Because there are many branches of Buddhism (and multiple contradictory teachings within), it’s tricky to nail down what we might call Buddhism 101. But that’s sorta what you’ve got with the 2-page handout offered here, “Buddhism Basics,” which you can print and use with your small group. The concise chart and the breakdown by numbers (4 noble truths, 5 precepts,…
The popularity of the Dalai Lama has even Christian people reading his books to find spiritual help. And Christian leaders join forces with him for various high-profile events that seem to promote peace or compassion. It should be enough to know that the Dalai Lama’s path (that is, Tibetan Buddhism) has nothing whatever to do with the Lord Jesus Christ.…
At a Cincinnati Christian University grad school forum in 2010, Dr. Johnny Pressley had done a presentation about Buddhism’s influence on Hollywood. Dr. Jack Cottrell—knowing about the related research we were into—invited us to speak to the forum on how Buddhism is influencing the church. Listen to the 1-hour lecture by me and my sister, Jenna (pen name Lena Wood).…
Part 1 and Part 2 of this little series lead in to this foundational question: Is mindfulness/meditation an Eastern religion practice or not? With its use in schools, businesses, and psychologists’ offices, it tends to be billed as neutral. Sometimes, though, the Eastern-ness is cheered, and (it had to happen!) you also sometimes hear of “Christian mindfulness.” This Huffington Post…
Part 1 of this series told of the ACLJ’s action against Buddhist meditation being forced on school kids. The ACLJ’s researchers dug into general (not just school-related) reports on mindfulness/meditation. Turns out that with this current craze, mindfulness being trendy and cool, studies don’t report the negative side effects (or they downplay those). That matches info I’d found recently. One…