Secret-Buddhist food celebrities.* Activism, art, contemplation. Mindfulness and nutritional racism. Poetry that reconnects with roots. Welcome to a new month, friends! Here at Turning Wheel we are excited to embark on an experiment: throughout July we'll be highlighting issues of food justice from Buddhist and spiritual perspectives. Some days we'll feature new submissions; other days we'll blog about nour ...

Our recent event “What’s Up With Engaged Buddhism?” started because I was in a total panic. It was January. I had suddenly stepped in as Acting Director of the Buddhist Peace Fellowship while Sarah Weintraub went on temporary disability, trying to get healthy after picking up a number of mysterious illnesses on a fall trip to Colombia to reconnect with her peace work there. I reached out to elders in the BP ...

The Buddha woke up to the suffering of the world when faced with old age, sickness, and death. As practitioners, we are encouraged to view our own experiences of illness, aging, and impending death as dharma doors to enlightenment. At the same time, as Buddhist radicals, we know that oppression means these universal sufferings affect each of us differently. Health is intimate, but also systemic: it's imposs ...

Nails and a single black thread. Today, the work of Japanese artist Kumi Yamashita inspired me to stop, breathe, and rededicate myself to the task at hand, full of gratitude for what is possible with patience, dedication, imagination, and grace. Amazing. Thanks to Kenji Liu for introducing me to Yamashita's work. (What she does with light and shadows is also incredible.) While I don't know whether she is Bu ...

Heads up! Tomorrow P.O.V. on PBS is broadcasting what sounds like a fascinating independent documentary, filmed over the course of 20 years by Jennifer Fox.  Check your local listings: film runs 10pm – 11:30pm. Thanks to Rick Harlan of BPF Seattle for the tip! Filmed over twenty years by acclaimed documentarian Jennifer Fox (FLYING: CONFESSIONS OF A FREE WOMAN), MY REINCARNATION chronicles the epic story of ...

Presenting the last of our four videos.  Enjoy this talk by Alka Arora, Assistant Professor of Philosophy, Religion, and Women's Spirituality at the California Institute of Integral Studies. She is a first generation Indian-American with spiritual roots in the Yogic philosophy of Hinduism. With these roots as a foundation, she has also been deeply influenced by the vipassana tradition within Buddhism, New T ...

Since late 2009, Buddhist Peace Fellowship has been in a transition to younger leadership. Under Sarah Weintraub’s direction, the organization has become increasingly relevant to the next generation of socially engaged Buddhists. This shift continues as Katie Loncke and Dawn Haney move to the front as the new co-directors of Buddhist Peace Fellowship. As young leaders in movements for social justice, we gre ...

Our third of four videos features Donald Rothberg — a leading teacher and writer on socially engaged spiritual practice. He has taught and practiced Buddhist meditation for over 30 years, and his engaged work has pioneered new ways of connecting inner and outer transformation.  He is a member of the Teacher's Council at Spirit Rock Meditation Center and author of The Engaged Spiritual Life. ...

Second video: this one from Katie Loncke, who asks about structures that help move us beyond tokenism; what to do about the increasing criminalization of political speech; and how we "speak" without words. ...

Take a gander at the first of our four videos from the recent BPF event in Oakland: thoughts from David Loy, professor, Zen teacher, and author of Money, Sex, War, Karma: Notes for a Buddhist Revolution and The World Is Made of Stories. ===================== I think I am going to change a little bit what I am going to talk about. Actually two things, first of all I would like just like to follow up and rein ...