Setting Up A Shrine/Altar
I am new to OBC/Soto Zen and would like to know how to set up a shrine/altar at home. I also fell this thread would be helpful to other newbies 1. How high should the shrine/altar be off the floor? 2. What should be on the shrine/altar? 3. Where

does buddhism make you advanced?
This is a quote from another thread, but I thought it's going to be more appropriate to create a new line of discussion... Nielsio wrote:In retrospect it's interesting to see how unadvanced we all were back them (I'm talking about compared to what I'v

Biggest Buddhist Cult in the World
Foreign Policy is one of my favorite online magazines. Check out this photo essay on a 1,000,000 member cult in Thailand. 23 photos total. http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/01/20/close_encounters_of_the_buddhist_kind?page=0,0 Totally

My Trouble with Buddhism...
I love Buddhism and its teachings a great deal and have learned a lot and know there is much more still to learn. There is still a great deal of cultural baggage and I'm very curious about its teachings regarding awakening and enlightening and am deeply

more books about Critical Buddhism - mostly coming from Japanese sources
CRITICAL BUDDHISM by James Mark Shields – In the late 1980s and early 1990s, the relative calm world of Japanese Buddhist scholarship was thrown into chaos with the publication of several works by Buddhist scholars Hakamaya Noriaki and Matsumoto Shiro,

anxiety management
Hey there, Seems to me we are all suffering from anxiety and depression from worrying about our bums. So I have some experience on this from when I was recovering from Ativan last year. Here is what helped me through the hard times and I am finding

Meditation...
Can meditation change your brain? Contemplative neuroscientists believe it can!! From CNN's Dan Gilgoff: Can people strengthen the brain circuits associated with happiness and positive behavior, just as we’re able to strengthen muscles with

An inner self meditation
Inner Self Meditation (c) Innerlight Close your eyes: Breathe naturally. Sit for a moment before you begin and unwind. Allow your heart and breathing to slow. Don’t slouch – sit up straight. Next you can focus in on your inner being your true

If you have any questions about Buddhism, post them here
Hey, I guess maybe a few of you know me, a few of you don't. Anyway, I'm planning to ordain as a Buddhist monk in Thailand in the next couple of months. I've basically stopped posting on all websites (for quite a while), but I still occasionally browse

Buddhism and the Christian meme
What do Buddhists think of Christianity, Islam, and Judeaism? Why do some Buddhists like Thich Nhat Hanh go out of their way to portray the Abrahamic memes as a viable path? http://www.uq.net.au/slsoc/bsq/budchr0.htm#cont

heresy? how does that fit into Buddhism?
Friday ramblings. I'm curious as to how "heresy" is dealt with in the context of Buddhist theory, history, etc. By heresy I mean the standard definition you can find online, such as "religious opinion or doctrine at variance with

Nausea during meditation
Has anyone experienced this or can anyone offer an explanation, could this be due to heightened emotions?

Meditation and Hairloss
What do you all think? Could a regular practice of meditation be good for our hair? There is some research that connects meditation with a lowering of inflammation (not to mention stress), which would go well with IH's theory, as far as I

An Imbolc Meditation
(written and posted at TOP for the Imbolc Meditation Contest) Sit back, relax. Take a few deep breaths. Breathe in calm, breathe out stress. As you feel the tension fade away gently close your eyes. Continue to breathe deeply. Slowly open your

Loss Buddhism in Java
This is the height and great secret in indonesian spritual, about Buddhism Deva, ghost java vs Wali Muslim. In indonesian can not publication. Why Busshism loss in Java? And Buddhism will come back in Java after 500 years old. Now buddhism coming in