Likable Links
Buddhist Sites
Buddhist Studies WWW Virtual Library
T. Matthew Ciolek's scholarly but really useful site. Here you'll find links to thousands of pages devoted to Buddhism.
Like Dr. Ciolek’s site, this has a more analytical quality, and thus excellent links to a huge range of study sites. Great for learning about various forms of Buddhism and their history. This site has the best links to USA meditation centers. It’s just being redone in a more visual style and has a lot of energy behind it as of January 2008. Check it over time.
This one has a slight Theravada emphasis, is best for non-USA readers, annotates links nicely, and organizes itself more around practices and traditions. Great for learning about Theravada traditions, including many forms of meditation.
This is the journal where I’m book review editor. Yes, it’s a scholarly journal, but we focus on the cutting edge of Buddhism around the world, so this is not stuffy academics; this is real work on real Buddhism intended to do some real good.
This site is the online presence of the slick-but-good Buddhist magazine, Tricycle. It looks much better than the other sites, lets you search for dharma centers, read past articles and interviews, and, most important, has an extensive teaching section, introducing many aspects of Buddhism and Buddhist practice. You can also buy paper copies (duh).
Here’s an excellent site for Vajrayana, the Buddhism of Tibet. It gives good background and an especially detailed introduction to meditation practices. An official site of the Kagyu order, it’s solid and reputable.
This group devotes itself to decreasing dukkha in this world through national and international programs for peace. They are the good guys and they're especially important right now.
This is the place to find the Pali Canon, the oldest surviving set of Buddhist scriptures. They've got a huge selection of them online. They've also got explanations, other writings, meditation advice, etc. A great site for those interested in Theravada Buddhism.
Zen Jewish Haiku and Other Humorous Delights
David M. Bader has written the wonderfully wise and funny Zen Judaism and Haiku for Jews, which I bet you’ve seen parts of since they are plagiarized all over the net. Why not go to his site and read more? Or, hello, buy them! And for lazy goyim such as myself, he’s also written Haiku U, From Aristotle to Zola, Great Books in 17 Syllables. What a mensch.
By and about this very wise and feisty Zen teacher.
This Buddhist guy put out a pioneering Buddhist page. Especially look for "A Lighter Side of Buddhism" for some great Buddhist jokes.
Non-Buddhist Stuff that I Just Couldn't Leave Out
A site on all the world’s great religions. Particularly good for topical and balanced information on tough issues. I used the section on homosexuality and Christianity for a course and it blew my students’ preconceptions (and mine) away.
Possibly the best and smartest humor site in the world. Learn and laugh.
Speaking of smartness, humor, and onions, here’s a link to my dear friend and fellow author Jess Winfield’s food blog. While there, getting hungry, click over to his main site and preview his upcoming book My Name Is Will: A Novel of Sex, Drugs, and Shakespeare, coming out July 2008.
A group devoted to trans-traditional spirituality. I'm a founding member. We offer programs for expanding the spirituality of people across North America and across the boundaries of religious affiliation.
All sorts of oddness from this guy. I especially like his page on Oliver Cromwell. Anyone considering writing a paper using only info from the net has got to read this!