DharmaStack / August Update + Engaged Buddhism

As of August 29, the DharmaStack directory has been updated to include these newsletters and authors:

• News from Tuwhiri

• The Laundry by

  Adreanna Limbach
  and
  Lodro Rinzler

• From the Pure Land by

  Mel Pine

• Tsering Dorji’s Newsletter by

  Tsering Dorji

• Zenju Earthlyn Manuel’s Newsletter by

  Zenju Earthlyn Manuel

With the addition of these publications, there are now 56 Buddhist-inspired newsletters listed on DharmaStack. Bodhi svaha!

Engaged Buddhism on DharmaStack

Photo by Maia Duerr, Washington DC, 2004

This month we’re highlighting a few publications that come from an engaged Buddhist perspective. It’s been said that there is no Buddhism that is not engaged -– the very essence of the Buddha’s teachings is to wake up moment to moment to the realities within and around us. Those who follow a path of socially engaged Buddhism extend that understanding of practice to encompass many facets of life, including the environment, racial justice, economic justice, and even how we communicate with one another.

The distinguishing characteristic of engaged Buddhism is not that it takes a ‘stand’ on issues but that it aspires to relate to social and political issues from a dharmic perspective, which includes using the Four Noble Truths and the Eightfold Path as reference points.

Here are a few recent articles by DharmaStack authors that exemplify engaged Buddhism:

• In

  Dana Leigh Lyons
  ’s “It’s Not Political. It’s Hate” on Sober Soulful, she explores “exiting our echo chambers and opening our hearts.” This is a carefully considered primer on how to engage with ourselves and the world around us in a way that may be truly beneficial.

• Along a similar line,

  Logan Juliano, PhD
  of Light Hive digs into the complexities and political implications of right speech in her excellent article, “Skillful Speech and the Karma of Digital Campfires.”

• In my own piece, “Across the Great Divide,” I share what it’s been like to live next door to a die-hard Trump supporter and to learn to see each other as humans rather than “the enemy.”

• Finally, please check out the Zen Peacemaker page, an incredible hub of engaged Buddhist perspectives and events (many of them online). The Zen Peacemaker Order was founded in 1994 by Roshi Bernie Glassman and Sandra Jishu Holmes. In the decades since then, they have done an astounding job of weaving together Buddhism and social action through innovative practice opportunities like the Bearing Witness retreats at Auschwitz and other locations.  

*** DharmaStack is a labor of love curated by

Maia Duerr

. ***

If you’d like to support the time I put into this effort, please consider a paid subscription to my newsletter, The Practice of Life, or a one-time donation. Thank you!