On the Horse we sometimes call ‘em Dharma-Burgers. Over at his new Tumblr, “Dispirited Dave” calls ‘em “examples of the sometimes rather odd/clashing use of the Buddha as an image in the West.”
Check them out here: http://dispirited-dave.tumblr.com/. It’ll be fun to see what else pops up there.
Showed you this screenshot from the Total Recall remake back in September; now, here’s the trailer, for you completists.
I dunno.
That incredible sentence is just one of several uttered in Thursday night’s episode of 30 Rock, in which none other than Liz Lemon herself takes up meditation.
Does she stick with it? Well… maybe.
But that’s almost beside the point. Why? Well… why not read about the whole episode in this writeup I’ve just published on Shambhala SunSpace?
Band names can come from anywhere, but this one was a pleasant surprise. This UK hard rock band seems to take its name from this modern documentary film championed by Buddhists and meditators for its depiction of how meditation can help the incarcerated.
Not big news, just kinda cool.
“We don’t worship Buddha,” says pastor Dennis Terry, introducing Rick Santorum while preaching to the choir in the newly posted video below. Well, that’s not something most Buddhists say they do, either — at least not many Western Buddhists; rather, it’s more often the case that we look at the historical Buddha as an example of a real human being who proved that liberation from suffering was possible. What’s your reaction to this pastor’s argument that non-Christians should “get out” of America?
(Note Rick Santorum clapping toward the end of the video.)
So. It’s come to this.
Forget what you know about “Zen.” Now it’s a “designer masturbator” that ”has flowing ribs that supply soft and gentle stimulation all over.”
Bodhichitta — maybe you’ve heard the term. But what is it? Well, the Shambhala Publications online glossary (a great thing!) defines it as:
Bodhichitta Skt., lit., “awakened mind”; the mind of enlightenment, one of the central notions of Mahāyāna Buddhism. In the Tibetan tradition it is seen as having two aspects, relative and absolute. The relative mind of enlightenment is divided again into two phases (1) the intention and wish, nurtured by limitless compassion, to attain liberation (nirvāna) for the sake of the welfare of all beings and (2) actual entry into meditation, the purpose of which is the acquisition of the appropriate means to actualize this wish. The absolute mind of enlightenment is viewed as the vision of the true nature of phenomena. The various methods for arousing the mind of enlightenment stem primarily from Atīsha and entered into all schools of Tibetan Buddhism through him.
Pretty heady stuff, eh? Thank god we can just forget about all that, and simply think of it, instead, as a new line of bubble baths:
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“Bodhichitta — You’re soaking in it!”
Thanks to my brother Konchog Norbu for the heads-up (and photo) on this one. As always. …And if you’re into this sort of thing, go here to learn more about the Bodhichitta product line.
Check it out; Jeff Bridges — aka, The Dude, El Duderino, etc — will be releasing a book called The Dude and the Zen Master, which Entertainment Weekly reports will explore “the meaning of life, laughter, the movies and trying to do good in a difficult world.” His co-author? Zen teacher Bernie Glassman. This is gonna be good.
Niiice. And why not? The Dude has many Buddhist fans. Are you among them? I am.
(Hat tip to the mighty Ben Hutchison.)
Look, it’s Eddie Murphy, meditating, in his new film, A Thousand Words. The premise sounds okay, but then again, I said that about Mike Myers’ The Love Guru when it was announced, and let’s just say things didn’t turn out that way.
Learn more about both via this Metro story about comedy and spirituality and when they do and don’t mix so well.
PS: It at least has to be better than “Rude Buddha.”
Did you see this thing? I thought it was pretty painful. But click here to see for yourself if you haven’t yet. That is, if you don’t mind potentially squandering a few minutes of precious life.
