There’s no shortage of ads and merchandise that play off the (unfortunate?*) use of the word “Buddha” as slang for weed.  Hence this one, above, sent by Alex of Dharma Bums, who writes:

Saw this ad in the back of Citybeat Magazine here in San Diego. They have a ton of ads for Medical Marijuana dispensaries and this was one of them. As usual, the Buddha is tokin’.

Thanks for sending it on, Alex.

* Whether or not the slang term is unfortunate, actually depicting the Buddha smoking has got to be. At the very least, it sure is hacky. Plus, it’s not even a Buddha, but a Buddha statue. Duh.

From a new Huff Post interview with Mickey Hart (a “rhythm master” if ever there was one):

Mickey, what is an issue that’s bugging you?

Well, it’s about the rhythm of things. If you look around at the Gulf, North Korea, or Iran, it’s a rhythmic thing I see. We’re out of rhythm with the world. It’s a rhythmic universe, and nature is very efficient and likes to be in rhythm because it’s most efficient. When you break that rhythm and come between it, you have arrhythmic events and it will destroy, it will not build. It will decompose as opposed to compose. Saying the world has gone mad is not a proper way of saying it, but I look at it as the world has gone out of rhythm. If you look at it in rhythmic terms, it’s much more explainable. It’s gone out of rhythm, and we’re not in rhythm with it, and that’s the problem we have in all of these hot spots and these scary places with the Islamic militant views and the extremist religious views. All you have to do is tune into the Dalai Lama, who is about the opposite of that. Now, that’s a rhythm master. That guy is really in tune with things. So, we need to be listening to more of that, and we need to be thinking of things in terms of getting along in rhythm, and being efficient and flowing, and being more aware of our surroundings. When I look at the news, in total, that’s what I think of.

Read the rest of it here.

Coming in English on Sept 28:

A graphic novel on the life and personality of Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama will now be available in 10 languages in different parts of the world, an innovative, fun and colourful source of information which is expected to especially appeal to the children.

Japan’s renowned cartoonist Tetsu Saiwai, who wrote the original ‘The 14th Dalai Lama – A Manga Biography’ in graphic form, has plans to feature the life histories of many iconic personalities such as Mahatma Gandhi and Mother Teresa through his manga (Japanese graphic) art.

More details here.

Jane Lynch made a reference to Buddhism after her acceptance speech for the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy at  Emmy last night. As MTV News reports:

“I love being an actor. I love being an ensemble.” Later, recalling the calming spirituality of Buddhism, she joked, “Although I am not Buddhist, they do seem like a very calm people.”

…I don’t quite get it, but I think it’s fair to say that, Hey — we like you too.

A new piece from the editor of the Sweden-based Asian Tribune (published by the World Institute for Asian Studies) makes no bones about the Tribune’s feelings about the phenomenon of the Dharma-Burger. (I can only imagine how they might react to that term in and of itself.)

A couple of excerpts:

Internet companies, institutes for massage, restaurants, resellers of furnishing, and breeders of exotic cats all adopt Buddha in their uninhibited capitalist interests. As well as leaching the symbolic meaning which adherents of Buddhism ascribe to the Enlightened One. Some resellers of these, as they are marketed, oriental objects, also advertise that their Buddha statues are traded fairly or subscribe to the criteria for fair production.

And:

The commercialization of Buddha is an insult to all adherents of the Buddhist tradition. And can be seen as an expression of the prevailing relation between the so called Third world and the postcolonial powers.

Some would say that this is just plain true.

Some would say you have to look at such things in a matter of context.

There’s certainly an argument that different views might largely be the result of fundamental cultural differences. But then it can be fairly said that certain aspects of certain of cultures have to be more conducive to practicing what the Buddha taught than others. After all, wasn’t the Buddha ultimately offering a path to a different kind of culture, one fueled not by outward, material pursuits but by the best of what resides inside us all?

Or is a “Buddha for Sale” maybe not so bad, because we need reminders everywhere we go, not least of all the marketplace?

And hey, each Buddha for Sale is one less Snuggie or Big Mouth Billy Bass or whatever.

Maybe, though, it’s becoming more like one more Big Mouth Billy Bass. (Or whatever.)

(Yikes!)

Anyway, what do you say? Check it out.

Comments welcome.

Who wins?

See the whole comic strip here, via Ty Templeton, whose blog is a must if you like comics. (The recurring “Moments of Zen” — not about dharma; rather, they’re like the “Moments of Zen” from The Daily Show, but about comics — are a riot.)

I’ve seen a lot of references to meditation and/or Buddhism in advertising over my past few years of tracking them. Some, arguably, have been inspired. Some have been funny. Some have been perhaps unfortunate, or even inappropriate.

As for what word might best describe this new commercial… all I’ve got, at first blush, is “weird.” *

Reader Sam DeWitt — who spotted the commercial and sent it on — playfully writes:

Who would have thought that the real reason we should cultivate wisdom and compassion via meditation is so that we can create skins for our iPhones?

I might have to re-think this whole thing!

What do you think?

Do you think there’s room for such idealized, hyperstylized, depictions of meditation — even when they’re put to use for moving product rather than, say, inspiring us to honestly look at the contents of our minds, as they are, in the present moment?

Or do you think such co-optation is in some way harmful?

* Note: having now watched it a few times, I’m still not totally sure what I think of the ad but I do have to say that A) that seems like a LONG way to go to sell such a simple thing, and B) If I said I didn’t enjoy watching it, I’d be lying.

Just the beginning?

Here on the Horse, we talk a lot about “Dharma-Burgers.” You can click here for the description via Urban Dictionary but, simply put, a Dharma-Burger is an example — dubious or not — of Buddhist imagery or ideas that is being put to use in any sort of marketing, advertising, or sales arena. Again, a Dharma-Burger isn’t necessarily a bad thing — for every really cheezy, quick-buck shlock-item that might qualify, there’s always some surprisingly smart and/or inventive tie-in that seems at least somehow in line with Buddhist principles.

For a while now I’ve almost lamented that I haven’t really been covering “Yoga-Burgers“, as there seems to be no end to the way that yoga, like Buddhism, is being co-opted into mass culture. But it looks like I can get in on the ground-floor with a new kind of ‘Burger.

Ladies and gentlemen, I give you what may be the first legitimate “Mindfulness Burger.” (Okay, it’ll need a better name that that, but you get the drift.)

As the press release I saw today states:

“With all of us busier than ever, it is important to find easy ways to eat nutritious foods that provide lasting energy. With this in mind, the National Peanut Board (NPB) has launched the Peanuts: Energy for the Good Life® iPhone® app. The free app offers recipes, snack suggestions and a five-minute mindfulness meditation exercise with Stephan Bodian, author of Meditation for Dummies® — tools to help people care for their bodies and minds throughout every part of every day.”

I must admit: I was at first pretty cynical about this. The mindfulness/peanuts connection just seemed like too much of a stretch. That peanuts — whose healthfulness is sometimes in question, especially when they’re not of the organic variety — should be an early beneficiary of a sort of “Mindfulness Bump” seems, well, odd. And this does appear to be just a straight-up marketing move.

But I’ve started to wonder if it doesn’t, even accidentally, represent something more: this app could be seen as a great (if very minor) thing because, hey — whether it’s there to shill peanuts or not, it’s also teaching people about mindfulness. And: peanuts? How mainstream can you get? Might as well be apple pie.

One thing’s for sure: this won’t be the last of this kind of thing. We’ll be seeing mindfulness everywhere soon — for better, or for worse. But I’m starting to think it’s almost always going to be for the better. Mindfulness, after all, goes with just about everything. I just happen to prefer almonds.

The real question is: What do you think?

As a pro-sk8ing Buddhist, I have to thank stalwart reader Ben J. Hutchinson for pointing out this painting:

It’s by painter/illustrator Jason Arnold, who is (clearly) super-playful and talented; see more here.

No, of course not –the guru, per se, doesn’t exist in Zen. Zen has teachers of course, but the distinction is an important one, especially in Tibetan Buddhist tantra, where “one’s teacher is seen as inseparable from the meditational deity and the Three Jewels of Refuge.” (That definition comes from the glossary in Introduction to Tantra, by Lama Yeshe.) Now, being that Chopra is spiritually concerned in a sometimes specific, sometimes dharmic way (and has written about the Buddha in long-prose and comic forms), it’s not surprising that some might get confused. But Tina Brown’s Daily Beast has in fact called him a “Zen guru,” in this report: