other state of being in order to exist.

Marmora author publishes 'Zen River Poems and Halibun'

By URSULA PFLUG, THE PETERBOROUGH EXAMINER, Feb 7, 2009

Peterborough, Ontario (Canada) -- Chris Faiers has lived in the Marmora region for over two decades. Like Winona Baker, he is a modern English language master of haibun, a form both invented and popularized by Matsuo Basho, a Japanese Buddhist monk.

Book Explores Beauty of Buddhist Sculptures

By Chung Ah-young, The Korea Times, Jan 18, 2009

Seoul, South Korea -- Buddhism has left an indelible legacy on Korean cultural heritage since its introduction to the nation in the late 4th century.

Philosopher in classic sense

by Ashok Vohra, The Tribune India, Jan 4, 2009

New Delhi, India -- BY the term philosophy, Dr Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar (1891–1956), alias Babasaheb, meant "critical reason used in passing judgment upon things and events". In his opinion, the function of philosophy was "both descriptive as well as normative". In his thought and action, Ambedkar continually undertakes the task of comprehending underlying assumptions of the lived society and evaluating them.

The Buddha and Dr Führer: an Archaeological Scandal by Charles Allen

by Sara Wheeler, The Telegraph (UK), Dec 30, 2008

Sara Wheeler on the man who claimed to have found the Buddha's birthplace
 
London, UK -- In 1898, on an estate between the foothills of the Himalayas and the Gangetic Plains, a third-generation British planter called William Claxton Peppé excavated an intriguing brick stupa. At 24 feet, he unearthed a hefty stone coffer containing five reliquary vases. Besides a glittering heap of jewels and gold, one of the vases held ashes. An inscription around the rim recorded that the ashes were the remains of the Buddha, and that they had been deposited by members of his Sakya clan.

Looking for CALM

The Deccan Herald, Jan 4, 2009

Sunday Herald presents an exclusive extract from Zen master Thich Nhat Hanh's yet to be released book, 'Calming the Fearful Mind...A Zen Response to Terrorism'.

Revisiting a Classic: 'Your Money or Your Life'

By EILEEN AJ CONNELLY, AP, Dec 31, 2008

NEW YORK, USA -- There are countless personal finance books that advise readers on budgeting, investing and paying down debt. Few leave the tips aside and ask you to question your relationship with money and the reasons you spend what you do.

Learning to heal

by Terry Reis Kennedy, Deccan Herald, Dec 7, 2008

A book that facilitates the understanding of moving from agony to ecstasy in daily life

New Delhi, India -- Is it possible to dwell in bliss in a world more perilous than ever? According to Vietnamese Zen Buddhist Master Thich Nhat Hanh, 72, it’s easier than ever because we have experienced so much pain we are eager to transcend. Master Hahn’s "Understanding Our Mind", a revised text compiled and edited from talks he gave around the world between 1989 and 1998 teaches how to move from agony to ecstasy in daily life.

Accepting Nothing

By Michael Gill, The Cleveland Free Times, Volume 15, Issue 80, Published November 19th, 2008

Beyond War And Peace With Poet Bruce Weigl

Cleveland, Ohio (USA) -- In his memoir The Circle of Hanh, poet Bruce Weigl wrote that the Vietnam war ruined his life and gave him his voice. But when he reads at the Bertram Woods Branch of the Shaker Heights Public Library, as part of the Poetry Not in the Woods Series, he doesn't plan to read war poems.

Poet’s Observations Reveal a Complex Inner Narrative

The Buddhist Channel, Nov 13, 2008

Winlaw, BC (Canada) -- To read these poems is to engage in an act of devotion, to lower one’s eyes and raise them again with reverence for the world.

Buddhists can teach Christians about suffering

By RAY WADDLE , The Tennessean, October 25, 2008

Tennessee, USA -- Everywhere, every day, a swirling opera of judgmentalism plays out in the interior life, depleting energy and neighborliness, polluting the spiritual winds of our time.

Graveyard of Indian idealism

Reviewed by Sreeram Chaulia, Asia Times, Oct 23, 2008

Tibet. The Lost Frontier by Claude Arpi

What would the Buddha do? Practical Buddhism for modern times

by Kurt Barstow, Los Angeles Religion & Spirituality Examiner, October 23, 2008

Los Angeles, CA (USA) -- The Bodhi Tree Grows in L.A.: Tales of a Buddhist Monk in America (Shambhala, 2008) by Bhante Walpola Piyananda is a testimony to the simplicity and therefore applicability of Buddhist teachings.

Om "money" padme hum?

by Himanshu Bhagat, Livemint.com, Oct 16, 2008

New York, USA -- There was a time when the Dalai Lama was enamoured of Chairman Mao and communism. “Mao impressed me in many ways,” he writes in The Leader’s Way:Business, Buddhism and Happiness in an Interconnected World “He explained (communism) as a system where the capitalists would no longer exploit workers.”

The holy mountain of Japan

By DONALD RICHIE, The Japan Times, Oct 5, 2008

Tokyo, Japan -- Koyasan is the general name for the Buddhist monastic complex (Shingon sect) residing atop Mount Koya in Wakayama Prefecture.

On the trail of the Buddha

by T. SATYAMURTHY, The Hindu, Sept 16, 2008

Book Review: THE WHEEL AND ITS TRACKS — A History of Buddhism in Early Andhra: Sashi Sekhar; Pub. by Mokkapati Subbarayudu, 86-4-16/1, Vadrevu Nagar, Manthena Gardens, Tilak Road, Rajahmundry. Rs.2500.

The Zen of healing

by Chloe Daley, The State Hornet, Sept 9, 2008

Sacramento, CA (USA) -- Sacramento State professor Andrew Bein offers a unique approach for mental health care providers using the teachings of Zen Buddhism in his newly released book.

Nine Buddhist World Leaders Speak Out On Today's Most Important Issues

The Buddhist Channel, Sept 4, 2008

Author and teacher, Robert Sachs, interviews some of the most influential spiritual teachers and thinkers of our time in his newest book, The Wisdom of The Buddhist Masters: Common and Uncommon Sense

Los Angeles, CA -- When most people think of Buddhism, they think of pacifism - of a serene Buddha detached from the world.

Book Review: Footprints in the Snow

By MICHAEL WENGER, The Buddhist Channel, Sept 4, 2008

San Francisco, CA (USA) -- I have never met Master Sheng Yen in person but I was blown away by his new autobiography Footprints in The Snow. The book is a story of a real person who struggles

Book review: Women in Buddhism

by PREMA NANDAKUMAR, The Hindu, July 8, 2008

Kolkatta, India -- Perhaps there was a time long, long ago when all the songs in Theri Gatha were known to the Tamil people.

Planning the Demise of Buddhism

Book Review by Allen Carr, LankaWeb, July 1, 2008

London, UK -- Some Western drug companies spend millions of dollars developing and marketing a new drug only to have the health authorities later discover that it has dangerous side-effects and then ban it.

Book Review: The Boy King as Modern Mystic

by UDDALAK MUKHERJEE, The Telegraph of India, June 30, 2008

The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama
Author: Pico Iyer
Viking

New Book on Religion Shows Teachings of Jesus Came from Buddha

The Buddhist Channel, June 30, 2008

Los Angeles, CA, (USA) -- “Buddha’s Big Foot,” is now available on Amazon.com and Createspace (http://www.createspace.com/3343488); this new book by Robert Korczynski explores history, religion, linguistics, and numerology, to conclude that all of Christianity is sourced from the teachings of the Buddha.

Book Review: Rise and fall of Buddhism in South Asia

The New Nation, June 27, 2008

The rise and fall of Bhddhism in South Asia
Author: M. Abdul Mu'min Chowdhury
Publisher: London Institute of South Asia
Pages 358, Price: Taka 500/- US$ 15

Do What You Love

Citywire, 20 June 2008

London, UK -- Marsha Sinetar had a well-paid, secure job, a nice home and a circle of family and friends nearby. Even though her work was unfulfilling, promotions and material success stopped her from doing anything different. There was a nagging feeling, though, that she should be doing something else, and although she believed in self-growth mantras like ‘What man can conceive, he can achieve,’ she clung to the familiar.

Zen Buddhist priest's new book navigates life with 'The Odyssey'

by Leslie Harlib, Marin Independent Journal, June 12, 2008

Navato, CA (USA) -- ZEN BUDDHIST PRIEST Norman Fischer's sun-filled home on the cliffs above Muir Beach embodies a classic idea of paradise. It's surrounded by fragrant gardens of herbs and flowers planted by his wife, Kathie, who's also a Zen Buddhist priest.

Encounters with Enlightenment

Organiser, June 10, 2008

New Delhi, India -- The author, an American born as David Luce in Jersey, after graduation in history developed a strong interest in eastern religions, especially Buddhism. He wrote this book after becoming a Buddhist, influenced as he was by the life of the Buddha.

Insights into living and dying

by ENNAPADAM S. KRISHNAMOORTHY AND NIRANJANA BENNETT, The Hindu, June 1, 2008

New Delhi, India -- Modern healthcare professionals can learn much from the Tibetan Buddhist belief that it as important to die with dignity as it is to live happily. Another look at a classic, a book by Sogyal Rinpoche, that had its 10th anniversary reprint recently.

Not an idyll but still a joy

By Ned Denny, Mail Online, May 21, 2008

London, UK -- When the young Sun Shuyun first considered travelling to Tibet for eight years' well-remunerated service to China's communist leadership, her father was angrily dismissive of the idea.

Book on Buddhist temples published to welcome Vesak

VietNamNet Bridge, May 14, 2008

Hanoi, Vietnam -- Vietnam has especially published an English language version of the best selling book “Buddhist Temples” to welcome the UN Day of Vesak, which is slated to begin in Ha Noi on May 14.

Dharma Bum

By AMY FINNERTY, New York Times, May 4, 2008

New York, USA -- In this memoir of a musical prodigy’s avatar as a Buddhist monk, Nikolai Grozni, the author of three novels published in his native Bulgaria, dwells on the “overriding, blissfully benumbing feeling of resignation to the moment” that keeps him in the Indian town of Dharamsala.

Western Buddhism

The Buddhist Channel, April 25, 2008

A New Religion is Emerging as the Ideas of Buddha Travels West

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil -- Born in India 2.600 years ago Buddhism was only noted by the West over the past century and as its ideas spread a new form of Buddhism, the West Buddhism, is emerging leading people to ask what these old ideas can offer to the western men and women of the 21st century.

Change from within, says Dalai Lama

by Shashi Tharoor, Times of India, Apr 13, 2008

New Delhi, India -- When the United Nations convened a Millennium World Peace Summit of religious leaders at its headquarters in 2000, one major religious figure was conspicuous by his absence. The Dalai Lama, the spiritual and political leader of Tibetan Buddhism, had not been asked to come.

Renaissance monk

By Jonathan Kirsch, LA Times, April 13, 2008

'The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama' by Pico Iyer, a portrait of a man's life and mission.

Los Angeles, USA -- "The pope?" Josef Stalin once asked a Western diplomat, according to a cherished tale preserved in countless history books. "How many divisions has he got?"

Buddha made unforgettable

by Jaya Madhavan, Newindpress, March 29 2008

New Delhi, India -- Once in a while you come across a book that you know will remain in your mind, turning and curing well after you have finished reading it.

Hard questions

By JAMIE KHOO, The Star, March 23, 2008

A book editor is inspired to share the profound effect working on a manuscript has had on her

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia -- LITTLE truths shock us. This is what I discovered while editing "If Not Now, When?", a coffee table book of quotations by Tsem Tulku Rinpoche, a high Lama from Gaden Shartse Monastery in India and spiritual advisor of Kechara House in Malaysia.

A Chant to Soothe Wild Elephants: A Memoir

by Mark W. Adams & Carolyn W. Fanelli, Popmatters Book Review, March 18, 2008

Author: Jaed Coffin
February 2008, 205 pages, $16.00

Buddhist and Pali Studies

Reviewed by Rajah Kuruppu, The Island, March 9, 2008

Silver Jubilee Commemoration Volume of the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka

Colombo, Sri Lanka -- On the occasion of the 25th Anniversary of its existence, the Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka has published in 2007 a commemoration volume appropriately titled Buddhist and Pali Studies. The volume consists of 34 articles by erudite scholars on Buddhism and related subjects, 13 in English and the balance in Sinhala. This review is confined to the English articles.

Money, Sex, War, Karma

Review by Jamie McLeod, The Buddhist Channel, March 10, 2008

Lewiston, Maine (USA) -- Money, Sex, War, Karma may sound like a plot summary of nearly every successful television drama for the last 25 years, but it’s actually the title of the brand new book by American Buddhist scholar David R. Loy, author of 2003’s The Great Awakening.

Buddhist Nun's Guides to Living Mindfully

The Buddhist Channel, Jan 3, 2008

Brooklyn, NY, (USA) -- The environment, sustainability, peace, and personal happiness are issues on everyone’s mind. But it is clear that not everyone knows how to sustain themselves and their surroundings, or to promote their own health and that of the world around them.

'The Tale of Genji' Turns 1,000

by Sianturi Dinah Roma, OhMyNews, Jan 24, 2008

One of the world's earliest novels still enchants

Tokyo, Japan -- This year's 1,000th anniversary celebration of "The Tale of Genji" -- widely known as the world's first modern novel -- is an important occasion to ponder Japan's contribution to world literature.

A Wayward Way to Buddhist Spirituality

by Joseph P. Szimhart, Skeptical Inquirer, Jan 5, 2007

Book Review - Surfing the Himalayas: A Spiritual Adventure
Author: Frederick Lenz
St. Martin's Press, New York, 1995.
ISBN 0-446-52034-9
236 pp. Hardcover, $14.95.

'The Collected Poems of Philip Whalen,' edited by Michael Rothenberg, and 'About Now' by Joanne Kyger

By Lewis MacAdams, Los Angeles Times, Dec 16, 2007

Two poets who, whether they write of the exalted or the mundane, leave plenty of room for splendor
 
Los Angeles, USA -- PHILIP WHALEN and Joanne Kyger are often viewed as "poets' poets" -- a kiss of death that generally implies their music is out of most people's range. But really, what this means is they're the types of poets to whom other poets turn for their perfect pitch, to proclaim who they are.

Hidden Dimensions

by Rob Harle, Metapsychology Online Reviews, Dec 11th 2007

Book Review - Hidden Dimensions: The Unification of Physics and Consciousness
by B. Alan Wallace
Columbia University Press, 2007
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0231141505/themetapsychog

'Psychotherapy Without the Self'

BY SUSAN SALTER REYNOLDS, Los Angeles Times, November 25, 2007

Los Angeles, USA -- Mark Epstein was a Buddhist before he became a psychiatrist. Much of his life's work has been an effort to integrate Buddhism (which embraces egolessness) and Western psychotherapy (which focuses intently on the self, the ego).

Bevy of Buddhist fiction writers

By Daniel Burke, Salt Lake Tribune, Nov 23, 2007

Salt Lake City, Utah (USA) -- A reader is more likely to encounter a talking bag of Doritos than a Buddhist monk in George Saunders' surrealist stories.

Book explores Buddhism in Taiwan

Reviewed by Philip Courtenay, Taiwan Journal, Vol. XXIV No. 40, October 12, 2007

"Buddhism in Taiwan: Religion and the State, 1660-1990" by Charles Brewer Jones, 1999. University of Hawaii Press, 259 pages. ISBN: 0-8248-2061-4 (Courtesy of University of Hawaii Press)

Gautama Buddha is India's best spiritual brand

PTI, September 16, 2007

NEW DELHI, India -- Gautama Buddha is India's best spiritual brand, new age guru Deepak Chopra says in his new book on the founder of Buddhism.

The culture of spirituality

by Hugh & Colleen Gantzer, Deccan herald, Sept 9, 2007

"Dharamsala Diaries" is a personal account of a pilgrims physical and spiritual journey in the little town of Dharamsala.

New Delhi, India -- Tibetan Buddhism seems to be the religious flavour of the age. Many of the western glitterati, including Richard Gere, appear to be drawn to the psycho-spiritual disciplines of this way of life also known as Vajrayana; the Way of the Thunderbolt.

Sinhala translation of 'Buddhist Gandhara - History, Art and Architecture'

Sunday Observer, Sept 9, 2007

Colombo, Sri Lanka -- The High Commission for Pakistan in Colombo will launch a Sinhala translation of the famous book "Buddhist Gandhara - History, Art and Architecture" written by Ihsan H. Nadiem. The book has been translated by M. S. Hussain, with an expert review by Prof. Anura Wickremesinghe of the Colombo University.

Path to humanism

by Ashok Vohra, The Tribune of India, Sept 2, 2007

New Delhi, India -- MANY lay readers, modern critics and even scholars of Buddhist canon generally believe, though mistakenly, that Buddha himself and the later Buddhists too are primarily concerned with the ways of attaining Nibbana (liberation) from the existential suffering, disquiet and unhappiness that we face in the lived world.

Now and zen

By Justin Beddall, North Shore Outlook, Aug 23 2007

Vancouver, BC (Canada) -- Allan Holender sat pool side at his new home high atop the British Properties relaxing. He had a nice car parked in the driveway, a great job and a great view.

Finding faith, life intertwined

by Mary Bergin, The Capital Ties, Aug 23, 2007

New York, USA -- Bob Abernethy long ago figured out how to have a conversation about religion without preaching, and now he demonstrates that no church or individual has a lock on grace, faith, hope or healing.

Stunning photographic book unveils the changing face of Buddhism

The Buddhist Channel, Aug 22, 2007

Marlton, NJ (USA) -- “The photographic images of Buddhist iconography found in this book, as well as the pithy sayings … help elevate the mind toward the …consolation, comforting, and healing of what seems to be ubiquitous suffering and pain everywhere, and much, too much death.” - Simhananda

A Lesson-Filled Tale Unfolds in New Children's Book by Buddhist Monk

The Buddhist Channel, Aug 8, 2007

KANSAS CITY, Kansas (USA) -- Parents looking for entertaining children's books that teach children some very important lessons about life will find what they are looking for with the recent release of a new book from children's books author Kudagammana Seelaratana.

A Buddhist soldier at Abu Ghraib

by Dewey Hammond, San Francisco Chronicle, August 5, 2007

The Sutras of Abu Ghraib
Notes From a Conscientious Objector in Iraq
By Aidan Delgado
BEACON; 228 PAGES; $24.95

Karma-formed States and Personal Freedom

by Dr. Stephen Ruppenthal, The Buddhist Channel, Aug 2, 2007

Millions of people the world over believe in karma. The law of karma states that as we sow, so shall we reap: everything we do, say, or even think has consequences, good or bad, and sooner or later, these consequences will come back to us. The question is, is karma fatalistic and set in stone, or is there something we can actually do about it?

Making the best of bad situations

by PHRA PAISAN VISALO and the PHUTTIKA NETWORK, Bangkok Post, July 30, 2007

A booklet of Buddhist reflections encourages readers to recognise what is truly important in their lives

Bangkok, Thailand -- The Buddhist ''Lent'' is not only for monastic men and women to undertake rigorous retreats. The three month period, starting from the first day after the full moon of the eighth lunar month, can be a time for everyone to start anew: To contemplate one's life, to vow to correct past mistakes and to initiate new, auspicious steps towards something better.

Miracles of meditation

Book Review By Naomi Rand, The Boston Globe, July 22, 2007

How Not to Be Afraid of Your Own Life: Opening Your Heart to Confidence, Intimacy, and Joy
Author: Susan Piver
St. Martin’s, 224 pp., $19.95

Place for the dead in our living world

By DONALD RICHIE, Japan Times, July 15, 2007

Ritualizing a 'change of status'

Tokyo, Japan -- Buddhism has, at least in the public mind, monopolized death. In Japan, birth and marriage are usually Shinto sponsored, while Buddhism officiates at the less popular but equally inevitable funeral.

A Buddhist cop asks us to see morality from his perspective

by James F. Sweeney, The Plain Dealer, July 1, 2007

Cleveland, OH (USA) -- The honest detective fight ing for justice in a corrupt and indifferent system is an old device, but author John Burdett puts a twist on it in his three "Bangkok" novels.

Glimpse Into Buddhist Art through Books

By Cathy Rose A. Garcia, The Korea Times, June 30, 2007

Seoul, South Korea -- With the numerous Buddhist temples around Korea, it is obvious the influence of Buddhism still holds strong. However, not much is written about Korean Buddhist sculptures and architecture.

Seeking peace: Merton's affinity for Buddhism explored

By Frederick Smock, The Courier-Journal, June 2, 2007

Louisville, KY (USA) -- Tongues are wagging over just how Buddhist the celebrated Trappist monk Thomas Merton became late in his life. "Because it has traditionally been understood that Christianity makes exclusive claims on those of us who follow Jesus, when a great master in our tradition studies (and practices) another way, eyebrows are raised," Bonnie Thurston writes in her preface to Merton & Buddhism.

Buddhist evolution

Organiser, June 5, 2007

New Delhi, India -- The Dharma-chakra or the wheel of Dharma with its constant revolutions symbolises continuance of Buddha’s teachings. The eight spokes of the wheel represent the Eightfold Path of Enlightenment which signifies right view, right thought, right speech, right behaviour, right livelihood, right effort, right mindfulness and right meditation.

Deepak does Buddha

By Kate McLaughlin, Daily Breeze, May 18, 2007

The popular New Age guru and author reimagines the spiritual leader's life in a new novel.

Torrance, CA (USA) -- For years, Deepak Chopra has been writing how-to books revealing the path to physical well-being through spiritual awareness. In his latest book, he takes a novel approach to that goal -- literally.

Book to promote Buddhist concept of `Nirvana’

Newindpress, May 16 2007

BHUBANESWAR, India -- ‘Nirvana in Candrakirti’s Prasannapada - A study in Madhyamika concept of Nirvana in the context of Indian thought’, a book written by academic and philosopher Professor G C Nayak was released here recently.

The first ever English medium Encyclopedia of Buddhism

by Dr. W.G. Weeraratne, Lanka Daily News, May 16, 2007

Colombo, Sri Lanka -- Completion of 2500 years of the Buddhist Era (Buddha Jayanti) fell in Vesak 1956. To commemorate this unique event Buddhists all-over the world drew up programmes to celebrate the occasion in a fitting manner.

A treasure of Tibetan Buddhism

Organiser, May 15, 2007

The Essential Dalai Lama; His Important Teachings
Edited by Rajiv Mehrotra
Penguin Books
pp 258, Rs 250.00

Understanding the Dalai Lama
Edited by Rajiv Mehrotra
Penguin Viking
pp 266, Rs 395.00

K. Jamanadas book proves Tirupati Temple as a Buddhist Shrine

by Prof. Dr. M. D. Nalawade, Lankaweb, April 27, 2007

Colombo, Sri Lanka -- The book by K. Jamanadas "Tirupati Balaji was a Buddhist Shrine" has potential credibility to create controversies unknown to historical writing and the Hindu common folks who flock to worship Tirupati Balaji as one of the supreme deities.

Portrait of a holy man

By KATHY MILLEN, The Naperville Sun, April 5, 2007

Naperville journalist tells story of Dalai Lama

Naperville, IL (USA) -- He probably could have had any seat in the house, but Mayank Chhaya preferred to stand in the back of the crowded college lecture hall in New Delhi when the celebrated monk took the stage.

Forget about heaven on earth

By Ben-Ami Shillony, Haaretz.com, April 1, 2007

"Zen buddhism: filosofia ve'estetika" ("Zen Buddhism: Philosophy and Aesthetics") by Jacob Raz, Broadcast University, Ministry of Defense, 207 pages, NIS 48

The Warrior Monks: Buddha's fighting soldiers

By DONALD RICHIE, Japan Times, April 1, 2007

THE TEETH AND CLAWS OF BUDDHISM: Monastic Warriors and Sohei in Japanese History, by Mikael S. Adolphson. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2007, 214 pp., with 32 illustrations and maps, $ 36 (cloth)

Book Review: Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain by Sharon Begley

by Nancy Fontaine, Blogcritics.org, March 24, 2007

New York, USA -- Neuroplasticity is nothing less than the ability of the brain to grow new neurons and rewire itself, which neurologists and psychologists until recently believed impossible. Sharon Begley, as science columnist for The Wall Street Journal, takes a subject that could have been dry as dust or, conversely, simplified into self-help slogans, and turns it into a riveting story. Train Your Mind, Change Your Brain is as entertaining as it is edifying. This unlikely page turner fascinates, and suggests optimism about your brain's capacities.

Buddhist Art of Gandhara

By Muhammad Ilyas Bhatti, Kantipur Online, Feb 27, 2007

Extracts from the fourth chapter of the book Taxila: An Ancient Metropolis of Gandhara written by Muhammad Ilyas Bhatti.

Kathmandu, Nepal -- Gandhara is a region in the north-west of the South Asian sub-continent, comprised of the Peshawar Valley, including the present day districts of Peshawar, Mardan, Swat and Dir, as well as Malakand and Bajaur agencies on the west bank of the Indus in the North-West Frontier province of Pakistan and Taxila beyond the Indus on the east.

Journal shows dedication to academic excellence

Review by Professor Asanga TILAKARATNE, Lanka Daily News, Feb 24, 2007

Colombo, Sri Lanka -- The Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka has produced its annual research journal for 2006. The university and its academic staff deserve to be congratulated for their achievement.

Matthieu Ricard: Meet Mr Happy

By Robert Chalmers, The Independent, February 18, 2007

US neuroscientists have declared him the happiest man they have ever tested. Now Matthieu Ricard, Buddhist monk and confidant of the Dalai Lama, has written a book revealing his secret. But can the Frenchman do anything to cheer up our notoriously gloomy writer?

London, UK -- Bring to your mind a past occasion of inner joy and happiness," writes Matthieu Ricard in his new book Happiness: A Guide To Developing Life's Most Important Skill. "Recall how you felt. Consider the lasting effect this experience has had on your mind, and how it still nourishes a sense of fulfilment."

Author explores "JUBU"

By Joel Brown, Setonian Online, Feb 13, 2007

Baltimore, MD (USA) -- Ever heard of a JUBU? This is a term in Rodger Kamenetz’s “The Jew in the Lotus,” which means Jewish Buddhist. JUBUs are just one topic in this book, but they symbolize all topics therein by representing Judaism’s and Buddhism’s overlap. Kamenetz is a pioneer because those religions are compared less than other pairs.

Buddha: Compassion can ease many ills

Mail Tribune, February 6, 2007

Oregon, USA -- There it was staring at me from its shelf, beckoning me to purchase it. I deferred. And the next time I went into the store with a changed mind, it was gone.