neo polytheist ... neo theist

Hell Courtesan by Kawanabe (1870s) In Buddhism the lowest and most miserable form of existence is hell ( naraka ). Most living beings are s...

Drawing on a Bodhi Tree Leaf (18th century) When I first embraced Buddhism I, like many Westerners, read a bunch of books which were mostly ...

Demon Priest by Tawanabe Kyosai (1864) I have been a little obsessed with demons for a while now, mostly in terms of wanting to understand t...

The object of veneration in Nichiren Buddhism is the Gohonzon, a sacred mandala which practitioners are encouraged to chant in front of twic...

A man feeling spent after a night of debauchery Detail from "Marriage a la Mode" by Hogarth (1743) In many Indo-European...

"A Beggar Girl" by Sargent (c. 1877) When my husband died nearly two years ago it was as if in a thunderstruck moment I real...

"Courtesan looking into the mirror"   by Yoshitoshi (19th century) It is axiomatic that nirvana (ie, the extinguishment of...

Buddha statue from Ghandara (Pakistan), 1st-2nd century CE. Source: japanesemythology.wordpress.com Defining Bodhisattva Loosely put...

Bodhisattva of compassion, Avalolitesvara, holding a white lotus, Ajanta Caves mural, west central India, 5th century CE or earlier. S...

Source: buddhanet.net/e-learning/buddhistworld I have been studying and practicing Buddhism on and off since my teenage years. As a ch...

Thai Buddhist monk receiving a sak yant tattoo Source: peaceloveandtea.tumblr.com Given the popularity of my earlier posts on tattoos ...

Padmasambhava. Source: buddhism-edinburgh.blogspot.com So lately I have been attending a meditation course in a centre w...

Sometimes when we feel a strong pull towards a particular deity we may be unsure as to how to connect with that God or Goddess...

"The Temptation of Saint Anthony" by van Craesbeeck (1650) It all started when I had an argument with my partner. Something ...