Sumeru News

An excerpt from Bodhisattva 4.0: A Primer for Engaged Buddhists. “This stunning wrist mala bracelet of softly colored, pastel beads is suitable for mantra practice and for wearing as jewelry.” Online store One premise of the book, from which this is an excerpt, is that we live in an exchange economy of designed objects, relationships, and institutions. In this, I have been influenced particularly by two books, The System of Objects, by Jean Baudrillard, and On Longing: Narratives of the Miniature, the Gigantic, the Souvenir, the Collection, by Susan Stewart. From this perspective, I have very mixed feelings about companies selling...

Sumeru author Sharon Suh talks with Ted Meissner at The Secular Buddhist Podcast about her book Occupy This Body: A Buddhist Memoir, and about how her Buddhist practice helped her heal from a traumatic childhood of abuse and family secrets. Listen to the podcast here... https://secularbuddhism.org/episode-320-sharon-a-suh-occupy-this-body-a-buddhist-memoir/

There is often some confusion about the relationship between Shakyamuni Buddha's first teachings, Sanskrit and Pali. Here's an article from Bhikkhu Mihita explaining the origins of Pali as the lingua franca of early Buddhism. https://tspace.library.utoronto.ca/bitstream/1807/96735/1/Buddha%20as%20Progenitor%20of%20Pali_TSpace.pdf

There's a new Buddhist centre in town, and it is unique in its approach. The Toronto Centre for Applied Buddhism, just launched in 2019, focuses on psychotherapy from a Buddhist perspective. In addition to counselling and workshops for patients, it is also dedicated to training professionals in the counselling field. Find out more here:  http://appliedbuddhism.ca/ As described on their website,  AN EDUCATIONAL HUB FOR MINDFULNESS AND COUNSELLING Established in 2019, the Toronto Centre for Applied Buddhism aims to provide educational programming that focuses on the application of the Buddhist teachings in contemporary societies through collaboration with educational institutions and Buddhist communities...

This excerpt is from my recently-published book, BODHISATTVA 4.0: A Primer for Engaged Buddhists. It's one of 108 topics. This one is about guns, and it comes from the section of the book on violence. In all, the book has more than 500 online resources for deeper study and networking. https://sumeru-books.com/products/bodhisattva-4-0 GUNS “On an average day in America, seven children and teens will be shot dead.” Gary Younge, Another Day in the Death of America There is no Buddhist justification for guns. There is no way to “normalize” gun violence. There is no karmic upside to the business of making and selling guns,...