Blog
Welcome to the Infinite Smile Blog. We’ve set up shop at Substack.
Esteem Cleaning
In my book, I cover several areas of what it means to be a "self" and how our addiction to "self hood" can lead us astray. Recently, I offered up a post dealing with an issue that I frequently run up against as a teacher, one that always sounds something like: How can...
Opening Beyond Fixed Views
Sylvia Boorstein recounts a dinner she attended on the eve of the US presidential election over at Shambhala Sun Space. My sense is that she expresses what many of us may have felt as the election process evolved. "A man sitting across from me, the one person who had...
Faith and Fear
Yesterday, Michael Paulson's Articles of Faith Blog addressed media coverage of religion during the presidential campaign season: ...the Pew Forum on Religion & Public Life offer a critical look at how the news media covered the role of religion in this year's...
Real Humility
Over at the Washington Post's, On Faith section, John Mark Reynolds makes the point that humility supports our spiritual evolution. He also suggests that we have little control over God's plan for us: The events that impact a nation are ultimately in God's hands....
Calling up Compassion
In Karen Armstrong's recent post, Calling All Religions to Compassion, she rightly brings up some key points of integration for traditions: Compassion is indeed central to every one of the major world religions -- but sometimes you would never know it. Increasingly...
Is Compassion Really Shared?
Interesting writing by Brian D. McLaren over at the Washington Post's "On Faith" section: A lot of people say that the deeper you go, the more all religions are the same. Based on my study and experience, that statement strikes me as potentially quite misleading.
Geopolitical Power
I was impressed years ago when I read Paul Kennedy's book, Preparing for the 21st Century. In it there is a chapter on the dilemma that the US faces: whether or not it has the capacity, or desire, to adjust to a changing world. Among the many topics that fascinated...
Buddha 2.0 in Nepal?
This goes along with what I mentioned in yesterday's post about Buddhism losing traction in the East. What's the best way to get people back into the temple? Maybe a little messianic mythology and claims of reincarnated Buddhas could inspire clinging and attract...
Buddhism Loses Traction
Barbara O'Brien at About.com writes a blog titled, Japanese Buddhism: Going Out of Business? Based on my travels over the last decade, I'd have to say that I agree with her observations. I'd also say that the idea that we should return to the fundamental approaches of...
Spiritual McCarthyism
In a a recent post over at Intent Blog, Deepak Chopra writes about taking a vow of non-violence in his thinking, speaking and his actions in front of an audience of 500 people at a plenary session of The Alliance for a New Humanity. I told them if they were ready to...