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.
Maybe not as much as some would think. This graphic, showing different US religions’ members incomes, has some surprises in it.
Via the great GOOD magazine, in collabro with Column Five.
…searches for “buddhist” were among the top 10 on Google Trends yesterday, The Globe and Mail reports.
Via Pharyngula, at ScienceBlogs:
If you go to the Google page and start typing in search phrases, it helpfully tries to offer suggests…sometimes. [...]
In the search field type “Christianity is” and you will see recommendations of “bullsh*t, not a religion, a lie, false, a cult, wrong, fake, dying, Jewish, and not a religion t-shirt.”
In the search field type “Hinduism is” and you will see recommendations of “monotheistic, false, polytheistic, the majority religion of, the oldest religion, not a religion, fake, most commonly found, characterized by, and wrong.”
In the search field type “Buddhism is” and you will see recommendations of “not a religion, wrong, not what you think, bullsh*t, polytheistic, a religion, false, based on what concepts, the best religion, and atheism.”
But what about others, like “Islam”? You’ll have to read more here.
“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.”
Today’s Bing.com “cover star”:
The Potala Palace.
Roll over the Bing homepage screen (while it’s there) to learn factoids about sand mandalas and Tibetan Buddhists’ “awesome hats.”
Via macnn:
Herraiz Soto, an independent creative agency, has launched Ommwriter, a new word processor with a “Zen-like meditative focus.” The software offers a choice of ambient music themes that play in the background, along with a variety of keyboard audio-feedback themes designed to make typing a pleasant experience. The software works within one window, with drag-over activated menus to the right of the workspace.
I almost thought this was a joke. (Was “Soto” an inside-gag name, referring to Soto Zen?) But it’s not. Starting out skeptically, I’ve just gone to the Ommwriter site, watched the About Ommwriter video… [Click the button with the four arrows on the player below, to watch full screen (recommended/necessary)]
…and I’d be downloading it now, if only there was a Windows version. It’s Mac-only right now. Dang! Well, as someone who spends a lot of time in writing, I’m looking forward to seeing what this thing can do.
More Dharma-Burgers like this one, please!
CNN.com has just posted a story called “Prison inmates go Zen to deal with life behind bars.” See? When dharma seeps into the mainstream, good things can happen!
Big thanks to the reader (who shall remain anonymous) who sends this one on:
“[I met this guy who] started a new tequila company called Karma Tequila. I played dumb and asked him what karma was, and he said, ’cause and effect.’ And I asked what cause and effect had to do with a name for a tequila brand, and he just said that it was the only name that they all agreed sounded great. So no reason, really. He did mention that, in the name of karma, the company gives back some of their proceeds to causes.
“I exercised a lot of control trying to keep my trap shut when he was going off about the name: ‘Imagine it branching out into branded cocktails: the Karmatini, the Karmapolitan, and get this … the Karmarita!’ I almost keeled over!”
…Yes, folks: “Karma Tequila.” Of course, right? …and you can see it on their site, here. I particularly like the “store” which includes the simple selling-line, “Buy Karma.” (Okay, maybe “like” isn’t the right word…)
