Showing 250 articles
Living the Samurai Myth
Author: Shraddha ShettyOctober 14, 2020
The word Samurai originally meant ‘those who serve’, although individuals of this elite warrior class in medieval Japan were also referred to as Bushi, or warrior. And Bushido was the code of morality which the Samurai were meant to follow, not just in battle, but also in day-to-day activity. Speaking of this code in his [...]
Aesthetic Intelligence
Author: Sabine LeitnerOctober 1, 2020
We have probably all heard about different types of intelligence: kinaesthetic, verbal, logical-mathematical and lately also emotional and even spiritual intelligence. Recently I came across the term aesthetic intelligence and it inspired me to think about what this could mean in a philosophical and metaphysical way and why it might be important. From a philosophical [...]
John Keats: Immortal Beauty
Author: Maria Virginia ReinaOctober 1, 2020
“A thing of beauty is a joy forever. Its loveliness increases; it will never pass into nothingness” So begins the epic poem Endymion by John Keats. And in these opening lines, as through his exquisite body of work, he presents to us one of the core themes of his poetry, if not all art: that [...]
Solar Festivals in Tibetan Buddhism
Author: Giulia GiaccoJuly 21, 2020
The qualities of the summer solstice: stillness, light, clarity, openness, warmth and abundance, parallel in many ways the factors of enlightenment in the teachings of the Buddha. However, Buddhism has no celebration around the summer solstice. Summer solstice celebrations don’t seem to synchronise well with the concept of the “middle way”. One of the reasons [...]
Artiste Extraordinaire: Ramaa Bharadvaj
Author: Manjula NanavatiJuly 20, 2020
Ramaa Bharadvaj is a celebrated dancer, choreographer, storyteller, educator, writer and arts-curator. She has lived and worked in the US for 32 years, where she was the recipient of numerous prestigious awards for choreography, as well as for her exemplary contribution to the Arts in California. She has served on the boards of both state [...]
Stepping Back into The World of Heroes
Author: Rahil MehtaJuly 20, 2020
A child’s journey to adulthood is often a mixed bag. It’s a time of learning and challenges. Skills and abilities are developed, as are likes and dislikes. He quickly learns the rules of the world that he lives in. And facing a new world for the first time, his simplest obstacles look like gigantic monsters. [...]
The Spring Equinox
Author: Nataliya PetlevychApril 17, 2020
We all are cheered by days full of the renewing energy of spring – a beautiful time when nature awakens, the days become longer and everything living rejoices. There is a special time in the year when the Sun is exactly above the equator, hence the Earth’s axis neither points toward nor away from the [...]
When Does a Renaissance Start? The meaning of the Annunciation
Author: Nataliya PetlevychJanuary 22, 2020
History is rich with inspiring examples of the human spirit flourishing. One of the strongest among them is the Renaissance. It generated a change in the perception of the world and provided a new understanding of the human being, reviving the idea of interconnection between the Macrocosm (the Universe/divine) and the Microcosm (the human being). [...]
Mary Wollstonecraft and the Search for Women’s Equality
Author: Natalia LemaJanuary 15, 2020
In the mid-18th century, when London had approximately 600,000 inhabitants, a woman with remarkable ideas was born in Spitalfields. Her approach to life and her fight for equality between women and men, in a society that was far from equal, made her stand out from the crowd. Her words “I do not wish (women) to [...]
Glimpse into Tagore’s Legacy with Vandana Hazra (Event Synopsis)
Author: Manjula NanavatiDecember 31, 2019
As a poet, musician, writer, artist and educationist, Nobel Laureate Rabindranath Tagore was a visionary polymath. His verses, stories and songs are simple and personal, yet elegant and profound. His lyrical style was capable of focusing a magnifying glass to capture nature’s minutest details, while also throwing a searchlight across the heavens to encompass vast, [...]
Chernobyl and the Inexorability of Karma
Author: Gilad SommerDecember 3, 2019
Three things cannot be long hidden: the sun, the moon, and the truth. The Buddha The Truth doesn’t care about our needs or wants, it doesn’t care about our governments, our ideologies, our religions. It will lie in wait for all time. And this, at last, is the gift of Chernobyl. Valery Legasov in HBO’s Chernobyl The [...]
The Symbolism of Sumo
Author: Tom MoranNovember 30, 2019
Sumo is a form of wrestling that expresses the Japanese Shinto religion. It has at its heart principles of dignity and courtesy, and as well as being Japan’s national sport it is also a religious ritual. The Sumo wrestlers, called Rikishi, may look big and cumbersome but winning fights involves a combination of strength, agility, [...]