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Eastern Spirituality
![]() ![]() ![]() Buddhism and Taoism, with their elegant and sometimes stark focus on silence and the individual's inner journey, may seem like an odd match for the Web's virtual noise and clamor. But many of these sites are rich, beautiful places to learn about these subtle disciplines, experience moments of depth, and expand your practice of these disciplines if you already are a student. We found sites for newcomers and more experienced practitioners alike, but focused on sites that will be interesting, educational, and enlightening to newcomers. One caution: Be patient, particularly if you usually zip through Web pages. Many of these sites provide subtle pleasures and require time to absorb. They aren't as much about being entertained or even about gathering information as they are about learning which questions to ask.
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The Tricycle Hub, the on-line version of Tricycle: The Buddhist Review, provides an excellent overview of Buddhism, without preference to type or school, in language that Westerners can understand. In fact, the Buddhism 101 section is the clearest description of the basics of Buddhism that we came across. Learn about the life of Siddhartha Gautama, also known as the Buddha, and the basics of meditation. Lengthy excerpts from the magazine are typically about contemporary subjects. You'll find an article by meditation-teacher-turned-software-pioneer Mitch Kapor, a 1992 interview with the late Jerry Garcia, and more recent interviews with the Dalai Lama and Beat poet Allen Ginsberg. The Tricycle Hub's links to other Eastern spirituality sites are thorough. Overall, this site is complete, well organized, cleanly designed, and easy to navigate. It's an excellent starting point for those who want to learn about Buddhism.
The White Path Temple site is maintained by a member of the Shin school of Zen Buddhism. Like The Tricycle Hub, it is content-rich, well-designed, and easy to navigate. The Introduction to Buddhism section provides a lengthy, personalized, and articulate description of Buddhism in general and this school in particular. You'll find the important texts here, including the Heart Sutra, illustrated with images of the Japanese text and English text translations, side by side. You'll also find a small gallery of Shin Buddhist art and a visual tour of Kyoto, a center of Buddhism in Japan that is renowned for its physical beauty. The images in both sections are all small and load quickly. On the downside, this site still is very much under construction: We're waiting, for example, for the English translation of the extensive Japanese dictionary of Buddhist terms. Even so, the White Path Temple already has a lot of content that is beautifully presented.
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If you want a feel for Buddhism without a lot of head tripping, come to The Ten Bulls, a beautifully presented and updated version of a classic book by the 12th-century Chinese master Kakuan that illustrates the underpinnings of Buddhist philosophy. It comprises 10 modern but lovely drawings about a man pursuing a bull and verse and commentary for each: a metaphor for the stages of one's inner development. This is a wonderful example of how something that appears simple can teach and also be rich and deep.
TaoDeJing Calligraphy is a gorgeous site with images of Taoist calligraphy of the masters of the last thousand years. Happily, the images are relatively small, so load time is short. This is part of a beautiful larger site called China Room, which includes translations of classic Chinese poetry, sayings of the sages, and other works of art.
Tibetan Buddhist and Cultural Resources is a large and well-organized link page, important because of the comparative complexity of Tibetan Buddhism. It's well organized and thorough, and includes links to information about the Dalai Lama, the Nobel Prize-winning leader-in-exile of Tibetan Buddhists.
The Gateless Gate is a collection of 32 brief, spare, and delightfully elegant Buddhist stories known as koans. Typical of koans, these stories are opaque, demanding meditation and thought. As the commentary of one story has it, "If anyone can answer this question instantly, his eyes will be like a comet and his mind like a flash of lightning." In a paradox so common to this type of thought, if you pay attention they spur more questions than they answer. If you read enough of these stories, though, you will begin to get a sense of Buddhism.
The Zen Garden is a rich site of Zen stories, including The Ten Bulls, koans, and images on which to meditate. Besides being an excellent source of information, it is a beautiful site, though a bit scattered. The Ten Bulls version is not as visually arresting as at other sites. Still, if you only want a Zen sampler, this is a good place to come.
OK, you've visited some sites and you still don't get it. Join the club! This is subtle stuff that sometimes is difficult for Westerners to grasp. But the ever-popular Internet solution awaits you: The alt.zen FAQ not only answers basic questions, but also contains a link to a glossary and basic instruction in Zen meditation. This page is part of the larger Zen@SunSite location, which provides links to many other Zen resources.
According to a poem at Interlude, a cybermonk "stops the data flow, takes time to breathe." The so-called cybermonks who developed this site call it "An Internet
Retreat." It includes a thought of the day, a weekly guided meditation, an archive of previous meditations, and prayers from many traditions, including Buddhism. This site isn't limited to Eastern spirituality, but it is inspired by it and much of the content comes from Buddhism.
The Zen Web of Original Mind is a text-heavy but well-organized and useful site. Based on Korea's Kwan Um School of Zen Buddhism, this site is useful to newcomers because it includes a glossary of Zen terms. It also includes a link to a Japanese/English dictionary, helpful because much of Zen as practiced in the West is comes from Japanese teachers. You'll also find an extensive list of links to related sites. Su Tzu's Chinese Philosophy Page is a thorough resource for the initiated, including links to many Chinese and English sites. While it is thorough, however, it provides only a little background. 2.5 The Tao Teh Ching is the essential text of Taoism. There are several translations on the Web, none of which are eye-catching. This one is noteworthy because it is well annotated, making it easier for first-timers to grasp. But it is gray, gray, gray text, meaning the spirit of the Tao Teh Ching is not immediately visible. 2.5
Similarly gray is GNL's Not Loa, another version of the Tao Teh Ching. This is an interpolation of the other translations, not a direct translation itself. It has no commentary, but is more poetic than other on-line versions we saw. Like the other Tao Teh Ching site, GNL's Not Loa has no search capabilities.
The Art of War is the on-line text of the classic Sun Tzu tract. This book has become a staple in many business schools, military academies, and even in some of the more thoughtful corners of athletics. However, it also is a good, if warlike, introduction to Chinese philosophy. Don't look for graphics or a search engine here.
Most Westerners think of the I-Ching as a kind of Chinese Magic 8 Ball: You ask questions and it gives answers. But the I-Ching is oracular: It provides more food for thought than hard answers. The best Web site we came across is the I Ching Home Page. However, the results of tossing the I-Ching require interpretation, and this site doesn't do a good job of that. Frankly, you'll be better off buying an I-Ching book that takes the time to provide explanations. How many Zen students does it take to screw in a light bulb? If you think Zen is a bit too serious, try A Zen Joke. There aren't many jokes here and, frankly, if you're not into Zen you may not get them. If you are into Zen, though, this sight may give you a chuckle or two. (The answer? Two: One to change the light bulb and one not to change the light bulb. Hey. . .it has 'em rolling in the aisles in the Zen monasteries.) 2.0
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Copyright (c) 1995 Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company is prohibited. Internet Life and the Internet Life logo are trademarks of Ziff-Davis Publishing Company. |
![]() QUICK CLICK! The Tricycle Hub The White Path Temple The Ten Bulls TaoDeJing Calligraphy Tibetan Buddhist and Cultural Resources The Gateless Gate The Zen Garden alt.zen FAQ Interlude The Zen Web of Original Mind Su Tzu's Chinese Philosophy Page The Tao Teh Ching GNL's Not Loa The Art of War I Ching Home Page A Zen Joke |