Daily Buddhism

Podcast Episode 39: Real World Vs. Cushion Buddhism Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number thirty-nine. My name is Brian Schell, and I am the your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com. Announcements: I don't have any phoned-in questions this week, because no one phoned in any questions! As in the past, if your phoned-in question is played on the show, you will win a free month of the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine. Of course, if you're a little phone shy, you can always send in your questions to dailybuddhism@gmail.com On the other hand, this week we saw a big leap in reader-submitted stories and material. You guys want to share your stories, and that's great! We actually had reader-submitted material three days this week. While I don't want to do that many guest posts every week, it was really helpful to me this time, as I was setting up a new site, which I'll tell you about in a minute. If you want to submit something Buddhism-related to be included in the daily Buddhism, drop me a note with your idea and we'll proceed from there. Personal stories, poems, reviews, a biography, a lesson on something; the topics are wide open And now on to this week's show! [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links: A Heroic Resolution for the New Year http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1078 http://www.herobulletin.com Real World Vs. Cushion Buddhism Part 1: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1082 Part 2: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1084 A Sensitive Topic http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1081 Book: Practical Meditation with Buddhist principles http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1088 Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1741577721?tag=askdrarca-20 Voice Mail Number: 937-660-4949 Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com Donate: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/donate Free Newsletter: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/sign Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info: http://www.weeklybuddhism.com Our new Facebook Page: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/Facebook Follow Daily Buddhism on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DailyBuddhism

Podcast Episode 38: Kindness In Daily Living and The Best of Daily Buddhism 2008 Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number thirty-eight. My name is Brian Schell, and I am the your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com. Send your questions, comments, suggestions and thoughts to me at dailybuddhism@gmail.com Announcements: Although I have a few submissions now from people who want to write guest posts for the Daily Buddhism, I'd like to see more. I'd like to have one guest poster to cover some topic once a week. Something like what Darren Littlejohn did last week or Lori Deschene did this week. You don't need any special credentials or have written a book; all you need is an interesting viewpoint or story that illustrates some point. If you would be interested in writing a guest post for the show, send me an email with your topic idea. Thursday night I upgraded the software on the D.B. website and the podcast was broken for a few hours. I apologize for any inconvenience, but it's back up and better than ever now. And now on to this week's show! [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links: Kindness in Daily Living: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/927 Koan: The Sound of One Hand: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/1051 The Best of Daily Buddhism 2008: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/954 Book: Buddhas, Bohisattvas, Khadromas, and the Way of the Pilgrim: A Transformative Book of Photography and Pithy Sayings: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/946 Amazon Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0973443987?tag=askdrarca-20 Why All The Chanting? http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/932 Chanting MP3s: http://www.zendust.org/chantsmp3.htm Here are some Youtube examples to enjoy: Om Mani Padme Hum: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=633eH4yajHE Zen Chanting: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A1evxMA7yYw Buddhist Chant: The Heart Sutra: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-c9-XaA2f00   Voice Mail Number: 937-660-4949 Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com Donate: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/donate Free Newsletter: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/sign Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info: http://www.weeklybuddhism.com Our new Facebook Page: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/Facebook Follow Daily Buddhism on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DailyBuddhism

Announcements: I made several references to Twitter in this week's show. If you'd like to follow my Tweets, go to http://twitter.com/DailyBuddhism and "follow" me. I'll follow you right back. If you're already on Twitter, please vote for Daily Buddhism to get a "Shorty" award: http://shortyawards.com/?username=dailybuddhism&category=religion As always, the main home site for the show is the dailybuddhism.com web site, but if you are also on Facebook, you might want to visit our new fan page at http://dailybuddhism.com/Facebook and maybe also the fan page for http://taooftheday.com/Facebook I'd love to open things up for a guest poster to cover some topic once a week. Something like what Darren Littlejohn did this week. You don't need any special credentials or have written a book; all you need is an interesting viewpoint or story that illustrates some point. If you would be interested in writing a guest post for the show, send me an email with your topic idea. As I mentioned last week, I have gathered all the various ways to get Daily Buddhism content together in one place for easy sign-up. www.dailybuddhism.com/sign has places to sign up for the free daily newsletter, the podcast, the RSS feeds and the Weekly Buddhism. Easy! And now on to this week's show! [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links: Voice Mail Number: 937-660-4949 Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com Donate: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/donate Newsletter: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/sign Being in the Present, Be Here Now: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/887 Buddhism & the 12-Step Recovery Process: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/890 The 12-Step Buddhist: http://www.12stepbuddhist.com Order from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1582702233?tag=askdrarca-20 Chanting and Prayer on Schedule: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/900 Koan: The Strawberry: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/903 Meditation on a Whoopie Cushion: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/907 Follow Brian on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DailyBuddhism Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info: http://www.weeklybuddhism.com Our new Facebook Page: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/Facebook Follow Daily Buddhism on Twitter: http://twitter.com/DailyBuddhism

A Quick Saturday afternoon addition to the announcements: I got a little carried away deleting SPAM posts and accidentally deleted a dozen or so REAL comments today. I was able to restore the comments from backups, but all of them now show up as being entered by "Brian Schell" with the original writer of the post being shown as "From: so-and-so." Sorry about the goof, but nothing was really lost. Announcements: Happy Holidays, (whatever that may be to you)! If you enjoy the daily Buddhism, you can help out by putting up a good review for the show at iTunes. I've added a special link to the site to make this easier for you: if you go to http://www.dailybuddhism.com/itunes iTunes will automatically open up and find the show in the iTunes store, you can just enter your review right there. Just a note, if it asks “By:” put YOUR NAME, not mine. I appreciate it and so might other potential listeners. I mentioned last week that I'm getting a backlog of questions. In the meantime I've decided that a lot of them were more appropriate to answer brief emails rather than post them here, so I'm pretty much caught up now. A reminder: All of the articles and posts you hear about on the show go out in our free daily email and are posted on the DB website. Many readers go to the website and post their own comments and ideas on the topics there. So don't just listen to me here on the show, stop in and read the comments on the website; many readers add some great insight to what I have to say. On the website this week I changed a few things around and made some improvements. Each and every post now has a list of “Related posts” at the bottom. I think that will help follow some topics much easier. Also gathered all the various ways to get Daily Buddhism content together in one place for easy sign-up. http://www.dailybuddhism.com/sign has places to sign up for the free daily newsletter, the podcast, the RSS feeds and the Weekly Buddhism. Easy! On the subject of easy, I also revamped the donation portion of the site. Instead of the two little buttons, there is now a page of various options, and you can now choose to help things going for as little as ONE DOLLAR a month. I'm pretty sure it'll never get any easier than that. http://www.dailybuddhism.com/donate And now on to this week's show! Podcast Episode 36: [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links: Voice Mail Number: 937-660-4949 Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com Review: Seeds of Kindness Beads http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/780 http://www.seedsofkindness.biz The Four Seals http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/748 The Four Immeasurables http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/835 Mini Topics: Past Lives, Mantras, Sutras, and Chants http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/858 Past lives, Pro-: http://www.lifepositive.com/Mind/personal-growth/past-life-therapy/past-life-therapy.asp Past lives, Con-: http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2008/9/7/lifefocus/1957870&sec=lifefocus Book: The Tao of Now http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/866 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/157174584X?tag=askdrarca-20 Buddha, by Deepak Chopra (iTunes link) iTunes, download NOW: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/Chopra Amazon Paperback: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0060878819?tag=askdrarca-20 Amazon CD Audiobook: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0011MSV0C?tag=askdrarca-20 Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/weekly-buddhism

Podcast Episode 35: Buddhist Christmas, Pessimism in Buddhism, and Meat Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number thirty-five. My name is Brian Schell, and I am the your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com. Send your questions, comments, suggestions and thoughts to me at dailybuddhism@gmail.com Announcements: Do you like the podcast? If you do, you can help out by putting up a good review for the show at iTunes. You don't need to write anything lengthy or complex, just a sentence or two. I've added a special link to the site to make this easier for you: just go to http://www.dailybuddhism.com/itunes and if you have iTunes installed, it will automatically open up and find the show in the iTunes store, then you can just enter your review right there. I appreciate it and so might other potential listeners. A reminder: All of the articles and posts you hear about on the show go out in our free daily email and are posted on the DB website. Many readers go to the website and post their own comments and ideas on the topics there. So don't just listen to me here on the show, stop in and read the comments on the website; many readers add some great insight to what I have to say. Let's see… over the past few months I've had a few people as about the theme music from the show. The music is not from a CD you can go out and buy, it's a short sound clip included with Garageband, the software I use to make the show. If you have Garageband, the clip is called “Shogun.” I'll play the entire clip for you at the end of the show. Please keep your questions coming in, whether by email or phone. Please be aware however, that I am starting to build up a little backlog, and I might not get to your question the same week you send it in. Personal messages or something that sounds urgent, I'll answer by email right away as always, but questions for the show are stacking up. I will answer every single question eventually, it's going to take some time. On the subject of questions, I mentioned last week that if you phone in your question and I use it on the show, you'll win a free month of the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine. I gave away a month subscription last week, and I have another for this week and next week, but more is always good. Call in with your question at 937-660-4949. [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links: Voice Mail Number: 937-660-4949 Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com To Meat or not to Meat? http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/768 Related links: Are Buddhists Vegetarians? http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/59 The First Precept: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/37 Buddhist Dog Food: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/141 Book: The Method of No-Method: The Chan Practice of Silent Illumination http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/740 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/1590305752?tag=askdrarca-20 Buddhism: Half-Empty or Half-Full? http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/745 A Buddhist Christmas http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/755 Book: Quiet Mind, Open Heart http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/766 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0978775767?tag=askdrarca-20 Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/weekly-buddhism

Podcast Episode 34: If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number thirty-four. My name is Brian Schell, and I am the your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com. Send your questions, comments, suggestions and thoughts to me at dailybuddhism@gmail.com Only one announcement this week: I get lots and lots of emails, and that's great, but we don't get much action on the voice mail line. Starting right now, if I use your phoned-in voice mail on the show, you'll win a free month of the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine. We'll have our first winner coming up next! [Play Sound Clip asking about “Killing the Buddha and Numb Legs”] Well there, Chris from Texas, I appreciate your call and your questions! You just won a free month of the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine. “Chris from Texas”, Drop me an email or call with your email address and we'll get that set up. And for the rest of you, the voice-mail phone is 937-660-4949. Call in now and leave your message! It's available 24 hours a day so don't wait! Now on to the rest of the show and the answers to Chris' questions: [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] [update!] Whoops! forgot to mention, I did get in another reader's Shrine photos. Here they are: This Week's Links: Voice Mail Number: 937-660-4949 Email: Dailybuddhism@gmail.com If You Meet The Buddha On The Road, Kill Him http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/670 Sleepy Legs in Meditation http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/667 Buddhism and Homosexuality http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/697 Additional Sources: http://www.religionfacts.com/homosexuality/buddhism.htm http://www.religioustolerance.org/hom_budd.htm http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/7-18-2004-56791.asp CD Review: Buddha Moon, by Chinmaya Dunster http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/707 Amazon CD: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000NVKY8Y?tag=askdrarca-20 Amazon MP3: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000QR1Z92?tag=askdrarca-20 iTunes Store: See website for link Koans: Stingy in Teaching / Joshu's Mu http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/714 Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/weekly-buddhism

Podcast Episode 33: Background Buddhism and Three Stories Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number thirty-three. My name is Brian Schell, and I am the your host for the show. You can find the text as well as all links mentioned in this program and all past episodes on the website at www.dailybuddhism.com. Send your questions, comments, suggestions and thoughts to me at dailybuddhism@gmail.com There are no special announcements this week, so let's get on with this week's show! [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links Converts vs. Background Buddhists http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/647 The Dog Story http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/650 Help support Daily Buddhism http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/659 Amazon Affiliate Link Right Effort Revisited http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/652 Book: Where is Your Buddha Nature? Stories To Instruct & Inspire http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/665 http://www.amazon.com/dp/1932293302?tag=askdrarca-20 Koan: Not Far from Buddhahood http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/674 Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/weekly-buddhism

Podcast Episode 32: Women in Buddhism Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number thirty-two. I'm Brian Schell, your host for the show. You can find the text for everything in this show and all past episodes on our website at www.dailybuddhism.com . A few brief announcements this Week: The Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine Issue #7 will be available later this weekend, and this one is jam-packed with pictures and images. Someone asked me if clicking on the Donate $5 a month button qualifies for the free subscription, and yes, that sounds reasonable to me. So I am now expanding the offer to include those who use the automatic recurring subscription feature. If you want to do this, just click on the “Donate $5 a month” button on any page. If you want to pick up only the latest issue or subscribe the regular way, go to http://www.weeklybuddhism.com I have a few reader questions that I plan to use for next week's show, but I would still like to hear your questions and comments on anything at all. Drop me an email at brian@dailybuddhism.com or call in 24 hours a day with your phone at 937-660-4949 I got another reader-submitted shrine picture this week, which I will post with the shownotes to this episode. If you have one, go ahead and send it in as an attachment to your email message; it's not too late. Just a quick follow up to my announcement last week, the Daily Chess Lesson website and email list will officially start on Monday. If you never learned to play the game, sign up now before we get started with the rules and stick around when we get into strategies and stuff later. http://www.dailychesslesson.com or follow the link from the DB website. And that's it for the Announcements for the week. Now, on with this week's show! [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links Women in Buddhism Part 1: Maya http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/604 Women in Buddhism Part 2: Pajapati http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/613 Women in Buddhism Part 3: Kwan Yin http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/619 Book: The Moon In the Water, Reflections on an Aging Parent http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/628 Koan: Gisho's Work http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/633 Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/weekly-buddhism

Podcast Episode 31: Mindfulness, Kindness, Buddha-Boy and the Sangha Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number thirty-one. I'm Brian Schell, your host for the show. You can find the text for everything in this show and all past episodes on our website at www.dailybuddhism.com . A few brief announcements this Week: The Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine Issue #6 will be available later this weekend, but as I mentioned in previous shows, is now subscription-only. As with last week, if you want to pick up the latest issue or subscribe, go to http://www.weeklybuddhism.com I have a short series planned for next week, but I would still like to hear your questions and comments on anything at all. Drop me an email at brian@dailybuddhism.com or use the very-underutilized voicemail line at 937-660-4949 Last week, after the segment on setting up a home shrine, I asked everyone to send in pictures of their home shrines. I only had two people send in pictures, so I'm not going to spend a day with a post about two pictures. I have posted the two shrines on the shownotes post for this episode. My thanks go out to the two listeners who chose to participate. If you would still like to send your photos in, it's not too late, I'll post them as long as I keep getting them. And that's it for the Daily Buddhism announcements for the week. Now I'm going to use the opportunity to tell you about two new sites that I've been working on. The first one is the Daily Relgious, that's http://www.dailyreligious.com This is a news site covering all branches of religion and religious news. It's updated constantly throughout the day and night with information from many sources. If you go to the main page for the Daily Religious, you can select individual categories for news, or you can subscribe to the RSS fee and get it all. It's fun and it's free. Stop over and take a look. The second one is completely unrelated to anything we talk about here, but I'm thinking some of you may be interested anyway. I'm a chess player, and I have been for thirty years, but you know what? I really stink at the game. I have dozens of books on chess on my bookshelf, and I've never made through any of them. I just don't have the time to read the books or practice all that much, although I've always been very interested in the game. My experience with the Daily Buddhism has taught me that if I am committed to writing on a subject every day, I can make time. So, I've started a new site, called http://www.dailychesslesson.com and I expect to run it just about the same way as the daily Buddhism; an email each weekday, with a single new chess idea or tip. In the beginning, I'll be covering the basic rules of the game, so if you never learned to play, sign up for the daily email now. The lessons begin Monday November 25th. After we get through the basic rules, we'll cover simple strategies and tips, eventually moving into openings, endings, famous games, current events and so forth. It's a lot less serious than Buddhism, and I thnk it'll be fun. That's at www.dailychesslesson.com Links to both sites are on the shownotes and in the “Links” section of any of my websites. But now, on with this week's show! [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links CD Review: Koyasan: Reiki Sound Healing http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/549 The Sangha Situation: Nowhere to Go http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/554 The Return Of Buddha Boy http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/569 Four Foundations of Mindfulness http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/562 Book: The Kindness Handbook a Practical Companion http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/575 Setting Up A Home Buddhist Shrine http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/523 Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info: http://www.weeklybuddhism.com

Podcast Episode 30: Zen Gardens, Home Shrines, Conversion, and Reviews Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number thirty. I'm Brian Schell, your host for the show. You can find the text for everything in this show and all past episodes on our website at www.dailybuddhism.com . A few brief announcements this Week: This week I installed a poll plugin onto the DB site. If you'd like to help me test it out, there's a really simple poll on there right now: “Which do you prefer, the audio show, email, PDF Magazine or website?” It's not an important question; I'm just testing the software. But if you want to put in your answer, it's on the right- Taooftheday.comhand side of any page. The Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine Issue #5 will be available later this weekend, but as I mentioned in previous shows, is now subscription-only. We talked about rates last week, so I'll skip that this time, but I will remind you where to go whether you want just this single issue or a full subscription. Go to www.weeklybuddhism.com which will take you straight to the page for the magazine. Also, I have noticed that the topics we are getting into are getting more and more advanced. There's nothing at all wrong with that, it's a natural progression, but it seems likely that there are plenty of new listeners out there. I recently put all the old audio shows back online, so anyone can go back and listen to the early ones. Those shows are older, and the audio quality isn't too good on a few of them, but content-wise, they are the most important of all of them. If anyone has any questions about that early material, don't hesitate to send me an email. I have no problem re-visiting the basics. If you would like me to re-address any of those topics in the near future, that's fine with me; it's probably a good idea to get back to basics once in a while. But now, on with this week's show! [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links Zen Gardens http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/497 It's NOT a Zen Garden: http://www.rothteien.com/superbait/zenviewpoints.htm Desktop Zen Garden Kit: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00005OUHD?tag=askdrarca-20 Book: Here You Are, By Mayke Beckmann Briggs http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/503 Buy from Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0977646912?tag=askdrarca-20 Becoming a Buddhist: Conversion Rituals http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/508 Older DB Articles on the topic: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/115 http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/172 Tibetan Conversion Ceremony: http://www.parami.org/duta/buddhist.htm Review: Zen and Now Timepiece http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/514 Now and Zen Company Site: http://www.now-zen.com Setting Up A Home Buddhist Shrine http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/523 Weekly Buddhism Subscription Info: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/weekly-buddhism

Podcast Episode 29: Fear, Footprints, Family & Fat Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number twenty-nine. I'm Brian Schell, your host for the show. You can find the text for everything in this show and all past episodes on our website at www.dailybuddhism.com. This week we had a koan, a couple of reader questions, a book review, an interesting lesson from that book and a special edition podcast. Announcements for the Week: The only major announcement this week involves the new Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine. The Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine Issue #4 will be available later this weekend, and as before will still be free. However, starting next week, with issue #5, it will become subscription-only. I posted the rates last week, but this week I set up the site to accept your payments, so everything is good to go for your subscriptions. The rates are as follows: Each individual issue will be only $1.25. My thinking behind this is that people who don't subscribe may still want one from time to time to pick up certain articles. I'll still be posting the table of contents to the site as I have in the past few weeks, so you can see what's inside and decide. The next step up is what I call the “Trial Offer,” although you can do this repeatedly every month is you want. It's a mini-subscription of 4 issues. This runs $5.00. You won't save any money by going this route, but it's intended as a convenience over remembering to buy individual issues. The best option, is of course the full subscription. This is $50 for an entire year. That's a dollar per issue. If you've looked at the free copies I've sent out in the podcast feed, you can't argue that there's way more value there than a dollar. Remember though, that the Daily Buddhism daily emails and the audio podcast will remain free just as they have been. The Weekly Buddhism, however, wil have all the same material as the mails and audio show, but include a lot of expanded content such as current events, news, full texts of classic Buddhist books, and much more. I have big plans for this. One more note on this: I have mentioned from time to time that you can donate on the DB website. I have gotten a lot of support, and I appreciate it. For those of you who have donated $50 or more in the past, you will automatically get a year's subscription. Just to keep things fair, that offer stands. Whether you want to BUY a subscription, or choose to DONATE $50, you'll get a year's subscription. So you can look at the payment in whichever way works better for you. Oh yes, there is another announcement. I had been reading the Dhammapada, my favorite of the classic Buddhist texts, a chapter a week in the Daily Buddhism, but I'm going to discontinue that. With 26 chapters, it would have taken 4 or 5 more months to finish. But now, with the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine, I can put the entire book in there, and that's what I'm going to do. Issue #4, the last free issue, will include the entire Dhammapada. If you're disappointed by this decision, and really WANT me to bring it back a chapter week, let me know, but I think doing it this way is much more efficient. And that sounded more like a sales pitch than announcements, so let's speed on with the show for the week! [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links Fear: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/421 Buy “No Death, No Fear” by Thich Nhat Hanh http://www.amazon.com/dp/1573223336?tag=askdrarca-20 Book: Footprints in the Snow, by Chan Master Sheng Yen: Review: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/423 Buy It: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0385513305?tag=askdrarca-20 Prayer in Buddhism: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/426 Podcast Episode 28: Special Edition- Guided Meditation: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/465 Fat Buddha, Skinny Buddha, Laughing Buddha: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/442

Guided Breath Meditation Here's something I have been meaning to put together for weeks, but finally actually did it today. It's a guided breath meditation session, and it'll take roughly 16 minutes to do. It's the first time I've tried doing this kind of recording, so your comments, criticisms and suggestions are VERY much desired and appreciated. Comment at: http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/465 . ‘Headphone Meditation by Illusive Mind’ image from http://www.illusive-mind.com/art/headphone-meditation/. . .

Podcast Episode 27: Reviews, Rosaries, Hindus, and Politics Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number twenty-seven. I'm Brian Schell, your host for the show. You can find the text for everything in this show and all past episodes on our website at www.dailybuddhism.com. This week we got into several new topics and did a couple of reviews. I have a big stack of Buddhist books and CDs here that I'll be covering in the next few weeks. Since there's nothing better than giving or getting Buddhist books for Christmas, I'll be bulking up on the reviews for the next few weeks. Some minor changes on the website to announce this week. If you look at the menu bar across the top of the screen there are a few new tabs. The new “Audio Archive” page has a special new Flash audio player that works like a jukebox of the older podcasts. It makes finding older shows easier than going through the menus. It doesn't seem to work in all browsers, so if it works for you, then enjoy, and if it doesn't, just click on the “Podcast” category and find the shows the old way, sorry. Also on the top bar of the site is the new “Media Store” tab. You'll find my recorded CDs available there, and I have re-done those a bit. The Tao Remastered, The Dhammapada, and the collection old podcasts are still available, only in a new format. Rather than other that material in audio CD format as before, I've now changed each offering to collections of MP3s on a single CD for a lower price. Why pay for 3 audio CDs if you can get the same material as one CD full of MP3s. You can always write your own audio CDs from them if you really want to. The third new tab on the page is for the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine. I've worked out what the subscription rates are going to be, and you can check them out there. You can't buy a subscription there yet, but I'll get that set up once I stop offering the files for free in a couple of weeks. Issues 1 and 2 are already out, and issues 3 and 4 will be sent out in the podcast feed as freebies just like before. I'm putting the finishing touches on Issue 3 and it'll go online either tonight or Saturday morning. Keep in mind that the Weekly Buddhism PDF Magazine is an optional expansion to the Daily Buddhism, not a replacement. The free emails and podcasts aren't going away. And that should cover all the announcements for this week, so let's get on with the show! [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links Movie: Zen Noir http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/319 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000LUBZDU?tag=askdrarca-20 Buddha's Ghostwriters and Hinduism http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/325 Buddhist Rosary Beads / Mala http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/365 Book: The Saint of Kathmandu and Other Tales of the Sacred in Distant Lands http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/396 Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/dp/0807013129?tag=askdrarca-20 Our Buddhist President: Politics and Religion http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/399

Podcast Episode 26: Meditation Styles, Part 3 Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number twenty-six. I'm Brian Schell, your host for the show. You can find the text for everything in this show and all past episodes on our website at www.dailybuddhism.com. This week we continued the series on Meditation, covering 40 meditation themes, the basic practices involved with loving kindness meditation, and a book review on L-K meditation. Finally, we concluded with a very brief overview of some other kinds of meditation that you could look into on your own if interested. Meditation is a huge subject, and possibly the most important part of Buddhism. I've covered a lot of material in the past three weeks, but there is just a huge volume of things I didn't say. Send in your questions on meditation or Buddhism in general to dailybuddhism@gmail.com or phone them in at 937-660-4949. You can also post your thoughts about anything we discuss on the website's blog at www.dailybuddhism.com Announcements Last weekend saw the introduction of something completely new for us, the Weekly Buddhism “Magazine.” Last week's 1st edition went out in the podcast feed, so if you are subscribed to the podcast you already have it. Otherwise, it's available at the regular Daily Buddhism website or also at the new Weekly Buddhism site (http://www.weeklybuddhism.com). The second issue will go out the same way sometime this weekend. It's a weekly compilation of everything that goes into the Daily Buddhism emails and the podcast, as well as expanded coverage on some topics, such as current real-world news, more classic Buddhist texts, and extra premium content. The Weekly Buddhism is formatted for easy printing, and my thought is that it would be nice to collect them over time into a binder. You'd have quite a bit of material there for alter review after a short time. It's free for now, although it may not be free forever, so check it out and see what you think. Your comments and suggestions are always appreciated. I've had several people mention in the past that the Daily Buddhism isn't available by RSS. I always replied that it was available, just click on the RSS button. Wrong! What I had been missing all that time was that only the PODCAST episodes were showing up in that feed. The podcast was working fine, but the daily posts didn't go into the feed. I don't know how long that had been the case, but I don't think it was a recent goof. Well, that's fixed now. On the right-hand sidebar of any page at the D.B. site, there are three buttons. The top one is to subscribe with iTunes. If you use iTunes, click that one. If you use some other feedcatcher program for podcasts, then click on the second button, “RSS Podcast.” If you'd like to subscribe to the newly-fixed text RSS feed, then click on the third button, “RSS Blog.” Of course, just above those three buttons is the sign-up form for the daily email, and you've heard me talk about that plenty over the past months. Let's get on with the show! [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links The Forty Meditation Themes, Part 1 http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/229 The Forty Meditation Themes, Part 2 http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/231 Book Review: The Gift of Loving Kindness http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/234 Order: http://www.amazon.com/dp/157224562X?tag=askdrarca-20 A Closer Look at Loving Kindness Meditation http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/247 Other Forms of Meditation http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/249 The Weekly Buddhism, Issue #2 http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/253 or http://www.dailybuddhism.com/podpress_trac/web/253/0/Weekly_Buddhism_Issue_2.pdf

Podcast Episode 25: Meditation Styles, Part 2 Welcome back, this is Daily Buddhism audio show number twenty-five. I'm Brian Schell, your host for the show. You can find the text for everything in this show and all past episodes on our website at www.dailybuddhism.com. You know, 25 episodes ago, I wasn't sure if this thing was going to attract anyone's attention. Half a year later, we have thousands of subscribers to the show and a great bunch of readers and listeners who don't hesitate to support the show. Thanks everyone for following along for 25 great episodes! There's plenty more to come, and I have a surprise or two in store for the coming weeks that I think you'll like. Stay tuned! This week we continued the series on Meditation, covering five different styles of meditation, the basic practices involved, and the differences between them. My descriptions have been pretty brief, so I am just going to assume that you have questions. Send in your questions on Buddhism to dailybuddhism@gmail.com or phone them in at 937-660-4949. You can also post your thoughts about anything we discuss on the website's blog at www.dailybuddhism.com Let's get on with the show! [Read the past five blog posts or emails for contents of the show] This Week's Links Meditation Part 7: Conceptual Meditation http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/200 Meditation Part 6: Mantra Meditation http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/192 Meditation Part 5: Mindfulness Meditation http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/189 Meditation Part 4: Walking Meditation and Kinhin http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/183 Meditation Part 3: Empty Mind Meditation http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/182 Meditation Part 2: Breath Meditation and Insight Meditation http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/180 Meditation Part 1: Overview & Benefits http://www.dailybuddhism.com/archives/175