Blog
Welcome to the Infinite Smile Blog. We’ve set up shop at Substack.
Rest in Peace, David Carradine
Carrie Rickey, at the Philadelphia Inquirer writes: Maybe you knew David Carradine from his role as the title character, the stonefaced assassin in Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill. Or maybe you knew him as Woody Guthrie, the plainspoken folk singer and folk hero in Hal...
Stillness In the Face of a Child’s Tantrum
I recently received this in a wonderful letter from one of our virtual sangha members in Germany. It's a beautiful reminder of how this practice can have profound effects on our families: Kids develop in phases and each jump to the next level seems to bring with it...
Skeletons in the Buddhist Closet
After yesterday's post about Lama Osel Hita Torres leaving his leadership role in Tibetan Buddhism as well as his order, a reader wrote: We need more news like this. Westerners, disillusioned with their own religious institutions, often turn to Buddhism, thinking...
O-Bansho at Green Gulch
O-Bansho at Green Gulch Originally uploaded by Michael G. McAlister
Practical Buddhist Tips for Kate Moss and Other Newbies
Over at One City, Julia May Jonas offers Buddhism's newest celebrity convert (as well as other newbies) some great advice. Kate Moss, I think this could be a good fit. And to welcome you into the fold, I thought I'd share some tips that might help with your first six...
Redux: Authentic Communication
From Chapter 5 of AiTL: ...words are the way we articulate mind, and the most profound spiritual experiences transcend the minds boundaries. This gap leaves the mind groping for signs and signifiers with which to communicate meaning. Words are what our minds create...
Cushion Commanderring
Cushion Commanderring Originally uploaded by Michael G. McAlister
Spiritual Practice Is Not About Happiness
In my experience it is a mistake to equate one's spiritual path with the pursuit of happiness, as it were. Climbing the mountain of spirit is about becoming increasingly conscious rather than resting in eternal bliss. Mark Vernon writes about this topic in today's...
Richard Dawkins as Bodhisattva?
The Guardian's Ed Halliwell skilfully weighs in on Dawkins' fundamentalism: I doubt it was his intention, but in 100 years time Richard Dawkins could be hailed as a prime architect of 21st-century religion. Though strident to the point of comic fundamentalism, the New...
Who Does the Dalai Lama Admire? … George W. Bush
I wonder how today's exchange at MIT will shake up the wider Buddhist community in the US? Audience member: Can you give us an example of a leader we should look up to as a positive influence? Dalai Lama (after thinking for a few seconds): President Bush. I met him...