Two years ago, Kelsang Wangmo became the first female Tibetan "Geshe", or professor, which IDP celebrated in this blog post. Today, 27 more women are taking the <
A Song on the Six Perfections* by Milarepa
For generosity, nothing to do, Other than stop fixating on self.
For morality, nothing to do, Other than stop being dishonest.
For patience, nothing to do, Other than not fear what is ultimately true.
For...
Please come out and support this wonderful and thought provoking film. It will only be screening through this coming Thursday [My 9th] at Cinema Village on 12th Street.
The Guardian newspaper reports that a hospital in England has installed a quiet room designed by ambient music pioneer Brian Eno. It's being offered as a place to help patients relax, and doctors plan to monitor people who use the room to see...
More than 370 people have died and 1,200 were injured when a building that housed garment factories collapsed recently in Bangladesh.
**ETA: The death toll is now over 900.
Time reports:
Shortly after starting work as a bike messenger, I learned an acronym from my coworkers: ACAB, or All Cops Are Bastards. I couldn’t suppress a giggle; I’d been living in New York City for only a year...
Following last week's article on the dearth of female teachers in Tibetan Buddhism, it's wonderful to read today's story in the Telegraph, in which the Dalai Lama reiterates his publicly stated support for women leaders and the possibility of a...
Peter Levine is a psychotherapist whose work has greatly influenced the field of trauma therapy, particularly trauma that is stored in the body. He offers this advice for minimizing the future onset of traumatic symptoms:
Today in the Huffington Post, author Michaela Haas has a wonderful article asking why there isn't a female Dalai Lama and what is being done to address the sexism underlying the Tibetan Buddhist tradition.
Like many women studying in this...
As various thinkers attempt to position Buddhism in relation to "Western Psychology," I thought IDP folks might benefit from understanding some of the movements that are lumped into the latter.
Through April 13, Jeremy Redleaf is inviting New Yorkers into a conversation. About anything. From choosing an item on the conversation wheel (such a top 3 desert island foods) to relationships to the myth of isolation in society. The Talk Shop...
"When I think about women and Buddhism, the first thing that always comes to mind is the story of Tara’s vow. This story expresses our situation so clearly and applies equally well to both ancient and modern times. It is a story that originated when...
I've been writing Journals about Women in Buddhist History during March, which is Women's History Month. Women's stories are largely absent from traditional Buddhist study -- the men who wrote down the stories didn't collect women's stories, for the...
While iconic archetypes of feminine enlightenment (dakinis in the ancient language of Sanskrit) were erected on shrines, few women in Asia were actually emboldened to follow in their footsteps. That women participate equally is probably the single...
Acharya Eric Spiegel, one of IDP's lineage mentors will be offering the refuge and bodhisattva vows at the New York Shambala Center, March 29th through 31st as a weekend retreat.
Last weekend I started my year long immersion training with The Interdependence Project in New York City. Entering those doors and climbing the 200 stairs to the loving space of my Sangha I was nervous with the teeming possiblities. What would this...
In the Buddhist tradition I've studied in since 2006, there's a lineage chant listing the line of enlightened beings who handed down teachings. I've said that list -- which includes the name Yeshe Tsogyel -- hundreds of times, but I didn't know much...
March is Women's History Month. Friday, March 8, is International Women's Day. How many women in Buddhist history can you name -- not contemporary practitioners, but historical figures?
I AM JUST NOW emerging out of a long period of retreat where I spent much of my time in solitude — reading, reflecting, experimenting with various forms of prayer, and just sitting. The last three months of this period I spent in a simple guest...
I’ve always pegged “Next” as a demon. Next pushes one to bitterly reboot or insatiably chase. Next is an instant reaction that propels one into tomorrow with (what seems like) little maturity. Devilish. Pathetic. I’ve desperately tried...
The Interdependence Project offers three ways to interact on our website: via the IDP Blog, through personal Journals, and on comments to both the Blog and Journal entries. Please read the below policies before posting material on our...
IDP bloggers and Journal writers love to get comments on their posts. We're all suffering and awakening together. When we share our responses, analysis, and experience, we all progress along the path together (and alone). Even sharing confusion can...
Friends, Roshi Genro Gauntt of The Zen Peacemakers and Hudson River Zen Center invites us to join a street retreat in New York City, May 2-5, 2013. We will sleep, meditate, and live on the streets together. It’s a chance to practice with a Zen...
Martin Luther King, Jr. is someone who made a very big impact on me as a child, and in turn, my life as a whole. Writing this, I remember 10 year old me taking a book out of my school library about this influential man that I’d heard about,...
