Be careful what you (whatever you are) say when toss around words as inadequate as "soul", "mind", and "self".

Buddhism and the Brain | SEEDMAGAZINE.COM: 

Wired monk ᔥ science progress

Consider how easily Buddhism accepts what happened to Mr. Logosh. Anatta is not a unified, unchanging self. It is more like a concert, constantly changing emotions, perceptions, and thoughts. Our minds are fragmented and impermanent. A change occurred in the band, so it follows that one expects a change in the music. 

Both Buddhism and neuroscience converge on a similar point of view: The way it feels isn’t how it is. There is no permanent, constant soul in the background. Even our language about ourselves is to be distrusted (requiring the tortured negation of anatta). In the broadest strokes then, neuroscience and Buddhism agree.

See also: The Links Between the Dalai Lama and Neuroscience | NPR.org (2005) & Op-Ed: Dalai Lama receives $1.7m Templeton Prize in Washington | digitaljournal.com

I want to be careful here because I don't mean to imply or endorse anything like the notion we should give up science and all be Buddhists. No. What I am after is an attitude that's something better than dismissiveness when it comes to what can be learned from the application of logic to introspection. That's not to say that we even trust all introspective findings; there should perhaps be emphasis on the "application of logic" part of that sentence.

We also need to be open to scientific findings that seem to contradict our gut feelings or intuitions about ourselves (and the world). We know our perceptions of the external world, and of our own selves, can be dodgy. Science can help us understand ourselves and our world better than we can without its methodological framework. Where the "science of Buddhism" has demonstrated results, let's also that methodology and find out if or why it works.

ᔥ The Morning News 

Dalai Lama not exactly broken up over the fate of ObL

Dalai Lama: Speaking at USC, Dalai Lama suggests he condones Osama bin Laden's killing - latimes.com:

HHDL image via LA Times

As a human being, Bin Laden may have deserved compassion and even forgiveness, the Dalai Lama said in answer to a question about the assassination of the Al Qaeda leader. But, he said, 'Forgiveness doesn't mean forget what happened. … If something is serious and it is necessary to take counter-measures, you have to take counter-measures.'

Somebody orchestrates the murder of thousands of people, leaves no doubt he'd like to do more harm, that guy getting shot in the course of being hunted down -- not the worst thing. As Alysa put it:

When the most zen man in the universe says its better you're dead, you're better off dead. http://lat.ms/kI3TcK (dalai lama on OBL's death)Wed May 04 15:39:04 via Twitter for BlackBerry®Alysa Auriemma
alysamarsiella

There's a good bit later in the article about the role of religion with regard to Happiness:

The Dalai Lama spoke about the importance of religious tolerance, and about the shared values of all major religions. But he said that people could not attain happiness through prayer, and that "this happy life is not a religious concept." Happiness, he said, is a secular concept, so "our aim is secular."

"I'm Buddhist," he said. "I respect religion. But I talk always about secularism."

I thought somebody would set me straight ...

... I didn't expect it would Josh Malina, in mensch fashion, responding that the Dalai Lama never did nothin' to him. He's just playin'.

@cdogzilla Nothing. I like him. I've gone to hear him speak. Just jokes, dude.Tue Apr 12 05:24:55 via Twitter for MacJoshua Malina
JoshMalina

Anyways, I reckon if HHDL can deal with the stuff China's done to him and his countrymen, he doesn't need me getting all defensively weird on his behalf. Not that anybody wants or needs my say-so but, please, carry on ...

Also, reserve Backwash at a Redbox near you!

Speaking of Josh Malina, what did the Dalai Lama ever do to him?

I love Josh, don't get me wrong. Brilliant in Sports Night, in The West Wing, on Twitter, and in Backwash, but I'm a little spun by his needling (?) of the Dalai Lama.

Image via American Jewish Life

No they're not. “@DalaiLama: Overcoming negative tendencies and enhancing positive potential are the very essence of the spiritual path.”Mon Apr 11 15:13:32 via Twitter for MacJoshua Malina
JoshMalina

Then why does cringing feel so good? “@DalaiLama: Compassion and love give meaning to our activities and makes them constructive.”Fri Apr 08 16:18:02 via Twitter for MacJoshua Malina
JoshMalina

Blah, blah, blah. Me or Dulé? “@DalaiLama: Large human movements spring from individual human initiatives.”Mon Apr 04 02:32:34 via Twitter for MacJoshua Malina
JoshMalina

Make a left up by the thing. RT @DalaiLama Every individual is responsible to help guide our global family in the right direction.Wed Mar 23 17:53:51 via webJoshua Malina
JoshMalina

Yay, horse porn! RT @DalaiLama Due 2 the fundamental interconnectedness that lies at the heart of reality your interest is also my interestTue Mar 29 06:29:17 via webJoshua Malina
JoshMalina

It's not that he's being mean, I don't think, and maybe he and ol' Tenzin Gyatso engage in playful banter over the phone that we're not privy to but ... (I admit I'm sensitive to the weirdest things, and completely insensitive to others -- example in next post. Anyways, as I was saying, "but ...")  for a guy who seems to be pretty pro-Israel, to be needling one of the great figures of non-violence in thought and action, is in kind of poor taste. Even when it's hilarious, as in that last example.

Dalai Lama Plans to Step Down as Tibetan Political Leader

Dalai Lama Plans to Step Down as Tibetan Political Leader - NYTimes.com:

The Dalai Lama has long seen himself as 'semi-retired' from political leadership with an elected prime minister already in place in the northern Indian town of Dharamsala. He remains Tibet's spiritual leader.

To paraphrase Dennis the Peasant, watery tarts lying about in ponds distributing swords is no basis for a system of government. Same goes for identification of reincarnated lamas by committee.

Now that may come across as an insolent tone, but there are few leaders of any kind as committed to peace as this Dalai Lama has been and he deserves every bit of credit he gets for that commitment. He appears, from my outsider's perspective, to be a genuinely humble and wise, as his public image suggests. Doesn't change the fact selecting your leaders by identifying reincarnates is patently ridiculous.

Spiritual/Political Chess

Dalai Lama talks of retirement - CNN.com:

HHDL XIV via CNN

'I'm also a human being. ... Retirement is also my right,' the exiled spiritual leader of Tibet told CNN's Hala Gorani in Miami, Florida, this week.

This article doesn't go into the ramifications of the decision, but it certainly smells like he's preparing to change the succession process in order to prevent China from pulling another Panchen Lama disappear-and-replace on Tibetan Buddhism.

So, if I'm reading this right, they do away with the pretense of discovering a Dalai Lama reincarnate (mumbo-jumbo) and essentially make the role a political office in name as well as practice. I think this makes sense but must be troubling to Tibetan Buddhists in that reincarnation is so central to their religion and this would seem to undermine that importance.

In any event, the 14th has done as much as any individual in the 20th-21st centuries to promote non-violence -- he's right there with MLK and Ghandi -- and is certainly deserving of a chance to live his own life. I wonder what thought he's given, if any, to allowing Tibetans to elect the 15th? Would anything make the Chinese more apoplectic?

Best Foot Forward?

First, the Dalai Lama met with Gov. Jesse Ventura, now he's met with George W. Bush. I can only guess what sort of impression he's formed of America's political leadership based on these meetings.

My Top 6 Books Read in 2000

6. Soldier of the Mist by Gene Wolfe. A soldier in ancient Greece is wounded in battle and loses his memory each night; however, he gains the ability to see and communicate with the gods and goddesses. The end is a bit of a formulaic letdown, but on the whole Wolfe avoids the pitfalls of genre fiction.
5. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling. Juvenile fiction that reminded me how much I enjoyed the Susan Cooper books I read when I was in Rowling's target demographic. I wish this weren't being made into a movie for the same reason Bone Daddy didn't want a LOTR movie, kids are better off reading it than having stamped onto their imaginations in pre-digested form.
4. American Tabloid by James Ellroy. L.A. Confidential also bears mention.
3. The Tetherballs of Bougainville by Mark Leyner. You know what you're getting with Leyner.
2. Fair Ball: A Fan's Case for Baseball by Bob Costas. Lucid presentation of proposals to prevent the self-destruction of major league ball. Costas for Commish!
1. The Art of Happiness: A Handbook for Living by Howard C. Cutler and H.H. the Dalai Lama. The others on this list are better written in terms of prose style; I'll forget the lapses in style in time, not the arguments the Dalai Lama makes for compassion.