The Buddhist Year in Review, as reported here on the Buddhism Blog (dates given are blog post dates) -- January 2. Imprisoned Burmese monk U Gambira becomes Burma Digest's Person of ... Read More

Red and Jack are problematic parrots living at Garuda Aviary, a project of the Kunzang Palyul Chöling Temple in Poolesville, Maryland. David A. Fahrenthold writes about them in the Washington ... Read More

Feeling saturated with tinsel and cookies? These few days between Christmas and New Year's Eve always feel a bit ragged. The holiday decorations are starting to look shabby, the tree ... Read More

Via the Rev. Danny Fisher, elephant journal has a list of the Ten Worst Buddhist Movie Characters. The list includes The Monk With No Name (Chow Yun-Fat) in Bulletproof Monk ... Read More

Dosho Port posts a trailer for the upcoming Japanese film, Dogen. No kidding.

At the Guardian, Khaled Diab discusses the evolution of Santa Claus, from the stories of Nicholas, Bishop of Myra (270-345) to the many versions of Father Christmas or Santa Claus ... Read More

Ed Halliwell, who practices in the Shambhala tradition, writes about the difference between cheerfulness and happiness. We might think of happiness as a status to be obtained. However, the late ... Read More

The selection of Pastor Rick Warren to give the inaugural invocation ignited protests from across the political spectrum. Some on the Left believe the choice of Warren, who is opposed ... Read More

(Photo Credit: China Photos/Getty Images) Tibetan lamas wrap themselves in cloaks to stay warm as they chant sutras during a prayer session at the Tashilhunpo Monastery, Tibet, December 7, 2008. The ... Read More

The "Tiger Temple" of western Thailand, Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua, was featured on ABC News's "Nightline" this week. The monks of Wat Pa Luang Ta Bua share the temple ... Read More

The National Geographic Channel will run "Secrets of the Kung Fu Temple" about China's Shaolin Monastery on December 16 18 at 10 pm EST. In other Buddhist entertainment news -- ... Read More

From time to time a person, curious about Buddhism, will ask for a quick explanation of what Buddhists believe and how we worship. This person is nearly always a polite ... Read More

If you're even half the history nerd that I am, you'll want to read "When Jesus met Buddha" by Philip Jenkins in the Boston Globe. Jenkins is a professor of ... Read More

Spotted in the December 19 issue of The Week -- Neuroscientists at Sweden’s Karolinska Institute used video headsets to make volunteer subjects feel they’d swapped bodies with mannequins. When they ... Read More

At the Dallas Morning News's religion blog, Sam Hodges writes about proselytizing at interfaith gatherings. Interfaith conferences and organizations generally operate with a kind of gentlemen's (or gentlewomen's) agreement that ... Read More

Nancy Haught of The Oregonian writes a lovely description of an all-night Rohatsu observance at the Oregon Buddhist Temple of Portland. On Saturday night, while most of Portland slept, a ... Read More

Fitting in nicely with this week's theme, desire -- Paul Sunstone writes on his blog Café Philos about "The Difference Between Loving Someone and Loving an Idea of Them." He ... Read More

Let me be clear up front that I'm not serious about launching a Buddhist ad campaign. But maybe we can have some fun with this -- Last month, the American ... Read More

This week's theme is desire. One of the seeming paradoxes of Buddhist practice is that one strives to be without desire, yet practice usually begins with a desire for enlightenment. ... Read More

The issue of faith and its role in Buddhism is one I return to frequently. A lovely essay on Bodhi Day by the Rev. Dr. Tess Baumberger led me to ... Read More

The sutras tell us that karma is created by thought, word and deed. These volitional acts create a ripple effect that affects us and everyone around us. Now there is scientific ... Read More

Christmas is the 600-pound gorilla of holidays; it's really hard to ignore. I do, however, seem to ignore it more than most people. This morning a woman told me she ... Read More

The round pillow is a zafu, a meditation pillow used for sitting zazen. Photo Credit: Rob Ireton / Flickr.com, Creative Commons License

I hesitate to post this, because with the Mormon ads that pop up here from time to time I fear people will think About.com Buddhism is a front for the ... Read More