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Buddhist Intolerance: Bhutan’s Persecution of its Hindu Minority Exacerbated by Trump
An article from Religion News Service highlights the Bhutanese Buddhist majority’s mistreatment of its Hindu minority and how the Trump administration’s harsh policies toward refugees and immigrants have complicated the matter for Bhutanese Hindus. 
The Buddha Comments on Politics
Linda Blanchard argues that the Buddha's key concept of dependent arising reveals how our tendency toward self-making is impacted by socially constructed beliefs which underpin political views.
Rethinking the Dharma / Reimagining Community #69 June 2025
Welcome to our June 2025 newsletter. This month we feature: articles by Ramsey Margolis, Mike Slott, and Brian Victoria; Ted Meissner's interview with Evan Thompson about his book, Why I Am Not a Buddhist; the newly elected Board of Directors of SBN; a 15% sale on all Tuwhiri books in June; and the Buddhist Coalition for Democracy's legal support for Mahmoud Khalil, who was illegally detained and imprisoned by the U.S. government.
Meet SBN’s New Board of Directors
The merger of the Secular Buddhist Association and the Secular Buddhist Network has been finalized. A new slate of officers and members of the SBN Board of Directors has been elected.
Buddhist Coalition for Democracy Joins Amicus Brief in Support of Mahmoud Khalil
The Buddhist Coalition for Democracy has joined together with 35 other religious organizations as a party to an amicus curiae brief in the case of Mahmoud Khalil's unlawful detention by the federal government.
Zen Terror in 1930s Japan
Brian Victoria's book, Zen Terror in Prewar Japan, explores how some Zen Buddhists in Japan in the 1930s interpreted the Buddha's teachings to justify political assassinations.
Why do some people follow dharma teachers who demand obedience?
Ramsey Margolis asks why some of the people who follow teachers in ancestral Buddhist communities, and their ‘traditional’ teachings, loathe secular Buddhism and secular Buddhists, at times with a palpable feeling of distaste that clearly is not rational.
Online Program with Dave Smith: Mindfulness and the Middle Way
Dave Smith, a co-founder of the Secular Dharma Foundation, will be offering an online program on mindfulness and a secular interpretation of the middle way on Tuesdays, from May 27 to June 17.
Rethinking the Dharma / Reimagining Community #68 May 2025
Welcome to our May 2025 newsletter. This month we feature: articles by Tom Cummings, Roy Hammond, Kirk Mason, and Linda Modaro/Nelly Kaufer; Ted Meissner's interview with David Loy about his book, Ecodharma: Buddhist Teachings for the Ecological Crisis; an upcoming SBN online meditation retreat; and the recent activities of the Buddhist Coalition for Democracy.
A Fresh Take on Secular Dharma
Linda Modaro and Nelly Kaufer discuss how Reflective Meditation is a secular practice; it's about learning from life rather than about transcending it.
Dr. Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar: A Secular Buddhist Vision for Liberation
Kirk Mason discusses how B.R. Ambedkar's approach to Buddhism parallels Stephen Batchelor's emphasis on the pragmatic and ethical dimensions of Gotama's teachings.
“TABO, into the Light” An Archaeological Photographic Exhibit at Tibet House US
Tibet House US - His Holiness the Dalai Lama’s Cultural Center in North America - is offering TABO, into the Light: An Archaeological Photographic Exhibit on Thursday, April 10, at 6 pm US EST, at 22 W 15th St. in New York City.
The Two Tasks, Updated for the New Era
Tom Cummings discusses two key tasks in the current period: to stand courageously and nonviolently against the Trump administration's policies and to practice skillful speech in talking to Trump supporters.
Engaged Buddhism, Modern Psychology, and the Sometimes-Impassioned Attachments to Concepts of Self
Roy Hammond analyzes the notion of self through the frameworks of modern psychology - which distinguishes healthy and unhealthy views of the self - and engaged Buddhism.
Rethinking the Dharma / Reimagining Community #67 April 2025
Welcome to our April 2025 newsletter. This month we feature: articles by Johannes Cairns and Tiffany Caicco; Ted Meissner's interview with Pamela Weiss about her book, A Bigger Sky: Awakening a Fierce Feminine Buddhism; the formation of a new coalition of Buddhist groups to respond to the harms caused by the Trump administration; and an upcoming reading group sponsored by Tuwhiri, a secular Buddhist publishing imprint.