A Buddhist contribution to the European refugee crisis

As the refugee crisis continues in Europe, many people have been moved to action this week.

In Sweden, members of the Triratna Buddhist Order joined a Stockholm demonstration in support of refugees arriving in Sweden. In Manchester and London, UK, Order members Amitasuri and Ambaravajri collected clothing, which they drove to the refugee camp at Calais, northern France, in Amitasuri’s van.

Amitasuri says: “ We made it easy to give. People flexed their compassion muscles.

I put out a message on my Facebook page for people...

Indian mitras gather in very large numbers indeed

How many mitras do you know? If you are reading this in India, the answer is probably, A lot!

There are around 10,000 mitras in India (where they are known as dhammamitras), including a staggering 850 women who have asked for ordination. With numbers like this, the Indian Mitra Convenors have their work cut out. This year, so far, they have organised three large mitra conventions. 

Nagaketu writes: “The first took place at the Dikshabhumi in Nagpur (site of Dr Ambedkar’s...

Pyrrho and the Buddha: Reasons to be Sceptical

Christopher Beckwith, Greek Buddha: Pyrrho’s Encounter with Early Buddhism in Central Asia, Princeton University Press, 2015.

review by Dhivan Thomas Jones

Classical sources tell us that a young man named Pyrrho travelled with Alexander the Great and his army to north-west India in 324 bce. During their Indian sojourn, Pyrrho and his teacher, Anaxarchus, met Indian gymnosophists, ‘naked wise men’, and it is said that Pyrrho’s philosophy developed as a result of such meetings. When he returned from India, Pyrrho is said to have taught...