The “Pepper Spraying Cop” continues his beat across the internet. You’ll find some of his many tragicomic manifestations at his new, dedicated Tumblr, which includes a few more run-ins with religion, Eastern and Western.

But that was in 2004, and it’s notable that a new Washington Post article about the younger Reagan and his new memoir begins in this way:

“In Seattle, up on the ridge in the little Craftsman-style bungalow, tucked among the Buddha statues on the mantel, there’s an old Meerschaum pipe. The stem snapped in half years ago, and its case is worn, but it still exudes a kind of fusty dignity.

‘That was my dad’s,’ Ron Reagan says.”

One photo included shows what looks to be another Buddhist statue by the fireplace; this one, it appears, is of Jizo Bodhisattva, who according to Japanese tradition is a protector of children and those who reside in the hell realms.

While previously described as an atheist (though one married to a Buddhist), Reagan has also interviewed Dzogchen Poplop Rinpoche and is credited with this quote: “I admire the fact that the central core of Buddhist teaching involves mindfulness and loving kindness and compassion.”

So, he a Buddhist, and would it matter if he was? Sure, maybe not — but Reagan’s been an outspoken figure for as long as he’s embraced his place in the public’s awareness, so it will be interesting to see if he’ll begin to speak more about Buddhism and/or how his understanding of it has informed his political views. At the very least, it was a nice surprise to see Jizo there in the Post…

Sure, it’s half-joke, half-jab — and more a reference to the Christian tradition of meditation than anything else — but in politics, meditation might be helpful to everyone: Republican, Democrat, third party, no party.

As Melvin McLeod wrote in his book Mindful Politics: A Buddhist Guide to Making the World a Better Place, “Politics is really about how we live together as human beings, and all spiritual practices point to one simple but profound truth about human life — that only love leads to peace, hatred never does. [...] Buddhism is unique in the range of its meditation practices that can transform the way we live together, which is to say, the way we live politically.”

Now, in the spirit of full disclosure: Melvin McLeod is my current boss (as he is the Editor in Chief of the Shambhala Sun, my employer), and Wisdom Publications (who published Mindful Politics) is my former employer. But that doesn’t make this stuff any less worth talking about, and they’ve each done a great job of it, so you might want to check out their contributions to a more mindful way of conducting political business. So: here are links to the book, and to the Shambhala Sun’s online Mindful Politics Spotlight page.)

And for more on politics here on the Horse, click here.

There are of course other folks covering the Mindful Politics beat; NYC’s Interdependence Project, with their emphasis on social action, jumps to mind for me. Also, the Buddhist Peace Fellowship. But we could go on and on, so if you’ve got a favorite, leave a link or comment in the Comments below. Thanks.

Not really news, granted, but it’s interesting, isn’t it: lots of people get famous for doing nothing, but O’Donnell seems to be getting famous for refusing to do anything. Masturbation included.

Scott Robb could have a devil of a time winning a seat in October’s civic election.

The 31-year-old security officer is the founder of the Darkside Collective, which he believes is the first Canadian-based satanic church.

“I have been a practising Satanist since 1996. I briefly joined the Church of Satan in San Francisco in 1997 and quit there in February 2000 and started my own church.”

Robb, one of five Ward 4 council candidates, compared his group’s beliefs to psychological improvement or Buddhism rather than the occult activities of popular culture.

For example?

Check it out.

And don’t forget to vote.

The tattoo in question, via farm4.static.flickr.com

Sports site TSN reports that:

“English welterweight Dan (The Outlaw) Hardy’s stomach tattoo was airbrushed out of the UFC 111 fight poster because it is ‘anti-Chinese government stuff,’ according to UFC president Dana White.

‘”I’m trying to get into China,” he told fans at a question-and-answer session Tuesday. ‘I don’t need anti-Chinese government stuff on my fighters.’

“Hardy, however, says the tattoo — the fighter’s favourite — is a Tibetan Buddhist prayer written in Sanskrit.

‘”It’s basically just like a prayer for focus,’ Hardy said. ‘It keeps me walking the path that I should be walking without veering off and distracting myself.’

“Apprised of that explanation, White said: ‘That’s not what I heard.’

[...] “‘I heard that it was anti-Chinese government, so I ripped that thing off it. I’m not going to put him on a poster with anti-Chinese government writing on it when we’re trying to get into China. . . . I don’t know what this stuff means, so I’ve got to be safe.’

But, as the MMA site Bloody Elbow (nice name, that) points out:

“The tattoo is the well known Buddhist mantra “Om mani padme hum” which has no political significance in relation to China.”

Well, not quite no political significance.  While the tattoo isn’t an overt anti-China statement, China sure is sensitive to hearing about Tibetan Buddhism. Some, like Robert Thurman, would even go so far as to say that the Chinese government is trying ‘re trying to, um, airbrush it away.