The word “mindfulness” has been thrown around a lot recently. Some might call it a mindfulness epidemic with the number of services coming out and preaching the path of meditation. With the ample use of the phrase, it's easy to forget the origin of mindfulness.
The majority of these practices are simplifications of Buddhist ones that have been around for ages. Therefore, it's better to seek mindfulness from the source, Buddhist publications, and learn more about a religion and culture while doing it. Here are five Buddhist publications for those curious about the origin of mindfulness:
Lion’s Roar
Lion’s Roar is the most prestigious publication on this list. It features articles from heavyweight Buddhist teachers, such as That Nicht Hahn and even the Dalai Lama (some of the more popular teachers sometimes have excerpts from their published books instead).
With just as many secular readers as religious ones, Lion’s Roar is an excellent site to jump into if your Buddhist knowledge is limited. The website is divided into sections based on meditation, Buddhist culture and miscellaneous articles from Buddhist teachers of varying sects. There is also a podcast if audio is preferred. A subscription service gives access to the publication’s app and its back catalog of articles. Lion’s Roar’s website is a good place to start because the majority of its recent articles are free.
Tricycle
Tricycle is the Buddhist publication with the most content available and arguably the largest publication overall. It offers articles on a wider range of subjects than any other publication on this list, including articles on movie reviews, Buddhist history and obituaries of Buddhist leaders.
Unlike most Buddhist publications, Tricycle also reports on real-world events through the lens of Buddhism with articles on politics and American culture. Furthermore, it offers online courses and podcasts, giving it a strong multimedia presence. A subscription to the site allows access to the backlog of Tricycle as well as eBooks and movies. Tricycle’s main problem is that it restricts its free content to the browsing of just one article, making it hard to decide if its content is worth the subscription before purchase.
Mindful
Mindful isn’t a Buddhist magazine, but it's the epitome of the current mindfulness movement, which deserves a mention. Overall, Mindful isn't that deep of a magazine, focusing primarily on guided meditation and self-help columns.
A magazine with more focus on Buddhism as a religion will have more varied content due to being able to draw from that religion. Mindful is best for someone who is looking for new ways to meditate but doesn't want any of the religiosity associated with the process, but its limited content isn’t worth a subscription price. Thankfully, a large amount of its content is offered for free.
TinyBuddha
TinyBuddha is a great blog for those seeking content with a more amateur and grounded feel. TinnyBuddha hosts articles written by a variety of authors who discuss how meditation and Buddhism have influenced their lives and how they use them to overcome their problems. Often, these articles are written on a deeply personal level.
There is great variety in TinyBuddha’s catalog, as the site allows anyone to submit an article with the chance of publishing. TinyBuddha is much smaller than the previously mentioned publications, having only an online presence and being run by primarily one person. While its authors might not have as much prestige as, say, those writing for Lion’s Roar, the smaller space gives authors an opportunity to dive into more personal issues and write unique content. This gives TinyBuddha more relatable articles than its peers.
Buddha Weekly
Buddha Weekly is an online publication that is explicitly Buddhist. All other publications on this list, while Buddhist, present themselves in a way to be easily accessible to a secular reader. This is not the case with Buddha Weekly, as it dives deeply into the mythology and religiosity of all sects of Buddhism. The aesthetic of the site is vibrant and occasionally a little crowded.
While at first glance it appears that the site may consist of tabloid-esque articles with no merit, upon reading the majority of the articles reveal themselves as an interesting explanation of a variety of Buddhist traditions, holidays, practices, etc.
However, articles on the site connecting religion with science are certainly skeptical, as any article of that type usually is. In general, this site is interesting and content-packed, but as with any religious publication, don’t take everything at face value.
