Bearing Witness Retreat at Auschwitz/Birkenau

For the 15th year, Bernie Glassman and the Zen Peacemakers are returning to the site of the concentration camps of Auschwitz-Birkenau, in Oswiecim, Poland, for the Bearing Witness Retreat. It’s a  multination and multifaith retreat. This year, the retreat will include young adults from Israel, Palestine, Italy, Poland, Switzerland, and the United States.

During the retreat, participants spend most of their time sitting by the train tracks at Birkenau, either in silence or  chanting the names of the dead. Also, prayer services from various religious traditions are offered each day. Read More »

Check out Norman Fischer’s story on Huffington Post

Soto Zen Buddhist priest Norman Fischer posted an essay on The Huffington Post discussing the recent approval of a document honoring the women ancestors of the Zen tradition by the Soto Zen Buddhist Association. He tells the interesting back story to how the initiative began. Click here to read the full article.

International conference on Tibetan Buddhism at Emory

From Tynette Deveaux, Editor of Buddhadharma: The Practitioner’s Quarterly

The international conference on Tibetan Buddhism wrapped up Wednesday after two days of talks with hundreds of participants from across North America, as well as Mexico, India, Tibet, and Mongolia. Hosted by Emory University in Atlanta, the conference coincided with the Dalai Lama’s three-day visit to the university, where he gave several sold-old public talks. The conference brought together teachers, scholars, translators, supporters, and students of Tibetan Buddhism who discussed how the tradition is unfolding in the West and the challenges that need to be addressed.

The Dalai Lama  opened the conference with words of caution, explaining that there is a danger of corruption and degeneration of the buddhadharma, both in the West and in the East. “Let others do the praising,” he advised. “Let us seek out the faults Read More »