Let Justice be Done

Jack Johnson: A champion boxer who should be recognized as such (great man? That’s another question).
Johnson’s boxing style was very distinctive. He developed a more patient approach than was customary in that day: playing defensively, waiting for a mistake, and then capitalizing on it… Johnson’s style was very effective, but it was criticized in the [...]

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Aw come on, be reasonable…

World records ‘hurt’ women’s participation in sports because all world records are set by men.
As sad as this is… many spectators, unless they have a personal investment in the sport (such as, a relation watching the athelete), care only for the best. And really, there’s nothing we can do about it. It may be all [...]

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Fat people blamed for global warming

Ah, the typical blame game, mixed with “credible” scientific fact – when it’s clear that everyone is responsible for global warming in the first place. Still this is darkly funny.
As if your average middle-class fat people don’t have enough to deal with. Link here.

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You are the King.

Some verses from Shantideva’s The Way of the Bodhisattva. There are actually some philosophical problems in relation to some of Shantideva’s arguments in his composition, however, it doesn’t negate the importance his book’s had on Tibetan Buddhism in particular. It is interesting how Shantideva is regarded most highly in the Tibetan tradition whilst there is [...]

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Avatamsaka contemplation

It is a sad fact that the Hua-Yen school no longer exists as a living movement; yet there is no Buddhist who does not acknowledge the Avatamsaka Sutra as amongst the most important scriptures of the canon. As a textual microcosm of the entire universe, it is complex enough (even with a performance that tries [...]

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Update on current events

Chimps capable of empathy? Note the hesitance of the scientists in confirming this. We seem to still prefer the higher emotions to be exclusively ours…
Thailand’s lese majeste law now smacks down hard on an Australian.
A great poem about the hypocrisy against China. I am obviously not a poet, hence I’m not the author.
South Korean President, [...]

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Academic essays

I am trying to get an essay about the Avatamsaka Sutra published – if all goes well, it may be available on October the 9th. My next ambition is to write a paper about the Upayakausalya Sutra for next year’s submissions.
Both Sutras I see as highly important both for Buddhist scholars, and practitioners of Buddhism [...]

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‘Mirror Neurons’ and Buddhism

Link here.
I’m never sure what to think when professors and teachers see the links between the scientific discipline and a religion, but I suppose it can be a good thing, mostly.

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