while heading to and from trader joe’s this afternoon, i luckily caught segments of ‘Atheism and its Critics‘ on NPR. the first segment focused primarily on dissecting the Richard Dawkins, the “new atheist,” and critics of atheism.
the second segment highlighted a documentary titled, “The Dhamma Brothers,” which follows a group of Buddhist instructors who undertake a program intended to teach meditation to institutionalized prisoners in Alabama. the prisoners took a vow of silence for 35 days while studying Vapassana meditation.
here’s the trailer:
the film looks good, but the concept in general is extremely appealing. for years i’ve been wanting to get into a more steady practice of daily meditation. dee’s curriculum has steered her in this direction of late, and the two of us have been tossing around the idea of going on a retreat sometime in the near future. this is not only a compelling use of meditation in our society, but also a reminder that i should be doing more.
[UPDATE] amazing. this is truly saddening, but the timing is admittedly very spooky. George Carlin has passed. in remembrance, give his “religion is bullshit” routine. classic. you’ll be missed, George.
i was lucky enough to see him close a set live with this breakdown of the ten commandments. one of my favorites:
