The Buddha Smiles (cartoons)

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The Buddha Smiles: A Collection of Dharmatoons

楽天ブックス: The Buddha Smiles: A Collection of Dharma Toons, Mari Gayatri Stein: 洋書

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The Buddha Smiles: Collection of Dharmatoons

There's a paperback, almost a comic book, of Buddhist humor. It was composed by author Mari Gayatri Stein back in 1999 with contributions from prominent American Buddhists (JuBus) Sylvia Bornstein, Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein, and others. It has 3.9 out of 5 stars with 7 ratings.

The Buddha Smiles is a delightful gathering of Mari Gayatri Stein’s cartoons, or "Dharmatoons" as she calls them.

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  Cambodian novice caresses the Buddha's smile

  Q: Most religious leaders don't, but the Buddha smiles? A: Yes, he is always depicted with a subtle smile, what one might describe as a gentle smirk if the connotation were not misleading. He is at ease, at peace, at rest, able to dip into the Fruits of Recluseship, namely, the bliss of the absorptions (jhanas, the eight attainments, right samādhi) at will and transcend even that supersensual happiness to touch the transcendent bliss of nirvana, the end of all unhappiness. Moreover, he smiles when he sees a noteworthy thing, of which his attendant monk, Ven. Ananda, will later inquire. The Buddha's smile acts as a signal in many sutras, an invitation to for Ananda to inquire what brought the smile about. It is unclear if the smile happened to the Buddha, as it does to us when something strikes us as funny, interesting, or curious or if the Buddha flashed it specifically to be asked what had struck him.
• Buddhist psychology (Abhidhamma) describes the hasituppāda-citta, literally the "mind-moment (citta) or consciousness (viññāna) producing mirth (smile)."
• It is found in the Abhidhammattha Sangaha as a name for the joyful mind-consciousness element (mano-viññāna-dhātu, see Table I. 72) arising as functional consciousness independent of karma (i.e., kriya or kiriya-citta), only in the arahant (Appendix) (Ven. Nyanatiloka, Buddhist Dictionary entry hasituppāda edited by Dhr. Seven).
• The Buddha is full of happiness (sukha), having found and repeatedly tested and confirmed the escape from all misery (dukkha) here and now and hereafter, namely, access to the absorptions and nirvana-with-remainder at any moment and nirvana-without-remainder once the body passes.

Clever cartoon collection by David Sipress, comic featured in The New Yorker

• Best Buddhist Cartoons (Practical Buddhism)

Zen Comics (Ioanna Salajan)

The book follows a group of humans and non-humans as they seek their enlightenment, exposing their strengths and weaknesses (and ours as well) in the process.

The Buddha Smiles gently teaches the nature of Buddhist thought through cartoons on the Four Noble Truths, The Noble Eightfold Path, and the nature of the Five Hindrances along the path.

Zen Comics, No. 2

It is the first full-length book of Buddhist cartoons unless one counts Ioanna Salajan's Zen Comics, which came out in 1974 or 1982's Zen Comics II.

Comics communicate the Zen spirit perfectly. Laughter deflates pretension, and a good rap on the head sometimes transcends so-called logic (the hubris of rationality and reason). In the words of Zen, "Nothing is left for you but to laugh!"

(Dan Piraro's comic strip Bizarro)

• The Buddha Smiles
• Mari Gayatri Stein: DavidSipress.com; Dan Piraro's Bizarro; Dhr. Seven, Shauna Schwartz, Ashley Wells (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Voices of Insight Meditation (anthology)

Begin again, begin again, and if necessary...

The Buddha made a general distinction between two types of cultivation or "meditation," one emphasizing calm and the other wisdom, shamatha and vipassana. This tradition of calm-and-insight is inseparable, one interdepending on the other, acting as the foundation for the other. The Theravada tradition used to encourage (foolishly in our opinion) dry insight, that is, this kind of meditation without the help of the other. Begin with calm and use it as a support for insight practices, which mainly derive from the two Satipatthana Suttas or the "Fourfold Setting Up of Mindfulness Discourses."

• READ A SAMPLE

Sharon Salzberg edited an anthology called Voices of Insight about vipassana meditation in 1/9/99 with Mirabai Bush. It has 4.7 out of 5 stars 21 ratings.

Voices of Insight

In this anthology, leading Western teachers of Buddhism share their personal experiences on the path of insight meditation called vipassana; their understanding of the basic teachings of the Buddha; the lessons they've learned in their training with their own teachers; and some good advice on following the Buddha-Dharma in everyday situations of work, family, and service. These contributors include:

• Jack Kornfield
• Sharon Salzberg
• Larry Rosenberg
• Sylvia Boorstein
• Christopher Titmuss
• Joseph Goldstein
• Steve Armstrong
• Narayan Liebenson Grady
• Bhante G (Ven. Gunaratana)
• Gavin Harrison
• Kamala Masters
• Michele McDonald-Smith
• Rodney Smith
• Steven Smith
• Ajahn Sumedho
• Carol Wilson
• Christina Feldman
• BOOK: Voices of Insight
• Amber Larson, Dhr. Seven (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

Kornfield: Who are the 12 Living Masters?

Sharon, Joe, Jack, Sylvia(?) The Best of Sharon Salzberg: Life, Teachings, Quotes (Awaken)

Living Dharma: Teachings and Meditation Instructions from Twelve Theravada Masters

• The full classic text FREE: Living Buddhist Masters by Jack Kornfield (Internet Archive)

Once upon a young American from the Bay Area in California decided to go on a spiritual quest.

(Yes, that's true of writers at Wisdom Quarterly, but this time we're talking about Jack Kornfield, who preceded us).

Kornfield decided to seek the wisdom of the East along with his hippie friends from the East Coast.

Jack Kornfield: Life is funny because karma is.

While working in the Peace Corps and learning languages in Asia, he trained to be a Buddhist monk in Thailand, Burma, and India (just like we did, although we added Sri Lanka, where many of the sutra texts are stored along with their chief translator, Bhikkhu Bodhi, our teacher and inspiration.

Buddhism for Beginners (Jack Kornfield)

Wishing to visit Thailand, a friend who became Tan Jess, and I heard about Kornfield's guide to young seekers, which talks about a dozen living masters one might possibly study under in the original wandering ascetic forest tradition). Kornfield was good enough to write about his experiences under ten teachers, ten living Buddhist masters, for a Western audience back home. Not everyone is called to let it all go and go East. (But we were). Thankfully, Kornfield was.

The Wise Heart (Jack Kornfield)

Miraculously, he found what he was looking for, and not only he but at least four others. All seem to have attained the path of stream entry (the first stage of enlightenment) there under Dipa Ma and others.

There is Sharon Salzberg, Joseph Goldstein (IMS, IMS Forest Refuge), Sylvia Boorstein, and we could swear there was someone else who is not Trudy Goodman (founder of InsightLA.org) because she came into Kornfield's life much later and is now his wife, but maybe it was his previous wife, Liana.

Kornfield awakened (probably in Dipa Ma's living room in India), was sent back to the US, and is now the co-founder of the Bay Area's Spirit Rock Meditation Center near San Francisco and one of the co-founders of Insight Meditation Society in Barre, Massachusetts.

What does Kornfield teach?

Where does he teach? Spirit Rock and InsightLA

Kornfield has worked to make Buddhism accessible for Westerners [10], combining loving-kindness and self-compassion with the practice of mindfulness. He incorporates the wisdom of Eastern and Western psychology. In his book After the Ecstasy, the Laundry, he writes about the honest development of the wise heart within the cycles of day-to-day life.

Original 1977 cover of the book

For instance, "amid all the Western masters and teachers I know, some idealistic perfection is not apparent.

"Times of great wisdom, deep compassion, and a real knowing of freedom alternate with periods of fear, confusion, neurosis, and struggle. "Most teachers will readily admit this" (pg. xix).

Kornfield's early lectures were featured by Joe Frank on his radio series "The Other Side." More

• Jack Kornfield, Living Buddhist Masters (Internet Archive, archive.org); Dhr. Seven, Amber Larson, Ajahn Mahindo (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

FREE Summit: (3/29) Gabor Mate, Tara Brach, Rick Hanson, Sharon Salzberg, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldberg, Jon Kabat-Zinn, Dan Harris...

Sharon Salzberg; Dhr. Seven, Ananda (Dharma Buddhist Meditation), Jen, Wisdom Quarterly

Sharon Salzberg is delighted that Wisdom for Life came to her with the idea of creating a summit based on the themes of her new book, Real Life, to be published on April 11th.

The book is based on the possibility of moving from contraction and isolation, the “narrow straits” of habit and assumption, to a world of greater spaciousness, creativity, and connection.

In this summit, too, we will look at common states of narrowness and pain and how to work with them.

We will look at when we feel most expansive and open (e.g., states like loving-kindness and compassion) and how to cultivate them.

We will look at what we want to take along on this journey and what’s a burden best left behind. And we will look at the power of that more open and expansive state and how it can change our lives. 

• CLICK HERE TO JOIN

Sharon Salzberg is hosting the Summit and conducting many of the interviews with 30+ speakers. She’s joined in conducting the interviews by Andrés González, Ali Smith, Atman Smith of the Holistic Life Foundation, and Lily Cushman.

Speakers include meditation teachers, playwrights, activists, scientists, poets/rappers, and more. Several of these extraordinary people will be quite familiar, and some will be the most delightful new discoveries.

Upgrade page - Wisdom For Life Summits

Each of the five days of the Summit has a unique theme from the book:

1. DAY ONE: WHAT IS AUTHENTIC LIVING
2. DAY TWO: CONTRACTION
3. DAY THREE EXPANSION
4. DAY FOUR: THE JOURNEY
5. DAY FIVE: THE EMERGENCE.

The scheduled speakers are:

• Ali Smith
• Amishi Jha
• Andrés González
• Anu Gupta
• Atman Smith
• Caroline Welch
• Courtney Martin
• Daisy Hernández
• Dan Harris
• Dan Siegel
• Daphne Zuniga
• Duncan Trussell
• Dr. Gabor Maté
• Jack Kornfield
• Jerry Colonna
• Joel Leon
• Jon Kabat-Zinn
• Joseph Goldstein
• Krishna Das
• Mark Epstein
• Omid Safi
• Parker Palmer
• Pete Holmes
• Rhonda V. Magee
• Rick Hanson
• Sarah Jones
• Sarah Ruhl
• Shelly Tygielski
• Simran Jeet Singh
• Sylvia Boorstein
• Tara Brach
• Trudy Goodman
• Valarie Kaur
• Zainab Salbi.
• CLICK HERE TO JOIN

Hope you can join us.

Take care, Sharon Salzberg (sharonsalzberg.com)

MEETUP GROUPS (Los Angeles):

• Disclosure Project
• Nature Center
• PasaDharma

Salzberg, Boorstein, Kornfield, and Goldstein

"Insight Bay Area" (spiritrock.org); Amber Larson, Crystal Q. (eds.), Wisdom Quarterly

ONLINE: Monday Night Dharma Talk & Meditation Jack Kornfield & Friends

Thursdays in Metta May: Orienting Ourselves: Conversations with Founding Teachers with Sharon Salzberg, Sylvia Boorstein, Jack Kornfield, Joseph Goldstein, and Michelle Latvala (calendar).

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Ram Dass: Jack Kornfield 💗 Trudy Goodman

BuddhaFest Los Angeles (May 31-June 2)

Ananda M., Dhr. Seven (Dharma Meditation Initiative); BuddhaFest.org, InsightLA.org

BuddhaFest LA embraces mindfulness and compassion through a unique mix of inspiring films, modern wisdom teachings, meditation, and live music. Individual events and an entire weekend of wisdom, inspiration, and community. Featuring:

• Prof. Robert Thurman (tibethouse.us), Uma Thurman's dad
• Accomplished practitioner Sylvia Boorstein (dharma.org)
• Dawa Tarchin Phillips (Bodhi Path, Santa Barbara)
• Tibetan Dr. Nida Chenagtsang
• Norman Fischer (San Francisco Zen Center)
• Music by Ms. Drukmo Gyal Dakini
• Tribute to Zen Master Bernie Glassman (ZCLA)

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  Joan Halifax with the 14th Dalai Lama

  Zen Priestess Joan Halifax (upaya.org)
• Accomplished practitioner Sharon Salzberg (sharonsalzberg.com)
• Zen Priestess Pat O'Hara
• Screening of Buddhist filmmaker Doris Dörrie's classic comedy Enlightenment Guaranteed (a very funny Zen comedy)
• + MORE: BuddhaFest.org/schedule

BuddhaFest LA

It's more fun to attend with friendly meditators (Dharma Meditation Initiative)

• At Writers Guild Theater, Beverly Hills (L.A.)
• and UCLA's Young Hall, West L.A. campus
• Friday, May 31 through Sunday, June 2, 2019
• BuddhaFest.org
  • RSVP FREE to attend with D.M.I.

Sylvia Boorstein on Enlightenment (video)

Amber Larson, CC Liu, Seth Auberon, Wisdom Quarterly; Buddhist meditation teacher Sylvia Boorstein (Spirit Rock), It's Easier Than You Think: The Buddhist Way to Happiness

Marriage ceremony in Phuket, Thailand (Ted Richardson, Esq./flickr/thaiembassy.com)

 

Fischel's wife was a devi glowing in the dark (WQ)

When I started to practice meditation in the early seventies it was hip. Everybody was meditating; every weekend you could take a workshop in another form of meditation. The advertisements for the workshops usually suggested that at the end of the weekend you'd be totally enlightened.

I remember once going to a party that looked like a regular party -- people talking, visiting, and laughing -- and in the middle sat a woman with a strange look on her face, eyes closed, face serene, totally tuned out from the whole scene.

Somebody leaned over to me and said, "Look at her, she's enlightened," and I thought to myself, "If that's what enlightenment is, I don't want it."
 

Meditation for levitation (Ruwan_W/flickr)

What I did want, at least for a while, were exotic powers. I heard extraordinary stories of people who could bilocate or levitate. Sometimes, as I sat on my cushion and experienced an unusual lightness in my body, I imagined I was about to levitate. I hoped I would. I thought it would be a far-out thing, rising up off my cushion and floating in the air.

I think I was also influenced by a story my grandfather told about my grandmother -- a woman who died when I was nine years old. I knew here as a sickly old woman, but my grandfather remembered her as the very beautiful woman he had married when she was 18 years old. He told me she was so beautiful that "she glowed in the dark." I asked him if he really meant that, and he said, "Yes, she really did." 

He said, "At my nephew Murray Fox's wedding, the hall was lit with gaslight because it was before electricity, so it was quite dark, and everyone said, 'Look at Fischel's wife, she shines in the dark!'" I held that as a wonderful, luminous memory and as an ideal. What I wanted to achieve from my meditation practice was to shine in the dark. I think a lot of us in the early days wanted magic.

My Buddhist meditation teachers, whom I met in 1977, talked about enlightenment but not about magic. They talked about "seeing clearly" and how it could mean happiness and the end of suffering. That sounded like the kind of magic I wanted most. More

• It's Easier Than You Think (sylviaboorstein.com)
• Quotes: It's Easier Than You Think (Goodreads.com)

The Avatars Are Coming?

Semjase space devi

(NYC812) Odd narrator speculates that the sun is affecting human DNA causing the emergence of human-star-people hybrids. They are incarnating into avatar bodies birthed by ordinary terrestrial parents. Why? A mother who gives birth to such a baby will love her child no matter how different that child is. In this way, extraterrestrials arrive integrated into the fabric of the existing society. So if a black couple gives birth to a blond, blue-eyed, classically Eurocentric "angel" baby, that baby will be loved. Who can explained such children being born to Asian couples? "The wife cheated" is the rational if harsh conclusion. But then an Egyptian couple has twins, one white one not. How could beautiful, non-albino children be so white they practically glow in the dark?