Buddhist Coalition for Democracy Blog
The Democratic Cave-In
Yesterday we transitioned from last Tuesday night’s exhilaration in the wake of Democratic electoral victories to the dispiriting reality of the national Democratic party’s craven caving in the matter of the government shutdown. The shutdown was ended with a “deal”...
The Constitutional Illiteracy of J. D. Vance
When Vice President J. D. Vance recently announced that the administration would “follow the law” but not a federal court order mandating full funding for SNAP benefits, he may have believed he was drawing a fine distinction between reason and judicial excess....
Afterglow
Did it matter that 7,000,000 people turned out for last month’s No Kings Day? If you ever wondered whether all of our recent protests, vigils, and rallies were having any effect, Tuesday’s election should remove all doubts. Tuesday was like a warm spring breeze in the...
The Hungry Ghosts of Idealism
In Buddhist cosmology, the hungry ghosts—pretas—are beings with vast, empty bellies and narrow throats. They wander desolate landscapes tormented by unending craving. Some try to eat, but what enters their mouths turns to fire or ash. Their condition is not punishment...
What Gives Me Hope
The Democratic Party seems incapable of reading the moment. While individual Democrats like Chris Murphy, J.B. Pritzker, Gavin Newsom, Jasmine Crocket, Cory Booker, and AOC rise to the occasion, the national party leaders— Schumer, Jeffries, Biden, Obama, Clinton,...
Like Talking to a Wall
If you’re like me, you have someone in your life, maybe someone you care about deeply, who has imbibed vast quantities of the MAGA kool-aid. After attending the live session of a new podcast, BCD’s New Directions in Engaged Buddhism, I’ve been thinking about a...
Grace Before Language
Terrence Malick’s The Tree of Life is a film that feels less like a story than a meditation—a cinematic sutra on suffering, impermanence, and the mystery of grace that maps our current condition as human beings. Among its most haunting scenes, a dinosaur presses its...
Calling for an Inner Revolution
Some defend the status quo. Others call for upheaval, even violent overthrow, to cure our civic rot. But violence only breeds new cycles of violence. What we need is a peaceful inner revolution: a Great Turning married to a Great Commitment, the kind Gandhi, Nelson...
Calling for an Inner Revolution
Some defend the status quo. Others call for upheaval, even violent overthrow, to cure our civic rot. But violence only breeds new cycles of violence. What we need is a peaceful inner revolution: a Great Turning married to a Great Commitment, the kind Gandhi, Nelson...