Buddhism

Entries Tagged as 'Buddhism'

Theology of Religions v. History of Religions

August 18th, 2010 · No Comments · Axial Age Religions, Cultural Evolution of Religion, Definitions of Religion, Evolution and Selection, Neolithic Religions, Shamans and Shamanism

Over at HuffPo Religion, a well meaning Matthew Anderson suggests that all American junior-senior high school students should be required to take a minimum of two classes on world religions so as to be exposed to something other than their parents’ religion. He supposes that these courses would foster tolerance and lead to a more [...]

An Unenthused Rinpoche

August 16th, 2010 · No Comments · Axial Age Religions, Daily Devolutions, Globalization and Religion, Ritual and Religion

As my readers know, there is no such thing as “Buddhism” — there are multiple kinds of buddhisms, some of which eschew spirits and deities while emphasizing consciousness and compassion, whereas others are highly ritualized and enthusiastically enjoin the supernatural realm of gods and souls.
I was reminded of this the other day while reading Electa [...]

Are Eastern Religions More Science-Friendly?

July 7th, 2010 · No Comments · Classifications of Religion, Definitions of Religion, Economy and Religion, History of Religions, Recent and New Religions

This is the question asked by Philip Goldberg in a recent article in which he boldly answers yes: “Religious faith in the case of the Hindus has never been allowed to run counter to scientific laws. The same can be said for Buddhism, which derives from the same Vedic roots.”
Setting aside for a [...]

Scanning the Dalai Lama’s Brain

May 15th, 2010 · No Comments · Axial Age Religions, Cognition and Religion, Emotions and Religion

Ryan Foley has written an intriguing article about the collaboration between the Dalai Lama and Richard Davidson, a neuroscientist at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Like so many brain scientists these days, Richardson uses imaging techniques to investigate various aspects of mind, including those which may be peculiar to Buddhists who meditate:
Davidson’s research has used brain [...]

Sunday Sundries — Contested Faiths, Syncretic Possibilities, Morality and Sick Police Behavior

May 9th, 2010 · No Comments · Axial Age Religions, Classifications of Religion, Definitions of Religion, Morality and Religion

A quick roundup today because I am leaving town tomorrow and will be blogging irregularly this coming week. We will begin with an examination of a theme from my earlier post on Fractured Faiths — The Myth of Unified Religious Traditions.
In this article, Dzogchen Ponlop Rinpoche over at HuffPo Religon discusses what it means to [...]

“The Buddha” on PBS — Some Impressions

April 8th, 2010 · No Comments · Axial Age Religions, Cultural Evolution of Religion, History of Religions

If you did not catch the airing of “The Buddha” on PBS last night, I am sure it will be shown several times in the future. Be sure to catch it. All in all, it was well done. For those not familiar with the life of (former) Prince Siddhartha who, after achieving a state of [...]

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Tags:axial age·Buddhism·Siddhartha

PBS to Show Buddha His-”Story”

March 30th, 2010 · No Comments · Axial Age Religions, Cultural Evolution of Religion

On April 7, PBS will premiere a two hour documentary titled “The Buddha.” During an interview with The State, the filmmaker David Grubin made this interesting comment:
“We try to set his life in its historical context, but it’s so long ago that we don’t know what he really did. But what I realized is, what [...]

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Genealogy of Religion

Exploring the Origins, History and Future of Religion