Frederick Ranallo-Higgins
@fmr-h.bsky.social
UCLA-ALC PhD | Ho Family Foundation Buddhism Public Scholar | Associate Editor, Tricycle: The Buddhist Review https://tricycle.org/author/franallohiggins/
buddhism, occult, philosophy, religion, science, language, art, music, and other nonsense 🇺🇸🇰🇷
buddhism, occult, philosophy, religion, science, language, art, music, and other nonsense 🇺🇸🇰🇷
Happy Thankgiving!
November 27, 2025 at 4:50 PM
Happy Thankgiving!
An excellent reminder during holiday times with family members you don't see eye-to-eye with, Emma Varvaloucas talks with John Wood and Monica Guzman about practicing meaningful dialogue. It's not easy when our fundamental moral positions are challenged by family.
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Right Speech, Left Speech
Practicing meaningful dialogue in a time of polarization
tricycle.org
November 27, 2025 at 4:34 PM
An excellent reminder during holiday times with family members you don't see eye-to-eye with, Emma Varvaloucas talks with John Wood and Monica Guzman about practicing meaningful dialogue. It's not easy when our fundamental moral positions are challenged by family.
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Tommy Tran offers a brief biography of the 7th-century Korean Buddhist monk Wonhyo and his method of harmonizing doctrinal disputes. "No single doctrine was complete, but each revealed a facet of truth," Tran says, "Wonhyo emphasized the merits and limits of every perspective."
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Wonhyo’s Middle Path
Harmonizing truths across Buddhist traditions
tricycle.org
November 25, 2025 at 12:45 PM
Tommy Tran offers a brief biography of the 7th-century Korean Buddhist monk Wonhyo and his method of harmonizing doctrinal disputes. "No single doctrine was complete, but each revealed a facet of truth," Tran says, "Wonhyo emphasized the merits and limits of every perspective."
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My latest interview with Australian Tendai priest Jikai Tyler Dehn. Jikai is dedicated to translating all the works of Tendai founder Saicho into English. Check him out on YouTube or his website. His dedication to the dharma is inspiring.
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tricycle.org/magazine/ten...
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tricycle.org/magazine/ten...
November 17, 2025 at 5:11 PM
My latest interview with Australian Tendai priest Jikai Tyler Dehn. Jikai is dedicated to translating all the works of Tendai founder Saicho into English. Check him out on YouTube or his website. His dedication to the dharma is inspiring.
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tricycle.org/magazine/ten...
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tricycle.org/magazine/ten...
November 3, 2025 at 12:34 PM
At Tricycle, we really appreciate Nikki Mirghafori's sobering clarity on AI and what the future holds. She recently talked to James Shaheen for a premium subscriber special event. Here, she talks with Steve Omohundro for Tricycle on AI, karma, and our robot future.
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AI, Karma & Our Robot Future
Two artificial intelligence scientists discuss what's to come.
tricycle.org
October 29, 2025 at 11:24 AM
At Tricycle, we really appreciate Nikki Mirghafori's sobering clarity on AI and what the future holds. She recently talked to James Shaheen for a premium subscriber special event. Here, she talks with Steve Omohundro for Tricycle on AI, karma, and our robot future.
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Reposted by Frederick Ranallo-Higgins
He’s one of the loudest voices of the AI haters—even as he does PR for AI companies. Either way, Ed Zitron has your attention.
Ed Zitron Gets Paid to Love AI. He Also Gets Paid to Hate AI
He’s one of the loudest voices of the AI haters—even as he does PR for AI companies. Either way, Ed Zitron has your attention.
wrd.cm
October 27, 2025 at 10:05 AM
He’s one of the loudest voices of the AI haters—even as he does PR for AI companies. Either way, Ed Zitron has your attention.
A wonderful reflection by dharma teacher and pilgrimage leader Shantum Seth on his first time visiting India's historic Buddhist pilgrimage sites with Thich Nhat Hanh, adapted from the latest posthumous book by TNH called Touching Peace on Parallax Press.
The Art of Mindfulness
A dharma teacher and pilgrimage leader recounts his first time visiting India's historic Buddhist sites with the late Thich Nhat Hanh.
tricycle.org
October 12, 2025 at 11:38 AM
A wonderful reflection by dharma teacher and pilgrimage leader Shantum Seth on his first time visiting India's historic Buddhist pilgrimage sites with Thich Nhat Hanh, adapted from the latest posthumous book by TNH called Touching Peace on Parallax Press.
Reposted by Frederick Ranallo-Higgins
Japan, ostensibly one of the least religious countries in the world, had its political order upended by the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai. That is THE story about Friday's epochal shift in Japanese politics (thread follows):
October 10, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Japan, ostensibly one of the least religious countries in the world, had its political order upended by the lay Buddhist organization Soka Gakkai. That is THE story about Friday's epochal shift in Japanese politics (thread follows):
The Berenike Buddha—a 2nd-c CE marble statue in Egypt—is the earliest Buddha image found west of Afghanistan.
M. D. Usher suggests that early Buddhist communities may have been in Roman Egypt long before modern notions of “Western Buddhism.”
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M. D. Usher suggests that early Buddhist communities may have been in Roman Egypt long before modern notions of “Western Buddhism.”
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Western Buddhism: The First Wave
Stunning new discoveries reveal Buddhism’s first arrival in the West.
tricycle.org
September 25, 2025 at 3:30 PM
The Berenike Buddha—a 2nd-c CE marble statue in Egypt—is the earliest Buddha image found west of Afghanistan.
M. D. Usher suggests that early Buddhist communities may have been in Roman Egypt long before modern notions of “Western Buddhism.”
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M. D. Usher suggests that early Buddhist communities may have been in Roman Egypt long before modern notions of “Western Buddhism.”
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Legal scholar Benjamin Schonthal explains the recent ruling in Sri Lanka on Bhikkhuni ordination and its implications. I must admit, I underestimated the importance of the ruling, since it didn't require the Nikayas to accept anything.
We will have to wait and see how this unfolds.
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We will have to wait and see how this unfolds.
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Judging Bhikkhunis
A landmark case for Buddhism and law in Sri Lanka
tricycle.org
September 8, 2025 at 1:34 PM
Legal scholar Benjamin Schonthal explains the recent ruling in Sri Lanka on Bhikkhuni ordination and its implications. I must admit, I underestimated the importance of the ruling, since it didn't require the Nikayas to accept anything.
We will have to wait and see how this unfolds.
Free Link
We will have to wait and see how this unfolds.
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Reposted by Frederick Ranallo-Higgins
A new book on #Shinto and famous #Kokugaku scholar Hirata Atsutane 平田篤胤 (1776-1843) has just been published open access and free for download by the preeminent historian Dr. Ann Walthall! You can check it out here: www.fulcrum.org/concern/mono...
In the Presence of Gods and Spirits: Hirata Atsutane and His Collaborators
<I>In the Presence of Gods and Spirits </I>brings to life the early nineteenth-century Japanese religious leader and scholar Hirata Atsutane, whose fear of Russian incursion onto Japan's soil led him ...
www.fulcrum.org
August 25, 2025 at 7:54 PM
A new book on #Shinto and famous #Kokugaku scholar Hirata Atsutane 平田篤胤 (1776-1843) has just been published open access and free for download by the preeminent historian Dr. Ann Walthall! You can check it out here: www.fulcrum.org/concern/mono...
Reposted by Frederick Ranallo-Higgins
America’s democratic system depends on the public’s understanding that law is bigger than politics, @davidfrum.bsky.social argues. But now, Trump is sending a clear message that he is willing to go after his enemies and undermine that system.
Trump Is Sending a Terrifyingly Clear Message
America’s democratic system depends on the public’s understanding that law is bigger than politics, David Frum argues. But now, Trump is sending a clear message that he is willing to go after his enemies and undermine that system.
bit.ly
August 25, 2025 at 10:45 PM
America’s democratic system depends on the public’s understanding that law is bigger than politics, @davidfrum.bsky.social argues. But now, Trump is sending a clear message that he is willing to go after his enemies and undermine that system.
Randy Rosenthal reviews a new book of unpublished writings by Jack Kerouac, a powerful force in popularizing Buddhism in the West. Rosenthal says, "We see him as an earnest fellow seeker, trying to incorporate his newfound wisdom into his art."
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Fragments of a Dharma Bum
Collected works from Jack Kerouac’s Buddhist years show a writer seeking clarity in chaos.
tricycle.org
August 21, 2025 at 10:47 AM
Randy Rosenthal reviews a new book of unpublished writings by Jack Kerouac, a powerful force in popularizing Buddhism in the West. Rosenthal says, "We see him as an earnest fellow seeker, trying to incorporate his newfound wisdom into his art."
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Stanford PhD Candidate Nancy Chu reviews a new book by Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Chengpang Lee. The book tells the story of Tzu Chi and the Buddhist nun behind one of the world’s most significant humanitarian movements.
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Buddhist Compassion on a Global Scale
A new book tells the story of Tzu Chi and the Buddhist nun behind one of the world’s largest humanitarian movements.
tricycle.org
August 17, 2025 at 12:56 PM
Stanford PhD Candidate Nancy Chu reviews a new book by Hong Kong Polytechnic University's Chengpang Lee. The book tells the story of Tzu Chi and the Buddhist nun behind one of the world’s most significant humanitarian movements.
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A timely article by SOAS PhD candidate Conan Cheong on the recent sale of the Piprahwa relics to an Indian conglomerate. The Sotheby's debacle, when they tried and failed to auction them to the highest bidder, raises important questions on custodianship of sacred objects.
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Selling the Buddha
Restituting the Piprahwa relics to Buddhist custodianship
tricycle.org
August 15, 2025 at 11:40 AM
A timely article by SOAS PhD candidate Conan Cheong on the recent sale of the Piprahwa relics to an Indian conglomerate. The Sotheby's debacle, when they tried and failed to auction them to the highest bidder, raises important questions on custodianship of sacred objects.
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Franz Metcalf @franzmetcalf.bsky.social reviews Natasha Heller's @nlheller.bsky.social new book on Buddhist picture books for children.
"These books become the material form of modern family Buddhism, giving rise to new practices rooted not in the temple but in the home."
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"These books become the material form of modern family Buddhism, giving rise to new practices rooted not in the temple but in the home."
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How to Raise a Little Bodhisattva
In Taiwan, a new generation of children’s books quietly transforms Buddhist family life.
tricycle.org
August 11, 2025 at 11:23 AM
Franz Metcalf @franzmetcalf.bsky.social reviews Natasha Heller's @nlheller.bsky.social new book on Buddhist picture books for children.
"These books become the material form of modern family Buddhism, giving rise to new practices rooted not in the temple but in the home."
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"These books become the material form of modern family Buddhism, giving rise to new practices rooted not in the temple but in the home."
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Scholar C Pierce Salguero provides a brief introduction to Mahayana medicine.
One of my first experiences with medicine in Korea was being bloodlet by a nun to take out bad qi making me sick. That finger poke sure rid me of nausea. Still not sure about the qi.
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One of my first experiences with medicine in Korea was being bloodlet by a nun to take out bad qi making me sick. That finger poke sure rid me of nausea. Still not sure about the qi.
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A Brief Introduction to Mahayana Medicine
Exploring Buddhist healing through the lenses of wisdom, compassion, and ritual practice
tricycle.org
July 27, 2025 at 6:55 PM
Scholar C Pierce Salguero provides a brief introduction to Mahayana medicine.
One of my first experiences with medicine in Korea was being bloodlet by a nun to take out bad qi making me sick. That finger poke sure rid me of nausea. Still not sure about the qi.
Accessible Link
One of my first experiences with medicine in Korea was being bloodlet by a nun to take out bad qi making me sick. That finger poke sure rid me of nausea. Still not sure about the qi.
Accessible Link
Joanna Macy has died.
For more than half a century, scholar, Buddhist, ecologist, and “awake activist” Joanna Macy, PhD, worked tirelessly for personal, social, and planetary transformation.
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For more than half a century, scholar, Buddhist, ecologist, and “awake activist” Joanna Macy, PhD, worked tirelessly for personal, social, and planetary transformation.
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Ecodharma Leader Joanna Macy Has Died
For more than half a century, scholar, Buddhist, ecologist, and "awake activist" Joanna Macy, PhD, worked tirelessly for personal, social, and planetary transformation.
tricycle.org
July 20, 2025 at 11:33 AM
Joanna Macy has died.
For more than half a century, scholar, Buddhist, ecologist, and “awake activist” Joanna Macy, PhD, worked tirelessly for personal, social, and planetary transformation.
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For more than half a century, scholar, Buddhist, ecologist, and “awake activist” Joanna Macy, PhD, worked tirelessly for personal, social, and planetary transformation.
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Tricycle appreciates Amy Langenberg's @amyparis.bsky.social report from the 2025 Sakyadhita Conference in Malaysia. This conference brings together monastics, academics, and laypeople to address issues facing Buddhist women. Without Buddhist women, there would be no Buddhism.
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Buddhist Women Gather to Discuss Ordination, Social Justice, and Solidarity
The 19th Sakyadhita Conference brought together 400 participants in Kuching, Malaysia, to address issues facing Buddhist women.
tricycle.org
July 8, 2025 at 1:30 PM
Tricycle appreciates Amy Langenberg's @amyparis.bsky.social report from the 2025 Sakyadhita Conference in Malaysia. This conference brings together monastics, academics, and laypeople to address issues facing Buddhist women. Without Buddhist women, there would be no Buddhism.
Accessible link
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Jas Elsner's book on Amaravati hints at the early dawn of Mahayana, pushing it back to the very foundations of Buddhism. Curator Tushara Bindu Gude reviews this dense read and gets to the heart of Elsner's important findings.
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Amaravati: Origin of Origins
A review of scholar Jas Elsner's book on Amaravati, an important Buddhist monument that hints at the dawn of the Mahayana
tricycle.org
June 13, 2025 at 12:17 AM
Jas Elsner's book on Amaravati hints at the early dawn of Mahayana, pushing it back to the very foundations of Buddhism. Curator Tushara Bindu Gude reviews this dense read and gets to the heart of Elsner's important findings.
Accessible Link
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Anderson Cooper @andersoncooper4.bsky.social talks with Ann Tashi Slater @anntashislater.bsky.social about the precariousness of life and the questions he still wrestles with today.
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Turning Toward Grief and Learning to Feel Again
Ann Tashi Slater talks with veteran CNN journalist Anderson Cooper about the precariousness of life and the questions he still wrestles with today.
tricycle.org
June 4, 2025 at 11:50 PM
Anderson Cooper @andersoncooper4.bsky.social talks with Ann Tashi Slater @anntashislater.bsky.social about the precariousness of life and the questions he still wrestles with today.
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Reposted by Frederick Ranallo-Higgins
Ever wanted to talk about #Buddhism and #Money (or personal #finance), but didn't know where to start?
Here's your chance, the first of a series by @maiaduerr.bsky.social , author of "Work That Matters: Create a Livelihood that Reflects Your Core Intention."
www.buddhistdoor.net/features/the...
Here's your chance, the first of a series by @maiaduerr.bsky.social , author of "Work That Matters: Create a Livelihood that Reflects Your Core Intention."
www.buddhistdoor.net/features/the...
The Dharma of Money - Buddhistdoor Global
Understanding wealth as a gateway to greed or generosity helps us reflect on how the Buddha’s teachings guide us through our relationship with money.
www.buddhistdoor.net
May 28, 2025 at 5:26 AM
Ever wanted to talk about #Buddhism and #Money (or personal #finance), but didn't know where to start?
Here's your chance, the first of a series by @maiaduerr.bsky.social , author of "Work That Matters: Create a Livelihood that Reflects Your Core Intention."
www.buddhistdoor.net/features/the...
Here's your chance, the first of a series by @maiaduerr.bsky.social , author of "Work That Matters: Create a Livelihood that Reflects Your Core Intention."
www.buddhistdoor.net/features/the...
Ben Van Overmeire @zenmirrors.bsky.social explores how reading and writing have long guided seekers toward the Chan threshold to awakening.
"If we let go of our attachment to words and letters, and instead let them point, amazing things can happen when we read and write."
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"If we let go of our attachment to words and letters, and instead let them point, amazing things can happen when we read and write."
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Words as Windows
Reading, writing, and the Zen paradox
tricycle.org
May 28, 2025 at 11:07 AM
Ben Van Overmeire @zenmirrors.bsky.social explores how reading and writing have long guided seekers toward the Chan threshold to awakening.
"If we let go of our attachment to words and letters, and instead let them point, amazing things can happen when we read and write."
Accessible Link
"If we let go of our attachment to words and letters, and instead let them point, amazing things can happen when we read and write."
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