We are deeply interdependent. It’s almost a cliche to say here because it’s a fundamental premise of socially engaged Buddhism. Right Livelihood, the Eightfold Path’s fifth mindfulness training, is one of the clearest areas of practice with regard to interdependence and social justice. Thich Nhat Hanh has expanded the teaching on ethical conduct this way: Aware that great violence and injustice have been do ...

by Joseph Bobrow When people first asked what new methods we were using in The Coming Home Project, I would fumble and use words like unconditional acceptance, welcome and compassion. Eventually I came to call it unconditional love, and used the Judeo-Christian term, often employed by Martin Luther King, “beloved community.” It was unconditionality: non-judgmental, down to earth, responsive and non-sentimen ...

Evening Talk Does Buddhism Need a New Story? 7 PM Sat. June 15, 2013 Wyckoff Auditorium (Bannan Engineering Building) Seattle University Behind our ecological and economic crises there is a more basic problem: a defective story about who we are, what the world is and our role in it. We can’t simply replace this defective worldview with a traditional Buddhist one, but today a new story is beginning to emerge ...

I often find that Buddhist practitioners, especially if they're new to the path, hold a misconception that meditation will help them feel peaceful, blissful, and happy. This is also common among people who haven't tried Buddhist practices at all—hence the common usage of the word "zen" to refer to these qualities, as in "I'm feeling so zen." There's an associated assumption, that practicing Buddhism will he ...

by Nathan G. Thompson I’ve been a writer for as long as I can remember. My grade school assignments frequently included little titles, poems, or stories, regardless of the original content. Some of the teachers thought these additions were cute, while others were annoyed by them. Later, in high school, I began taking creative writing classes. The near consistent praise for my writing skills started rolling ...

Turning Wheel Media emerges from the generous labor of many media makers. We include voices you know and love, and also help introduce a new wave of spiritual activists whose intersectional identities and revolutionary politics help us all think more sharply about the problems our world is facing, and the resilient solutions available to us in this moment. Now is our chance to give generously in return.  To ...

Buddha Comes Home from War: An Interview with Joe Bobrow Turning Wheel/Mushim: There are Buddhists serving in the U.S. armed forces. A blog for this community states in their mission statement that they "Recognize and promote honorable military service as in accord with the Eightfold Path's Right Livelihood." Since you've worked with many vets, what do you think of that statement? Joe Bobrow: Although war i ...

Nurturing Peace in Contexts of Global Violence: A Conference for Theological Educators and Religious Leaders Religious leaders throughout the world in every faith tradition are challenged today to be active agents of peace. This 4 day conference will bring together theological educators and others to work together to teach and learn about peacemaking both globally and locally. May 22-25, 2013 The Interchurc ...

Surprise: Buddhists are not morally pure and blameless. We participate in systems of injustice, both directly and indirectly. But while we work to undermine these systems, can Right Speech and Right Action afford to be gentle when acute violence is being enacted? (And what considerations should be made when criticizing others from a position of privilege within the United States?) Burma (Myanmar) has made t ...

Yoga: Not Just For Young, Skinny White Girls. A Trans Guy Walks Into a Yoga Class. Project Bendypants: Practicing Yoga While Fat. Just a few intriguing titles from popular articles in a new online project: Decolonizing Yoga. Remember the controversy over Yoga Journal and the Hyatt boycott?  And how some yoga practitioners staged an asana protest outside the hotel?  That compassionate confrontation is the or ...