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Buddhism
Denis Johnson's carefully arranged derangement
Denis Johnson tends to let his work speak for itself. Since the publication of his debut novel, "Angels," in 1983 he's written some of the most essential books in contemporary American literature, but he doesn't often talk about them. "My general policy," he tells me in an email, "is to duck every such opportunity to make a fool of myself." And yet to mark the publication of his 10th novel, "The Laughing Monsters" (Farrar, Straus and Giroux: 228 pp., $25), Johnson has agreed to what he calls "an electronic back-and-forth" — an email correspondence about the new novel, a political thriller set in Sierra Leone, Uganda and...
Related "Buddhism" Articles
Denis Johnson's carefully arranged derangement
Denis Johnson tends to let his work speak for itself. Since the publication of his debut novel, "Angels," in 1983 he's written some of the most essential books in contemporary American literature, but he doesn't often talk about them. "My...
Taiwan Buddhists transform plastic waste
Millions of discarded plastic bottles that might normally land in Taiwan's trash are being diverted into the hands of Buddhists, becoming items of transformation — although not of a strictly spiritual nature.
Thousands of religious volunteers are...
Getty Institute helps save China's Mogao Grottoes from tourism's impact
Hewn by hand out of a cliff face in the Gobi Desert starting about 1,700 years ago, China's most spectacular cache of Buddhist caves has endured countless assaults over the centuries — earthquakes and floods, plundering foreign explorers and even...
Bruce Wagner continues his Hollywood topography in 'Maps to the Stars'
He stands in black boots and black coat, phone at his ear, as if conspiring with a distant demon. He beckons in a rooftop cafe and hangs up. The Hollywood Hills, which he has known since childhood, rise tidy and neat; houses shine, pools glimmer. But to...
Joshu Sasaki Roshi, who brought Zen Buddhism to U.S., dies at 107
Buddhist teacher Joshu Sasaki Roshi, a leading figure in Zen Buddhism in America whose legacy was later complicated by allegations of sexual abuse, has died. He was 107.
Roshi died Sunday afternoon at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, said Gento Steve...
Joshu Sasaki Roshi dies at 107; monk brought strict form of Zen Buddhism to U.S.
When an obscure Japanese monk arrived in Los Angeles 52 years ago, he carried little more than a spare robe, a Japanese-English dictionary and an invitation to teach Zen.
But the trappings of his life would not always be so simple. At centers he...
If Queen Elizabeth can birth an heir, why can't the Dalai Lama rebirth one?
Recently, the revered and charismatic Dalai Lama told a German newspaper that there should be no more Dalai Lamas after his death. In other words, this 14th Dalai Lama, who is 79 (and has vowed to live to 113), says he will not be reincarnated as the 15th...
Lingering in Laos: Mind and spirit in harmony
I broke my own cardinal rule of travel, which is this: If you're going to visit a country, start in its capital to embrace the cultural customs and nuances of a new destination.
For Laos, that would be Vientiane, which sits on a plain that's northeast of...
Harold Ramis dies at 69; writer, director of successful film comedies
When Faber College was about to expel the misfit Deltas of "Animal House," the rambunctious character Bluto Blutarski rallied them, but it was writer Harold Ramis who provided Bluto's stirring words:
"What? Over? Did you say over?...
The 5 most beguiling-weird-curious works at LACMA's new Korean show
Depictions of torture in hell, a graceful screen of mountains that feels contemporary and a snarling lion holding a mirror that reflects your misdeeds. The L.A. County Museum of Art's exhibition "Treasures From Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon...
Indiana law allows Satanists to perform marriages, but not Buddhists
An Indiana law is "irrational" and "absurd" for allowing Satanists to perform legal marriages while making it a crime for Buddhists and humanists to do the same, a federal appeals court said this week.
It's been a rough few months for...
Peter Matthiessen dies at 86; acclaimed author wrote 'The Snow Leopard'
Peter Matthiessen, a rich man's son who rejected a life of ease in favor of physical and spiritual challenges and produced such acclaimed works as "The Snow Leopard" and "At Play in the Fields of the Lord," died Saturday. He was 86.
...
Review: Norton Simon's 'In the Land of Snow' is an enlightening exhibit
At a time when museums seem to be torn between blockbusters and specialized scholarship, it's refreshing to come across "In the Land of Snow: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas" at the Norton Simon Museum, a no-nonsense exhibition that spares the...
Controversy marks start to Myanmar's first census in three decades
TAUNGGYI, Myanmar — Wearing a white T-shirt emblazoned with the national census logo, Tin Naing counted off the ethnic groups living in just one section of this regional capital in eastern Myanmar.
“Bamar, Shan, Pa’o, Intha — maybe 10 altogether,” said...
In time of drought, turning to Native traditions to plead for rain
SAN JUAN BAUTISTA, Calif. — The woman in line at the bank said she had already sold all her cattle and was now selling her land.
It was one too many tales of drought hardship for Laynee Reyna, also known as She Who Makes Things Happen — a name given to...
In a first for the Senate, the Dalai Lama gives the opening prayer
WASHINGTON--The Dalai Lama, the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet, delivered the opening invocation in the U.S. Senate on Thursday, praying "to Buddha and all" and suggesting that purity of thought will guide humanity's actions.
In his saffron...
Before bitcoin uproar, Dorian Satoshi Nakamato was a civic activist
As people continue to debate the claim by Newsweek that Dorian Satoshi Nakamoto, 64, of Temple City is the creator of bitcoin, he has been often depicted as a private, seldom-seen man.
But far from being a recluse, Nakamoto is somewhat of a civic...
Spring arts 2014: Art
MARCH 28-AUG. 25
'In the Land of Snow: Buddhist Art of the Himalayas'
Pasadena's Norton Simon Museum is well-known for having the most impressive collection of European Old Master and early Modern paintings in Los Angeles. Less familiar is the...
LACMA's lovely show on Korea in a time of transformation
How remarkable that a simple piece of undecorated, fired white clay can be a riveting work of art.
Yet there it is, beckoning quietly from a vitrine near the start of "Treasures From Korea: Arts and Culture of the Joseon Dynasty, 1392-1910."...
Deadly attack raises concern about growth of 'evil cults' in China
Wu Shuoyan was waiting for her husband and their 7-year-old son at a McDonald's when she posted a note on a social media site: "I met some crazy people."
Twenty minutes later, she lay dead on the floor, beaten to death with a metal pole....
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