Buddism desk planners and calendars

Buddhism desk calendars

With the popularity of Buddhism, it’s a bit surprising I was only able to find three Buddhist Desk Calendars. While elsewhere I did find other kinds of Buddhist calendars, these three do just what you want in a desk calendar: remind you of the wisdom of Buddhism AND help keep you up to date on where you are in the year.

Vajrayana Buddhism - the Buddhism of visualisation

Tibetan Buddhism

Tibetan Buddhism has been called 'Vajrayana Buddhism', because it is part of the tantric Buddhist current, within Mayahana Buddhism.

The word Vajra can be explained as 'thunderbolt' or 'Diamond like'. It stands for the clear constancy of the mind of the enlightened meditator. Vajrayana is then the path of meditation, specifically visualization meditation. This doesn't mean all Tibetan Buddhists meditate, far from it. It does mean that the most respected of their spiritual leaders DO.

Buddhism blogposts All Considering Spiritual Blog

Being halfway a Buddhist – what’s a real Buddhist?

By Katinka - Spirituality | September 28th, 2009

I said in my blogpost about whether Buddhism was the best world religion (let alone win an award) that I was halfway a Buddhist myself. I got a question about that: what do I mean?
A real Buddhist, in my view, and in the traditional Asian view, is someone who has taken refuge. That is, in [...]

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The karma of disease and health

By Katinka - Spirituality | September 1st, 2009

The relationship between karma and disease is a controversial one. There is the common sense view that since disease is unwelcome, it ‘must be’ bad karma. On the other hand there is a long tradition of theosophical thought saying that bad karma doesn’t exist. I was reading up on a related topic this summer and [...]

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Did Buddhism win the best Religion of the world award?

By Katinka - Spirituality | July 24th, 2009

There’s a rumor going about a lot of blogs that Buddhism wins the best religion of the world reward. Unfortunately it’s only blogs that are reporting this. No ordinary news sources, nor can I find the ‘Icarus’ foundation that is said to have given the award because:
“It wasn’t a surprise to me that Buddhism won [...]

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Osel Hita Torres – aka Lama Osel goes on to make movies

By Katinka - Spirituality | June 15th, 2009

This is a true story that someone emailed me because it reminded them of Jiddu Krishnamurti’s story. That is: someone raised to be a teacher, steps outside the tradition that he was brought up in to do something totally different. Lama Osel was born to Spanish parents, but brought up as the reincarnation of Thubten [...]

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Remembering Blavatsky – White Lotusday

By Katinka - Spirituality | May 8th, 2009

On May 8th theosophists all over the world, whatever theosophical organization they belong to, commemorate Blavatsky’s passing on May 8th 1891. This day is called White Lotusday. Traditionally quotes from three texts are read: The Bhagavad Gita, The Voice of the Silence and Light of Asia. So here goes from chapter ten of the Bhagavad [...]

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Work as those who are ambitious…

By Katinka - Spirituality | April 13th, 2009

Work as those work who are ambitious. Respect life as those do who desire it.
Be happy as those are who live for happiness.
Mabel Collins, Light on the path, part 1 (4)
This quote must be a bit puzzling for those who think ambition itself is a spiritual virtue. Light on the Path is one of the [...]

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The difference between spiritual growth and personal development?

By Katinka - Spirituality | March 18th, 2009

Michael asked me on my Dutch blog:
What’s the difference between personal and spiritual growth anyhow? I think self knowledge is perhaps the only spiritual or personal growth there is, isn’t it?
It’s a very good question. Depending on ones spiritual background, one can go into this very deeply, or just skimp the surface. Ken Wilber has [...]

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The Dalai Lama – a peaceful response to violence

By Katinka - Spirituality | March 10th, 2009

It is a good blogging tradition to pay attention to important dates. Today it is 50 years since His Holiness the 14th Dalai Lama fled Tibet, because it was being occupied by Chinese forces. I’m not going to go into the whole story here. Follow the links in this post for more details.
Got Enlightenment? – [...]

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Generosity and detachment – spiritual virtue no. 5

By Katinka - Spirituality | February 10th, 2009

Generosity is, for once, a classic virtue. In Islam it’s called Zakat: the duty to give a percentage of your possessions to the poor.
Generosity is linked to another classic virtue: detachment. In both Hinduism and Buddhism attachment to stuff, money and status is seen as a problem. Letting go of that in the form of [...]

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Spiritual virtues / values / norms: perspective on alternative spirituality

By Katinka - Spirituality | February 2nd, 2009

Auch. That was way too long a title.
Anyhow, I was thinking about some of the responses to my post about the difference between religion and spirituality (and how little difference there is). While I don’t agree with Jan Peter for instance – spirituality is more than something emotional – I do think I know what [...]

Introduction to Buddhism

Buddhism: practice, religious views and beliefs
Buddhism is one of the most inspiring world philosophies. On this lens you will find information on the Buddhist path, basic concepts and links to more information.