From My Buddha is Pink.
Author Archives: Pym
“Highly religious people less motivated by compassion than are non-believers”
…according to recent research by sociologists at UC Berkeley. By Yasmin Anwar.
Excerpt:
“Overall, we find that for less religious people, the strength of their emotional connection to another person is critical to whether they will help that person or not,” said UC Berkeley social psychologist Robb Willer, a co-author of the study. “The more religious, on the other hand, may ground their generosity less in emotion, and more in other factors such as doctrine, a communal identity, or reputational concerns.”
Subjective and Objective
Buddhalupe
Combining the image of Buddha and the Virgin of Guadalupe. By Ester Hernandez. This syncretic combo seems to place both images in a decidedly religious context. Or is it a cultural context? Or is it a philosophical context? Or is it a breaking down of gendered/cultural/philosophical/religious borders?
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Guadalupe the sex goddess, by sandra cisneros.
Crone’s Age
…and a decade full of dreams. Robin’s story, from Dharma Bums blog.
crone’s age upon me
hope to be fearless at death
so, wink at future
On that feeling of “control…”
I found Hugo de Garis’ ideas on the artilect and deism fascinating [See "Is God an Alien Mathematician?" below]. However, I had a bit of a stumble over one statement. Tried to respond in the comments section, but wasn’t able to, because I’m not a member of the site. So I’ll post it here.
“I don’t deny that if one is able to believe in a loving god, it might be comforting. Especially to someone who is, in Darwinian terms, sexually unattractive, and gets no human partner, so remains unloved – especially older widows, whose supply of men has run out due to the greatest of human realities, death.”
Yep, those poor, unattractive, deluded widows… who or what CAN they POSSIBLY turn to, once they run out of men! I’m an “older” woman who has lived through the death of several family members. And I was with you (Hugo), until I got to that patronizing, narrow-minded (yet all too human) statement. You underestimate the ability of individuals (in this case, women) to cope and deal with stress and crisis.
As Rob S. noted in one of the comments, “it is the feeling of superiority over one’s surroundings” that [embodies the perception of control]. That human need to feel superior and in control of one’s environment cuts across all forms of belief, or thought; even those who are supposedly “objective” are not immune.
On Tenderness
On tenderness — from FuckYeahDukkha.
Is God an Alien Mathematician?
Disclosure: OK, I haven’t finished reading “Is God an Alien Mathematician” yet, but it seems like an interesting read (and for me, a slow one), and worth posting. Maybe we can read it together. 
Is Daniel Pinkwater the Buddha?
Or…the “…Reading Test Pineapple Race Kerfluffle”…(via Boingboing)
“How to Enlighten the World”
“How to enlighten the world”: switches, dimmers, and techno-boosts. A speculative article by Shinzen Young.
