Mandala of Sacred Activism

In one of the very first pieces I wrote for Engage!, "Outcastes as Activists: A Tantric Approach to Engaged Buddhism", I introduced the idea of activism from a tantric perspective. I am now going forward with a more fully developed model, by constructing a Mandala of Sacred Activism. The Mandala is a model of Systems …

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Calling All Nerds

Dharma Nerds aims to be a hub for intellectual and creative exploration of dharma themes in Buddhism and related Engaged Contemplative traditions. I welcome submission of your articles, photos, film and other visual art, poetry, creative writing and sound explorations. I love articles on modern and post-modern dharma scholarship, but also heterodox and counter-cultural explorations …

Practice Roundup 2018

I'm starting to wonder if this 'enlightenment' thing isn't some huge and stupendous out-of-body experience that radically transforms your perceptions and turns you into a Phantom Arhat. What if enlightenment is really something small—not quite the ordinary humdrum, something more than that—but a series of small experiences that pop up in your daily life that …

New Model Sangha

When I went to a Buddhist centre ten years ago, all I wanted to do was learn how to meditate. I didn't want a religion and I didn't want to join a church. I certainly didn't want a 'family' or a cult. But the only model of sangha available to me at the time was …

Madhyamaka and the Commons

I am reproducing part of this latest blog post by eco-poiesis (I don't know their name or anything about them; it's not public information) because it is a brilliant application of Buddhist Madhyamaka to political economy. It is also a brilliant explanation of Madhyamaka itself. Nirvāṇa/Saṃsāra; Commonism/Capitalism DECEMBER 10, 2018 byECO-POIESIS A general strategy that …

Self as a Neurological Afterthought

In meditation and in the general awakened state, I try to practice awareness more so than concentration, partly because the awareness process doesn’t have a strong sense of self.  The confusion is conflating ‘thought process’ with ‘self’—I think therefore I am.  Thoughts are just thoughts—they are not the self. Awareness is not the self either. It’s …

Welcome to the Multi-Verse

Here’s another thing I’ve learned today as I continue to deconstruct my own thinking. There is no singular, ultimate reality. There is a ‘reality’ of some kind, but it’s not a singular reality. It’s a multi-verse, a reality of realities, each one created and experienced by individuals and collectives. I can experience some facets of …

Fritjof Capra on Science and Spirituality

Fritjof Capra has been one my greatest teachers and inspirations, not only for my work in the sociology of systems theory, but my concept of Dharma Naturalism. Capra describes spirituality as the profound experience of belonging, to the earth and all living beings, to the universe, and to each other. Dharma Naturalism says the same, …