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Born in 1968 in Kathmandu, Nepal, Ang Tsherin Sherpa began apprenticing at age twelve under his father, renowned Tibetan thangka artist Master Urgen Dorje. He has also studied computer science and Mandarin in Taiwan, and Buddhist philosophy in Nepal. Now he lives in Oakland, California, painting thangkas and teaching classes in thangka painting. Are you already a longtime fan of Ang Tsherin Sherpa's work? T ...

I've been sitting, looking at this blank text box, for 20 minutes. I just … don't even know what to say. Mind clouded with rage. From Katie Drummond at The Daily: Suicide among American troops has increased steadily since the start of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In July, the number of suicides among active-duty soldiers reached 26 — more than double the number in June and the highest for any month sin ...

My friend and teacher Mushim Ikeda spoke this week at San Francisco Zen Center on “Daylighting the Hidden Streams: Why Our Stories Matter” (audio here). She discussed how sharing our stories – especially stories that highlight difference - can bring to light the hidden streams of our true nature. Mushim’s talk had been planned far in advance, but it was particularly timely this week as the SFZC community wa ...

The world's biggest new hydroelectric project has been halted after indigenous and conservation resistance, international opposition, and a Brazilian federal court order. According to The Guardian, the Belo Monte dam "is one of the pillars of Brazil's efforts to reduce dependency on fossil fuels." But the court ruled that there had been insufficient consultation with the indigenous groups that would be affe ...

Former BPF Executive Director, current ED of Clear View Project, and internationally hardworking Hozan Alan Senauke is offering a podcast series at Upaya called The Bodhisattva's Embrace (the same title of his most recent book). The series sounds as grounded and illuminating as we would expect from Alan. Series Description: This program is part of our Buddhist Chaplaincy Training curriculum but is also appr ...

In her essay, engaged Buddhist Mia Murrietta of The Pachamama Alliance explores interconnectedness between the Amazon's struggles with fossil fuels and a recent oil refinery fire in California. She offers a few recommendations for how to get more informed and involved in putting people and the environment before profit. If you don't already know Mia's writing, prepare to fall in love. She rocks! ...

Now up on the web site of Tricycle magazine, check out an interview with me (Katie), Jacks, and Everett about some of the aims and aspirations of Buddhist-based media work for collective liberation. Thanks to the folks at Tricycle for having us!  They asked us a ton of great questions: we were so excited that I think our responses were about 18 times what they could fit in the post! :) It was a pleasure and ...

As quickly as the news came out that 6 people were murdered during services at a Sikh temple last Sunday, speculation began about the shooter's motives. Was it racially motivated? Did the gunman mistake "peaceful" Sikhs for supposedly not-so-peaceful Muslims, as this history of violence against Sikhs since 9/11 implies? Amardeep Singh breaks down why a focus on "mistaken identity" misses the point - mass vi ...

So here's where I run into questions.  On the one hand, I find this direct action by unemployed fieldworkers in Spain very inspiring and wonderful! The Spanish field workers union the SAT has gone en masse to two supermarkets to take food by direct action. Unemployed fieldworkers and other members of the union went to two supermarkets, one in Ecija (Sevilla) and one in Arcos de la Frontera (Cadiz) and loade ...