From the point of view of history, Christianity and Islam have certain advantages over Buddhism. Both Jesus and Mahomed lived in cultures where writing was well-known and widely used. Writing was almost certainly unknown in India during the Buddha’s lifetime … Read the rest
We take it as granted that the Buddha was a real person, that he did the things that are said of him, and that he taught the Dhamma that we are familiar with. Further, almost all historians accept that the … Read the rest
You can see it in almost any Sri Lankan temple. Its six pastel-pink petals and its strong, almost cloyingly sweet fragrance, are unmistakable. It is of course what Sinhalese people call the sal flower, the blossom most favoured by devotees … Read the rest
We usually associate the Himalayas with Hindu saints, not with Buddhist monks. But in the Jataka we are often told that the Bodhisattva became a swami or a rishi and went to live in the Himalayas. Unfortunately, now, many centuries … Read the rest
When I was in India in the 1970s I thought of going to Afghanistan specifically to see the great Buddhas of Bamiyan. I had the time, the money and certainly the interest. As it happens, I kept putting this … Read the rest
When in 2017 President Donald Trump announced that he was intended to deport illegal immigrants, mainly those from Mexico, the mayors of several US cities and some religious bodies designated themselves ‘sanctuary cities’ and ‘sanctuary churches’ in defiance of the … Read the rest
Henri van Zeyst was one of the last of that generation of Westerners who came to Asia to join the Buddhist monkhood before the Second World War. Of the many who came, few lasted long. Henri went to Sri Lanka, … Read the rest
From about the 8th or 9th centuries onwards a new type of Buddhism began to develop which later became known as the Tantrayana, the last of the three great ‘vehicles’ of Indian Buddhism. In the beginning this new interpretation met … Read the rest
From about the 8th or 9th centuries onwards a new type of Buddhism began to develop which later became known as the Tantrayana, the last of the three great ‘vehicles’ of Indian Buddhism. In the beginning this new interpretation met … Read the rest
We do not usually think of Russia as a country with a long-standing and traditional Buddhist population. But it is. Strangely, we do not usually think of it as a colonial power either. But it was. There are numerous books … Read the rest
