…and Worst Horse friend (and sometime contributor) Thanissaro Bhikkhu has answers. That is, his new Dhamma book, “Skill In Questions” is just waiting for you to download it, along with all the other wonderful free books at Dhammatalks.org.

Speaking of free: the great Jerry Whiting has made a couple of Buddhist-inspired calendars for you to download. Check ‘em out here.

Fans of the Horse’s “Altar Madness” posts — where readers submit photos and explanations of their personal Buddhist altars — REALLY should see Altar-Bot:

This is serious!

….what is it? Well, it’s the new logo for the blog known as Open Buddha. Worth a look, for sure.

Yes indeed. Check it out.

As FullContactEnlightenment.com’s TMcG says, “Nominate now! Nominate often!” (And while you’re at it: TMcG deserves a nomination or two herself!)

Thanks to the fine people behind the BA’s latest incarnation. This is a great way to explore the Buddhist blogosphere.

I rarely look at Bing; for better or for worse I’m generally a Google guy. But today, the Bing homepage‘s cover star again hails from the Buddhist world.

It’s the stunning Thousand Temples of Bagan in Burma. You may have seen them in filmmaker John Bush’s also-stunning film, Journey into Buddhism: Dharma River, part of his three-part trilogy of films that reveals ancient Buddhist lands.

The Thousand Temples are really worth knowing about. Thankfully, Bing links to a short video, which you can see here. (But also, don’t miss the Bush films!)

This is cool: Over at Shambhala SunSpace I just posted three samples from the forthcoming CD, Dhamma Gita: Music of Young Practitioners Inspired by The Dhamma.

In addition to the three tracks, you’ll find a link to hear more, order the CD, or buy a direct digital download.

Check it out here.

This was posted here a couple of weeks ago:

Well, Lost, my favorite current TV show just got, um, favoriter.

Don’t know how I missed this initially, but one of the newly-returned show’s newest characters, a Japanese guy who is “Master” of the mysterious, rebirth-granting temple recently found by the Losties, is named Dogen. As in “Eihei Dogen,” founder of the Japanese Soto school of Zen Buddhism.

This is probably not insignificant, not on a show whose characters are named things like “John Locke,” “C.S. Lewis,” and “Daniel Faraday.” Also, of course, the whole thing centers around an enigmatic organization called “The Dharma Initiative.”

My eyes will be on the show and on Hiroyuki Sanada, who plays Dogen, for more. The second episode of the season is on tonight. Get caught up with last week’s premiere here.

But now, in a new interview with the New Yorker’s Vulture blog, Sanada denies a Buddhist connection:

Dogen translates roughly to “the temple of eternal peace.” Also, Dogen was a thirteenth-century Buddhist teacher. Any significance to your character?

Yeah, he’s not a Buddhist. Dogen’s name is inspired by a famous Buddhist in Japan a long time ago. He’s not a Buddhist, per se; it’s just a name. And also he has another real name from growing up in Japan.

Hey, fellow Worst Horses. I’ll be taking a week and a half or so to explore other pastures — real ones, off-line.

Just wanted to give you a heads-up, and also to again say thanks for making this site so much fun.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for more Buddhism-and-culture stuff, you couldn’t do better than to see what my colleagues at Shambhala SunSpace are cooking up, nor the many awesome people who make up the ever-vibrant, increasingly diverse Buddhist blogosphere. (The Horse’s blogroll, marked “Graze,” on the right side of this page, might be a good place to start.) And then there’s always the Horse’s archive of features including Dharma-Burgers, Buddhist tattoos, and more from recent days gone by.

‘Til next time: May the road rise with you!

Rod Meade Sperry
Editor of The Worst Horse

Have you seen it? It takes place in a sort of stand-in for the Potala Palace, completing the scene with prayer wheel, devotees and a levitating semi-Dalai Lamaesque figure. Meditation, it seems, is not necessary when you have Red Bull.

I can’t find the video online yet, but will post here when I do. You can see a screenshot, thankfully, thanks to good ol’ Many Flakes, One Bowl.

(BTW, “Many Flakes, One Bowl” has to be the best Buddhist blog name, no?)

“Think different.” Or, don’t.

Via ComputerWorld: “Apple appears to have blocked iPhone applications related to the Dalai Lama in its China App Store, making it the latest U.S. technology company to censor its services in China. [...] At l

east five iPhone apps related to the Dalai Lama are unavailable in the China store. Some of those apps — named Dalai Quotes, Dalai Lama Quotes and Dalai Lama Prayerwheel — display inspirational quotes from the Tibetan spiritual leader. Another, Paging Dalai Lama, tells users where he is currently teaching. A fifth app, Nobel Laureates, contains information about Nobel Prize winners including the Dalai Lama.”